The Difference between Photography and Art Photography is Curation

Photo by Patrick Konior on Unsplash

The difference between photography and art photography is curation. This simple concept has taken me a lifetime to understand. A single, wonderful photograph is worthy of a pause, but without context it is quickly forgotten. The challenge is to put that wonderful photograph into proper context, once this is done then you have art.

It is as if a single, perfectly tuned note is heard. While startling and perhaps even pleasing, it soon is forgotten in the echos of other sounds. So to a single photograph is lost in the countless images we see daily. The art of making it stand out, to force the viewer to really stop and take notice, this is the art of the curator. 

The problem is that photographers are not curators. We see the beauty in that stand alone image, just as a musician appreciates that one perfect note. Pulling out the wonderful photographs, that the photographer is very proud of, and removing them from the selected set, is what helps strengthen the photos that are left. A good curator, understands the artist, their work and the audience and works to build the theme with selected works. 

If you want to be a better photographer, it is about becoming a better curator and become a better curator by understanding that it is more about what you pull out than what you leave in. A wonderful photograph can be harmed by another image, just as wonderful but not following a theme. It is all about story telling and a single photograph, in order to tell its story must be viewed in perspective. It must be viewed once the viewer understands the theme that the artist and curator has assembled for them. 

Good curators are hard to find. Good photographers who are also good curators are nearly impossible to find. But becoming a better curator will make you a better photographer.