I watched Bill Cunningham New York last night. Bill Cunningham has been photographing New York’s street style for decades and has a weekly column in the New York Times. What a romp of style, colour and cool cats. Good golly, do I want to visit another city soon! It’s been far too long and is one of my loves in life.
However, it’s not the swanky outfits that really shine out in this documentary, it is Bill Cunningham. He is a simple man in the best possible sense; his lifestyle is utilitarian to the point of being practically monastic and he is entirely devoid of artfulness or criticism. Neither fêted nor threatened, he moves seamlessly between high society, the upper echelons of the fashion world and street culture of all fancies and flavours and simply enjoys the people and their expressions. The most moving part was when the French Ministry of Culture honoured him and in his speech he said “he who seeks beauty, finds it.” His voice cracked as he said it. What a man.
When he said that, I couldn’t help but think of the beatitude “blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Bill Cunningham is such a heartening human to consider and it is obvious that his whole being and the way that he beholds brings something rich to his process, even if he is unaware of it. He is not just documenting, he is seeing. His orientation and character affect what he sees. It’s got me all kinds of inspired about how much of what I see is determined by what I am choosing to see.
Hannah Stoney is a British artist and writer.