Jasper James' Cityscape Silhouettes

In 2008, people living in urban areas outweighed the amount of people living in rural areas for the first time in history. This monumental shift towards urbanization is the inspiration for British photographer Jasper James' series, "City Silhouettes." To reflect the growing role of the urban center for humankind, James combined city dwellers with images of their locales.

City Silhouette, Tokyo

For the past few years James has been traveling to cities around Asia such as Shenzhen, Shanghai and Tokyo for this unique project. James starts by finding an ideal vantage point in the city, takes a photograph and then finds a local resident via the travel website Couchsurfing and photographs them, combining the two images together. James achieves the manipulation all within his camera making basic adjustments to contrast and color without retouching the photos. We like the guy glued to his phone, kind of reminiscent of Giovanni Ribisi in Lost In Translation.

City Silhouette, Tokyo

The images serve the purpose of personifying the city while simultaneously dehumanizing his subjects. James blends the human forms into their surroundings as living in an urban area becomes an increasingly larger part of our collective identity. At times his subjects seem lonely, losing themselves in the hustle and bustle of the cityscape, highlighting the loss of individuality in urban centers. Though the idea of losing one's self in a city setting may sound a bit depressing, the notion of buildings making out is entertaining enough to stave off any end-of-the-world blues. View a slideshow of James' entrancing series below.

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Comments

[Joebudgie]

12:03 PM on 01/23/2012

When I've been on vacation and forgot to advance the film after taking a picture the next picture was a double exposure almost identical to these. I always thought I wasted a little film and lost a memory. I had no idea some people might consider it artistic.

[gritzsl]

10:02 AM on 01/23/2012

Not very interesting. Actually boring. Not much thought put into these images.

[GrandGayle]

06:43 AM on 01/23/2012

Silhouettes ... the question is not how, but why. Not very appealing and even a bit tacky. Looks more like a version of "where's waldo" than art

[glknott]

12:46 PM on 01/21/2012

Regardless of whether or not this photo technique has been done before, or how easily it can be supposedly Photoshopped, if you can reflect on James' message about urbanization and how people tend to 'become a part of the city' where they live, then this series has the potential of hitting a chord within you.

[paperimpressions]

06:22 PM on 01/20/2012

Whether there is anything unique about this type of work doesn't concern me. I simply ask myself if it's good or bad. Frankly some of the comments already posted carry the faint odor of sour grapes.

However, I certainly wish the writer/editor would have included the source and geographical area under scrutiny for the claim that urbanites outnumbered rural people for the first time ever in 2008.

In the U.S. for instance, governmental economic policies have driven so many farmers out of business that with a population of around 300,000,000, the U.S. has had fewer than 2,000,000 farmers for quite some time before 2008. And when all the workable farmland in a township falls into fewer and fewer hands, the ability for a small town that once supported the needs of farm families, shrinks. Thousands of U.S. rural towns became impossible to economically sustain. The huge number of rural school busses have become the most commonly visible result.

Of course this seems rather benign when compared to Third World countries in which people who can feed themselves always become a threat to dictators who seize control and no longer require the support of rural farmers. And let us not forget the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, which make possible some of the world's tallest buildings with observation decks that look out over what's left of the jungle canopy. Not to mention repayment plans that uproot rural populations for cheap urban labor.

[Joebudgie]

11:58 AM on 01/23/2012

What the hay are you babbling about. Why did you feel the need to comment on subjects that have nothing to do with the article? And you try to be so impressive, too. "comments already posted carry the faint odor of sour grapes." I guess you should know, you sowed them.

[paperimpressions]

05:50 PM on 03/09/2012

My comments were absolutely relevant to the article.They clearly relate to James' stated inspiration for his series. Okay, forget about the U.S. He was, however, photographing in Japan. Japan is roughly 16,000 square miles smaller than California and has a far greater population. That's not a combination that suggests that there were fewer urbanites than rural dwellers in Japan until four years ago. However, if I were the sort simply out to impress others, I would not have said that I wished he had included the source for his population-shifting date; I would have pretended to know it.

However, whether I'm right or wrong, impressive or otherwise, isn't really the core issue. If you prefer to look at his work simply as something to possibly hang on the wall over the couch, and ignore the ideas behind the work, you are certainly free to do so. That reduces them however, to about the same level as what's hanging on the walls of the rooms in your favorite motel chain off the interstate. And BTW, interstate highways also tend to be a big factor in reducing rural populations.

As for my "sour grapes" comment, I wasn't talking about negative remarks directed at me; You were the only person to post one. I was referring to some comments made about his photographs that suggested his work didn't deserve the attention it was receiving in such a highly viewed website.

[Izzystone]

05:24 PM on 01/20/2012

This is a very old photo technique, used to be done with a glass shot, or bi-packing a single shot in a camera. Optically printed matts in film production have produced effects like this since the parting of the Red Sea. Doesn't anyone know their photo/film history at Huffpo?
Izzystone

[JBS]

04:31 PM on 01/20/2012

Well, I've never seen them on huff-post before.

[Ken Clements]

12:37 PM on 01/20/2012

Oh yes I have seen silhos like this before...my own...I have been doing this for years from the store front windows on Fifth Avenue in New York!

[JCJSJB]

11:31 AM on 01/20/2012

Funny, I've been looking at these for years. They are available on stock photo sites and yes, easily photoshopped.

[thatsNotWhatIHeard]

11:29 AM on 01/20/2012

these sensationalized headlines really ruin the experience of a lot of the work for me. Instead of looking at it for what it is, now I'm judging it based on "YOU'VE NEVER SEEN SILHOUETTES LIKE THIS BEFORE!" - which frankly, is a stretch, and leaves a bad taste in my mouth on what is otherwise a cool project on its own merits.

and that sucks. because it's not the artist saying that grandiose statement (far as i can tell), but its being projected onto him.

frankly i'd be embarrassed as an artist to be associated with half the headlines on HP, even with the exposure that accompanied it. those headlines make relatively decent artists look like hacks, when its the writer of those headlines who really needs to tone it down some.

[Joebudgie]

12:07 PM on 01/23/2012

Is this really artistic work or did someone forget to wind the film nad is trying to make the best of their mistake? I've always felt that "Art Appreciation" is only 10 per cent about the art and 90 per cent salesmanship.

[thatsNotWhatIHeard]

12:39 PM on 01/23/2012

nah, it's too consistent to be a flat-out mistake. but it's art, no less. i kinda hate the "is it or isn't it art?" question, but that's another conversation for another day. on art appreciation, i think it depends who you're talking to; as an artist would have a different appreciation for the craft of things than a non-artist patron or buyer or historian might, just by the nature of their own respective jobs

[Crisdean Wulver]

10:59 AM on 01/20/2012

Much ado about nothing. Yes, they're interesting photos. But superimposed images are nothing new. The tone of the headline made it sound like the photographer had discovered the cure for cancer.

[Troofire]

10:50 AM on 01/20/2012

I'm a photographer who's done far more interesting work than this. How do I get HP to showcase my work?

[Storymark]

11:28 AM on 01/20/2012

Having someone besides you insist on the greatness of your work would be step one, Id wager.

[gcogs]

12:00 PM on 01/20/2012

Start a photo blog, then email them about this awesome blog you found. I mean, come on, it's the internet.

[Retromancer]

10:45 AM on 01/20/2012

Neato! First one reminds me of Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years.

[Third-World-Man]

10:06 AM on 01/20/2012

I don't see anything that unique about them.

Couldn't they easily be done with Photoshop?

[Storymark]

11:29 AM on 01/20/2012

Most any art can be, nowadays. The point being, this guy did something, rather than sit back, look at others work, and go "Eh, I *could* do that".

[Third-World-Man]

11:52 AM on 01/20/2012

I recognize the idea of being first with an artistic concept.

I am even aware of the work of Jasper James.

Just feel that it is not up to par with what his is capable of doing.

But thank you for the lesson in art appreciation.