Every piece of a puzzle counts. Each piece relies on its adjacent partners to complete a story. No matter how many times I have tried to layout and sequence a show in PhotoShop, CAD, or a big ol’ foam-core model, I always make adjustments when all of the pieces are in-house.
When I am curating a student show, I am adamant that all work be ready to hang and delivered before I begin the process. Students and artists may not understand that I cannot simply put a placeholder (a cutout sheet of cardboard to size) of their work and get the results I need.
It’s not only the content that I am curating but also the shape, size, and color of their frame or mount.
I was fortunate to curate several years of the thesis exhibition for the MPS Digitial Photography program at the School of Visual Arts. We had the finished work weeks, even months before I went to work.
Coffee would start the morning, followed by 90 minutes of unpacking well over 100 artworks from up to 21 graduate students. The exhibition was given a title but had no theme. Making this work a coherent exhibition took long quiet moments while I played Tetras in my head, followed by moving groups of work from place to place until everything settled in.
It never was the perfect puzzle, but somehow everything made sense together.
When you are putting together the sequence of a book or the layout of your exhibition, listen to your editor, seek feedback from the curator. As artists, we are too attached to our work to see it clearly and how one piece may relate to another.
Artists tend to like their most recent (untested and often half-baked) work or the ones that they are most emotionally attached to. And sometimes, it’s both! Take a moment to step back and see your work anew through the eyes of another viewer.
Have faith and let someone in to edit, evaluate and curate the work you’ve been so attached to doing yourself.
You might be surprised at what you’ve been missing.
Classes & Notes
I will be teaching an expanded edition of my recent Choosing Yourself as an Artist Zoom webinar at the SE Center of Photography on May 11 & 12, 6 - 8 PM EST.
The Colorado Photographic Arts Center is having its annual call for entries. Deadline: April 8
NYC PhotoWorks is hosting its annual portfolio reviews.
Coming Soon: Community Crit at The Photo Community and an expanded version of The Photographers Report with video
I am offering my annual History of Contemporary Photography class at the International Center of Photography beginning May 9 via Zoom.
If you are interested in Photo Books, sign up for Launch Photo Books' new initiative.
Michael Foley opened his gallery in the fall of 2004 after fourteen years of working with notable photography galleries, including Fraenkel Gallery, Howard Greenberg Gallery, and Yancey Richardson Gallery.
In 2002, Foley continued his interest in educating and working with artists by serving on the School of Visual Arts and International Center of Photography faculty. He currently teaches and lectures on contemporary photography issues at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
In 2020, he founded The Photo Community, which offers classes and commentary on contemporary photography.
Foley lives and works on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with his wife, Maya.
Love my Curator. Your students are really lucky to have you.
Great job, Mike. Good info for your Artists. Dad