Published in Fab07 - Ending
Graphic design by Sarah Napier - get the pdf
Photography is considered to be a fully-fledged form of art. World-renowned museums exhibit the works of great photographers, some of which are worth a fortune. Unsurprisingly, the average visitor prefers landscapes and black-and-white portraits, but innovation is gradually winning the hearts of the general public. Under the influence of advancing technology, photography has been evolving at a faster rate compared to most forms of art. Radical innovations have reshaped the field from decade to decade: Leica, Kodachrome, Polaroid are just some of the names that have contributed to changing the way in which pictures are taken. Not lacking in criticism, we have now entered the digital era. Distribution channels have evolved too. Festivals, books, news, coverage and advertising are now requesting new kind of pictures. But how do contents adapt to their final context? How are innovative concepts to stand out in a sector where almost everything seems to have already been said and done? How do artists approach digital technology? What might the role of photography be in a framework of fast-evolving media?
As usual, homework has put those questions to field experts.
Chris Boot is an editor. He is enthusiastic about the powers of photography.
François Hébel is in charge of organizing the Arles festival: he is quite demanding and believes in the power of photography.
Martin Parr is a world-renowned photographer: a silent chap who believes in the power of photography.
Chris Boot
Publisher
You could generally break down a ‘photo story’ into three ingredients: subject matter, narrative and manner of execution. There needs to be something original and surprising about at least one of those ingredients, something that the readers haven’t encountered before that makes them stop and think or gives them pleasure. If you immediately recognize a set of pictures as something that’s familiar to you, even if you have never seen them before, then you are unlikely to find them particularly interesting.
In our case the story and the book design concepts are very much related. The photographer is usually responsible for the concept of the work itself. Sometimes they have a very clear idea themselves how they want a book to be, and other times they are very open. Finding the right marriage of project concept with the form of the book is one of the main jobs of a publisher. Clearly, books begin with a photographer’s concept, and then when the work’s done you try to work out the design/product concept. Usually this is before a final edit takes place: I always think that editing is very easy when you finished all the conceptual work, when you know exactly what your criteria is and what you are looking for.
The photographers I work with aren’t the kind of people to whom I would indicate a subject to work on. But there are projects I have responded positively to because I was already thinking about that idea (maybe because of the subject, or maybe the type of photographic approach). The best thing is when a photographer presents something that is both so new, it’s a complete surprise, yet at the same time so obvious and inevitable that you can’t believe no one had thought of it before.
François Hébel
Director of Les Rencontres d’Arles - Photographie
There are three main different and separate tasks you are faced with when organizing an international festival: selection, production and marketing.
The production must be capable of supporting all kinds of projects, including distance projects where applicable. That allows the festival to work with any director, regardless of where he or she is. Tight information networks are required to create high quality contents: individuals alone are unable to collect all the necessary information and numerous contacts are needed to ensure a continuous flow of new ideas and concepts. Marketing is perhaps the most difficult phase, as the festival needs to attract experts and amateurs as well and you can't kill the two birds with the same stone. Experts require exclusive initiatives, while amateurs and the general public are attracted by simpler things and by what they already know. They come to the festival to see landscapes and black and white portraits. A survey conducted a few years back shows that people tend to shun photography festivals as they believe they would not understand. But once they visit one, they are surprised and satisfied with what they see. Consequently, the purpose of marketing initiatives is encouraging ordinary people to come and see a kind photography that has not been classified as “art photography” yet.
When I am selecting artists I have no idea of what I am looking for. Interesting works need to have something new, unexpected. They have to be subtle yet impressive. When I asked Martin Parr to select a French photographer he came up with “Antipersonnel” by Dallaporta. Land mines are no innovative subject, but the photographer focuses on the terrifying beauty of lethal devices, which shows how new approaches can be found even for the most traditional subjects. Most projects simply turn out to be unfit because they do not meet the festival’s specific requirements, although they could well be featured in a book. I used to be the director of Magnum, and we had different selection criteria back then : I was working for the agency at the time of the Tien An Men demonstrations and the war in Bosnia. I believe photographers made a remarkable contribution in those days, even though their work was not particularly innovative. Their pictures contributed to raising the awareness of westerners and have provided significant documentation for future generations.
On innovation: I sincerely don't understand what this fuss over digital technology is all about. Photography has always meant recording images on tangible media so that they could be retrieved and reproduced. New tools are available in a digital era, that is all. We now have many more ways of taking and storing and editing pictures, and we can use advanced techniques to print pictures on previously unknown medias. The myth of photography having to do with Reality Itself has finally been dispelled. And about time too.
Martin Parr
Photographer
When did you start being a photographer? Why did you find this medium so interesting?
I started when I was a teenager, about 13/14. It was a very natural , I could not have become anything but a photographer.
Where does your ironical approach to kitsch taste come from? How did you turn it into a style?
Kitsch is everywhere and I love it, genuinely.
When did you noticed that you had created a new style in photography that other photographers would follow?
After I started shooting color in the late 80's.
Do you work in black and white?
I shot B&W for about 10 years, I gave it up in 1984.
Which is your favourite colour?
Red
What do you think about digital photography?
I have just bought a digital camera. The technology is improving all the time.
What is your cultural background? What inspires you?
Life and the world are inspiring.
How was your experience as curator for the Arles Photography Festival?
Doing Arles was fantastic, all the artists I chose were ones I liked.
Why did you select Dallaporta’s work for that occasion?
Dallaporta was and still is a very good young French photographer. I wanted to show new talent.
How was your experience of working with Chris Boot in publishing?
Chris Boot is a good friend, a real believer in the power of photography.
What was your experience when working with Fabrica on the Veneto campaign?
It was good to work with Fabrica, they understand what was needed and how I could supply this.
How does a photographer’s work change according to the agency or the publisher he works with? Is artistic freedom limited under any aspect?
The best trend is that all the barriers in photography between things like commercial, fashion and documentary are all collapsing.
What do you think that photography needs now in terms of content, approach and style especially from young photographers?
Lots of freedom to solve the problem with photography. I like solving problems through photography.
Which is the best advice you would give to someone who wants to be a professional photographer? What is it best to focus on? Festivals? Expositions? Publishing?
Be passionate.
Have you got any incoming projects?
A book on Mexico is next, this looks at the relationship between the US and Mexico.
written in ollaboration with Guillermo Rivero