Charles Peterson and his new b-boy photography book “Cypher”

Posted on December 12, 2008

There’s an interview with Charles Peterson, the author of the new photo book Cypher at hiphopdx.com. Peterson made his mark photographing the rock world with bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam and recently turned his lens towards b-boys. Even though he’s new to the scene, he still recognizes the magnitude of the dance. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

So the world of breaking is borderless and at this point I’m pretty sure one could find practitioners in just about every country in the world. In the book I have a photo of schoolkids throwing freezes in downtown Saigon. I just happened upon them - I saw them forming a circle and was like - ah ha! So even the unspoken language is the same. The cypher, the footwork, the freezes - these all translate without the need for a common linguistic language - it’s all about body language. And it can be practised by anyone anywhere which is the ultimate definition of globalization.

By submerging himself, an expert on a completely un-related subculture (grunge) was able to gain insight and depth on breaking. This dance and culture is truly open to anyone who is willing to embrace it. That’s a beautiful thing!

I haven’t peeped the book yet but I’m looking forward to it. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be in it