Purple Institute
[March 13 2014]
See Juergen Teller’s Purple Book “Kalkota” for Purple Fashion #21 now online
“We are invited to an Indian wedding in the final days of 2013. It’s the wedding of Brinda — a beautiful young lady who works at Sadie’s gallery — and a delightful man called Shubhodeep, both from Kolkata. Aveek Sen, the Indian writer who recently returned to Kolkata after years living abroad, warned me that the city is a trap for photographers because it is so picturesque. It is true: the colors, the Kali sculptures, the powerful Ganges, the filth, the romance of a city lagging behind the brash Indian economic boom due to 34 years of communist government, the South Kensingston feel of the colonial buildings, the weave of secular cultures in a dense and tolerant city, the drama of lives being lived with no sense of privacy, and the dramatic divide between White Town and Black Town… All of it is seductive. Walking around the city every morning at 8 a.m., I had Aveek’s words in my head, and my intention to avoid emotional images of poverty and decay that would shortchange this place, was a constant thought. A city as complex as Kolkata is a feast of light, color, and detail, and its tender spirit intoxicated every moment of our adventure there. My eyes — my camera — were dizzy trying to suck it all in.” — Text and photo Juergen Teller
Click here to see Juergen Teller’s Purple Book “Kalkota” online here
