Arles: Curators more important than Photographers ?

[bernard_L]

Just back from the Arles Rencontres. I had previously browsed the official site https://www.rencontres-arles.com/fr/expositions to prepare my visit, and something caught my eye. In several cases, the curator (commissaire in french) appears on an equal footing with the photographer; sometimes even in a larger frame. To convince myself that it was not an isolated occurrence, and to document this post, I started some sampling, random but incomplete, since there are 25+ exhibition places, some with several authors. Results below.
Maybe it's normal and it's just me who raises an eyebrow?

 

[runswithsizzers]

The website you link to, when translated to English, does say this (emphasis mine), "Photographers, artists and curators reveal their visions, their stories, such as that of our humanity, in turn upset, in perpetual redefinition, resilient, but also visionary."

If a collection is more than the sum of its parts -- that is, if seeing the work of Artist A juxtaposed beside Artist B creates some kind of synergy -- then wouldn't the curator deserve some credit for that? But your examples do suggest the curators are being presented oversize on the website. Seems like photographers would have better head shots. ;-)

And thanks for sharing with those of us who would love to visit Arles, but cannot.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

I see no problem with this, since, as runswithsizzers stated, the very point of these events is to give voice not only to photographers but also to curators — "Photographes, artistes et commissaires dévoilent leurs visions, leurs histoires, telle celle de notre humanité, tour à tour contrariée, en perpétuelle redéfinition, résiliente, mais aussi visionnaire. À la marge ou établis, les récits mènent à des voi(x)es multiples", to quote the original French version.

It is, after all, called Les rencontres de la photographie, and I do think that the specificity of this event, as opposed to regular exhibitions, is given in the word "rencontres".

 

[Tel]

The people on the left in the head-shots above all look as I feel when I’m in front of a camera: I’d much rather be behind it. The people on the right are clearly happy to be the object of the photograph rather than its creator. They are worlds apart.

 

[bernard_L]

If a collection is more than the sum of its parts -- that is, if seeing the work of Artist A juxtaposed beside Artist B creates some kind of synergy -- then wouldn't the curator deserve some credit for that?

Agreed, but this rather applies to the "super-curators" Christoph Wiesner and Aurélie de Lanlay, director and deputy director of this year's Rencontres. The curators I found in my random sampling were each in charge of a single artist.

the very point of these events is to give voice not only to photographers but also to curators

Well... not the same, but further down in the same direction (of curators taking over from photographers) ; two anecdotes:

• My brother-in-law is in a photo-club. They used to have a semi-famous photographer come to the club (with compensation) to mentor them. He collected a number of their pictures, made up some sort of scrapbook page, and published it as his work without credit for the "raw material".
• Two years ago, through an unlikely chain of contacts, I was invited to provide images to be exhibited as part of a joint event between the Art Museum and the French Consulate at Chengdu (an obscure Chinese city of only 18 million habitants). When I saw pictures of the exhibition, I understood that I had merely provided raw material for the curator (and director of the museum).

The people on the left in the head-shots above all look as I feel when I’m in front of a camera: I’d much rather be behind it. The people on the right are clearly happy to be the object of the photograph rather than its creator. They are worlds apart.

Well observed! There are also some photographers in the same world as the curators: those that write these admirable Artist Statements.

 

[BrianShaw]

That is refreshing to see…

 

[Alex Benjamin]

of curators taking over from photographers

Not sure where you see any "taking over from" happening, as if this was a trend that was spreading. Most exhibition in museums all over the world, big or small, still advertise and puts forward the photographer and his work, not the curator. The two examples you quoted in no way illustrate a trend but seem to me to be merely anecdotal.

Curators have always had an important role in photographic exhibitions — there's a reason why John Swarkowski's name is famous, but he never "took over from" the photographers whose exhibitions he curated, from Ernst Haas to Winogrand to Atget to Arbus.

As I said, I do not see giving equal voice to curators, in the case of Les rencontres d'Arles, as being problematic. On the contrary. By living closely with the work of an artist for a good amount of time, curators can offer an in-depth point of view of that work that is different from that of the artist — many of whom find it difficult to talk about their work.

 

[bernard_L]

If I may hijack my own thread, some unfiltered impressions. Most impressed by:

• Hans Silvester.
  
  

  STRAIGHT TO THE POINT: PÉTANQUE AND JEU PROVENÇAL THROUGH THE LENS OF HANS SILVESTER

  A former top reporter with the Rapho agency, Hans Silvester is a tireless traveller. His photographs capture the state of the planet and humanity, subtle examples of the delicacy of an object, the grace of a gesture or the frightening magnificence of a...

  www.rencontres-arles.com
  I watched fully (usually I don't have the patience) his video (20min) summarizing his life as a photographer and his relation to Provence.
• J.C. Gautrand
  
  

  JEAN-CLAUDE GAUTRAND

  Jean-Claude Gautrand, a major French photographer, was also an exhibition curator, journalist and photography historian. His connection with the Musée Réattu dates back to 1970, the year Rencontres d'Arles was founded, and he began showing...

  www.rencontres-arles.com
  I shamefully confess i did not know him previously. Honest photography.

AI generated images are creeping in.

• https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/view/1552/bruce-eesly
  Well done!
• https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en...prix-decouverte-2024-fondation-louis-roederer
  And, yes, that is a good (counter-)example where the curator had seemingly a major role.

And dystopian worlds, all to real unfortunately:

• https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/view/1531/debi-cornwall
• https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/view/1551/fashion-army

Finally, two famous photographers:

• https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/view/1527/mary-ellen-mark
  Half of the exhibit closed for maintenance, 45min queue outside, we decided that time would be better spent seeing other exhibits. Too bad.
• https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/view/1569/lee-friedlander-framed-by-joel-coen
  Disappointment! Half of the photos have a post right in the middle. Violating a composition rule is fine, very fine. But not when it becomes a new cliché. A little later, chatting with the lady who kept an "off" exhibit of Malick Sidibé (more below), she had a spot-on characterization: "all his photos look like those captchas where you must find buses, motorbikes..."

And a previous acquaintance in the "off": the African photographers presented by Olivier Sultan. The most famous being Malick Sidibé. Recommended.

Artistes - Galerie Art-z

ARTISTES

art-z.net

 

[BrianShaw]

It seems to me that some photographers lack the skills to "read the audience/marketplace", edit, and curate their works, so if someone else teams up that seems a very good symbiotic relationship. Perhaps this thread is more regarding the way they are being depicted rather than the actual relationshop between differing skills and services.

 

[MattKing]

The combination of an artist and an editor is often much more effective than either one alone.
This applies to photography, writing, painting, music .....
Celebrate the synchronicity!

 

[Don_ih]

The combination of an artist and an editor is often much more effective than either one alone.

Particularly the editor with nothing to edit.

 

[bernard_L]

It seems to me that some photographers lack the skills to "read the audience/marketplace", edit, and curate their works, so if someone else teams up that seems a very good symbiotic relationship. Perhaps this thread is more regarding the way they are being depicted rather than the actual relationshop between differing skills and services.

I agree that it is useful that another person takes a part, maybe even a leading part, in the selection of images. The reason being that this person is an approximation of the general audience, in the sense that he/she views each image per se, free from the factual and mental context that the photographer is the only one to have, just like the general audience will see it.
But I object when the curator uses the images to overlay his/her mental constructs; each viewer in the general audience is welcome to do that, and should be free from being led down a path chosen by the curator.
Same thing with contemporary theater directors that use great plays as material for their "creation"; why don't they sit down and write their own play?

 

[BrianShaw]

Your objection is understood and seems to be a long- and well-established contention between artist and manager/editor. It’s the same in all creative ventures, and many non-creative ventures also. It’s a dilemma of multiple agendas. Balancing multiple agendas is a black art that few are interested in practicing.

 

[MattKing]

Same thing with contemporary theater directors that use great plays as material for their "creation"; why don't they sit down and write their own play?

Because directors are interpreters - essentially a type of performer - and while the skill sets overlap, they are distinct.
If you see two productions of the same play, directed by two different directors, you will most likely appreciate the respective roles.

 

[Tel]

Well observed! There are also some photographers in the same world as the curators: those that write these admirable Artist Statements.

www.artybollocks.com

 

[Alex Benjamin]

ong- and well-established contention between artist and manager/editor.

I really don't know what you base this on, especially with regards to photography. I've never read a single comment by a major photographer complaining about the curator of his or her exhibition. Seems to me that most, if not all, museum curators in the photography departments are well respected by the artist they serve.

Same thing with contemporary theater directors that use great plays as material for their "creation"

The comparison doesn't hold. The majority of plays, or operas for that matter, that stage directors mount are either by people that have long been dead or writers and composers that are not present at the place and moment of production. In both cases, it is not thought of as a collaboration, but, as Matt pointed out, an interpretation. Whether or not that interpretation aims to be faithful or not to the original intent is another matter, and part of the very idea behind the concept of interpretation.

On the other hand, more often then not, the curator of an exhibition works side by side, in a spirit of collaboration, with the photographer. I don't believe any photographer would work any other way at mounting an exhibition. On the contrary, the imput of the curator would certainly be welcomed.

In the case of a retrospective, when the photographer is no longer alive, curators aren't interpreters — how could they be? Their role is more that of putting the work in context, which is meant to help the viewer reach a better, or deeper understanding of it.

In any case, I don't mind being "led down a path chosen by the curator". That's his/her job — one that takes intelligence, sensibility, knowledge, vision and humility, a tough combo to get in one person. To be taken down a path I might not have seen, might not have chosen, a path that might make me understand the works of Winogrand, Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Robert Adams et al better or differently is something I welcome. In the end, In the end, I may agree or disagree with what is suggested, but the ride itself was often worth it, and, as usual, more instructive than its conclusion.

I would add this. There's nothing more annoying, more unpleaseant and unfulfilling than to go to a poorly curated exhibition.

 

[Arthurwg]

Curators have always had an important role in photographic exhibitions — there's a reason why John Swarkowski's name is famous, but he never "took over from" the photographers whose exhibitions he curated, from Ernst Haas to Winogrand to Atget to Arbus.

I never saw John's portrait at an exhibition of Atget, for example. But I can imagine this becoming a trend.

 

[Don_ih]

Maybe it's just riding the current spirit of the times, powered by endless nattering heads on YouTube blathering on about whatever they think will get some views? That's curation.

You don't need to promote the curator to promote their ideas - the entire exhibit already does that. Practically no artist of any kind gets exhibited without the representation and exposition of someone else (i.e., curator) - that's long been the case.

 

[Arthurwg]

The combination of an artist and an editor is often much more effective than either one alone.
This applies to photography, writing, painting, music .....
Celebrate the synchronicity!

A good example of this might be Robert Frank's "The Americans," which went through a very intense editorial process. The editor was somewhat famous, as I remember, but I can't remember his name.

 

[MattKing]

On the music side, Norman Granz comes to mind:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norma...Granz (August 6, 1918,in the history of jazz".

 

[Alex Benjamin]

On the music side, Norman Granz comes to mind:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Granz#:~:text=Norman Granz (August 6, 1918,in the history of jazz".

How about famous recording engineer Rudy van Gelder. Every jazz recording made in his studio is now refered to as a "The Rudy van Gelder edition". I don't think Miles Davis minds.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

I never saw John's portrait at an exhibition of Atget, for example. But I can imagine this becoming a trend.

He did get equal billing once in a while .

 

[BrianShaw]

Had Atget been alive, perhaps the order of appearance would have been different.

 

[Kino]

The more dead you are, the more onerous the curation...

 

[Alex Benjamin]

There's actually a pretty simple way to settle this. Write to the photographers and ask them if they were bothered by seing the photos of the curators next to theirs.