PERSPECTIVE OF A CURATOR
by Frédéric tougas
Published on 24. 08 .21Years ago, I decided I would dedicate a great deal of my time and energy to photography. We can’t become experts at everything, we select a path, a discipline we choose to master. Photography was the one I chose and walking that path meant I needed to gain knowledge and understanding through teachings, and sharpen my skills through mindful practice. It’s something I read in a couple of Japanese books about the Way of the Samurai. I have applied a lot of what I learned in these books to my own way.
(curation via @shootfilmmag)
I found that one of the ways to teach myself and grow my understanding of the medium is by observing the works of others, and that is why curating is such a good exercise for the photographer’s eye. It has been three years now since Stuart invited me on board at Shoot Film Mag, and it brought me so much insight. Curating a feed, you spend so much time looking at all kinds of work that it trains your eye to quickly recognize good imagery. But you can’t just passively look at great images to take what you need from them, you need to actually observe them actively, with the will to understand something new, or even only to remind you of something you might have forgotten. That is how I approach the curation of Shoot Film as well. I can’t try to put a number on the amount of images I have observed through the years, even before Shoot Film. At a certain point, it becomes second nature, I’m just drawn to certain photographs.
Is it a mood, an atmosphere, a detail that brought me in? The gaze of the subject? The heavy grain of the damaged film? It’s often an amalgam of many elements. I ask myself questions. Why do I like this so much? How is it conveying this emotion? How was this atmosphere achieved? Where does the light come from and what is its source? How does looking at this photograph make me feel?
“It’s always a question of light. Light is a subject. I want an image to teach me something. I want a photographer to teach me something. ”
Of course, curating is a question of personal taste, it will never be a subjective matter. It is also dependent on the mission of the platform. That we’re focusing on film photography on Shoot Film doesn’t mean I do not like digital pictures, I regularly come across amazing works that I wish I could put in the posting loop. But we work within constraints and guidelines to better specialize in a certain field. I wouldn’t curate the same way on every platform. This type of curation is very much about the aesthetics, feels and techniques more than the ideas, subject matters or causes. Other curators focus on other elements for their platform.
When I see an image that I like, the first thing I do is to go give a look at the creator’s account. I verify that it was indeed taken on film. If I immediately see some kind of coherence in the works and relative mastery of the medium in a good range of topics, it usually means the photographer is shooting in a mindful way and is advanced in his/her understanding, or is just very talented. If on the other hand this image is the only one that really stands out, I usually won’t keep it, but I will still keep an eye out for future works. I generally like moody photographs, deep earthy tones, clever compositions and subjects. I like when it emotionally brings me somewhere, when I’m curious to see more to keep this feeling close. I love when it shows outstanding usage and comprehension of light and the surrounding environment. It’s always a question of light. Light is a subject. I want an image to teach me something. I want a photographer to teach me something.
(example #1 - curated for @shootfilmmag)
(example #2-- curated for @shootfilmmag)
#1. I really love this photo by Nuria Val. It has this minimalist feel but also shows depth with its textures and contrasts. The sky and the water blend together, separated only by a beautifully shaped dark hill to balance the photograph. It shows equilibrium and a little bit of randomness. The choice of black and white to represent the misty scene with its unclear details really makes it mysterious and otherworldly. The heavy grain is all over the place, unrestrained, adding to the well chosen imperfections. This photo was probably taken in a very touristic and known place, but the photographer is showing her own take on it, in an artistic fashion. If I had been there, this is the photograph I would’ve liked to take.
#2. I think this photograph by Javier Castan shows superb skills. The composition is well chosen, the layering of light and shadows is genius, the tones and colours are everything I would like to achieve, the depth of field with the flowers in the foreground is on point. The human figure adds scale and perspective. It’s such an unreal scene, a classical painting. I feel the fresh air and I hear the sound of the waterfall, the immensity of the mountains in the background. I feel this photograph.
Fred Tougas has been a curator for @shootfilmmag from 2017-2021
You can view more of Fred’s work here:
website: www.fredtougas.com
instagram: @tougs
