T here’s a difference between ‘looking’ and ‘seeing’. When Latha Menon went on a family holiday to France and Italy, she trained her eyes on people who connect a monumental past with a commonplace present in touristy destinations famous for stunning cityscapes and inspiring architecture.
As a result, the repertoire of pictures she returned home with was not the usual souvenir shots, but people photographs that radiated a range of moods.
“As I went through the photographs, a visual narrative unfolded. They offered a slice of life in Rome, Paris and Florence. Observing modern people going about their routine against the backdrop of ancient monuments made me realise how time stands still on one side and moves rapidly on the other,” says Latha, displaying 12 pictures that have made the cut for a desktop calendar titled ‘People, Places and Pictures’.
“People in different places interest me. I like capturing them in real-life situations,” says the ad film and documentary maker. So whether it is the photo of a man with a mobile phone caught in a long-winding alley framed by imposing buildings or the woman at her window, posing exactly like the mural on the facade of her house, the photographs invoke moods by zooming in on details. The ancient structures are only a prop; the people are the central characters.
“The inspiration for such a series is French humanist photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. The portraits of places by American photographer Paul Strand too have occupied my mind space for a long time. The beauty about France and Rome is that there is history and culture not just in the major landmarks, but also in the labyrinth of lanes. So when you see men in elegant white shirts and beige trousers and women in stylish dresses doing everyday things — some personal, some professional — against the backdrop of Renaissance architecture, the impact is frame-worthy,” says Latha, who founded Iris Films in 1996.
The inconsistent light of the outdoors lends a painterly feel to the pictures, which appear on the calendar with little quotes that Latha has picked to accentuate the mood. For instance, two men sitting and chatting outside an imposing door in Rome is teamed with a quote (unknown) that reads: “We’ll be friends till we’re old and senile, then we’ll be new friends”. A photograph of two women posing for a photo shoot on the road is accompanied by Coco Chanel’s famous line, “Everyday is a fashion show, and the world is the runway.” A beautiful picture of tourists in Florence is captioned with Louis Kahn’s quote, “Architecture is the reaching out for truth.” Thomas Carlyle’s “The whole past is a procession of the present” closes the calendar with an image of Pompeii for December.
Calendar art is not new to Latha. Last year, she walked on the wild side with her camera for a special shoot on wildlife. This year, it is her engagement with people and places. For 2018, she plans to hit the rural route and click candid shots of farmers going about their routine.
“It is an unconventional subject for a calendar, but I’m keen on creating awareness about our disconnect with rural India. As an ad film and documentary maker, I’m constantly working with them. They have many inspiring stories to share.”
The calendar for 2017 is priced at Rs. 400 and is available at Anokhi at Chamiers. The sale proceeds will go to Tanker Foundation. It can also be ordered at irisfilms@gmail.com.
