"Why is photography important?" and "How does one become a collector of photography?" with Helen Trompeteler, Deputy Director of Silver Eye Center for Photography

5. Why is photography important? 

Photography is a vital form of creative self-expression. It can create empowering spaces for connection with ourselves and each other. When artists center curiosity, empathy, and social concern in their practice, photography can challenge conventions, biases, and structural inequalities. Through such photography, we can imagine and work towards more equitable futures. Photography is important to me when it provokes me to critically question history, society, and representation and continually reflect on how photographs are made, read, circulated and understood. Most of all, photography is important in any way that an individual finds meaningful. That relationship has the potential to be limitless. 

Spring by Marc Wilson from the series ‘Travelogue 1’ made in Ukraine between 2018-2021. © Marc Wilson

6. How does one become a collector of photography? 

Relationships are fundamental to becoming a collector of photography - whether with artists, gallerists, curators, arts workers, cultural producers, or writers. Start going to events at galleries or organizations whose programs directly support and engage with artists. These experiences will offer the opportunity to discover new work, develop your interests, and connect with artists directly in meaningful and authentic ways. I don't think the commercial value should drive your collecting. But instead, collect what you love and fully embrace that this will inevitably change and grow in unexpected ways.

In Pittsburgh, we are fortunate to have many accessible pathways to start collecting. Such local opportunities include editions from Silver Eye, regular juried shows by local non-profits such as Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and Brew House Association, Small Mall, and the emergence of new independent art galleries such as Here. Most of my recent personal collecting has been through fundraising initiatives raising awareness on issues that are important to me. I encourage new collectors to consider how their collecting purposefully aligns with their values. Ultimately, when collecting work by contemporary photographers, you directly support the future development of their artistic practice, which is one of the most rewarding reasons to start collecting.

"Who is Your Favorite Photographer?" with Helen Trompeteler, Deputy Director of Programs at Silver Eye Center for Photography

For the next part of our On Curating Photography series with Helen Trompeteler, Deputy Director of Programs at Silver Eye Center for Photography, we asked about her favorite photographer:

Camerawork No. 8 / Lewisham: What are you taking pictures for? (London: Half Moon Photography Workshop, 1977. Cover photograph by Chris Steele-Perkins)

I cannot name just one favorite photographer - I have many that constantly change and evolve! Inevitably, I connect with particular bodies of work due to my changing personal circumstances. I relocated to the US in 2020. While I feel settled in my new home, I am still negotiating a long separation from my family due to Covid. I have experienced that the aftermath of the immigration process creates a constant tension between progress and loss and preoccupation with generational cycles of family and time. Consequently, I especially connect with contemporary photographers whose work explores these in-between psychological spaces associated with migration. Photographers such as Atefeh Farajolahzadeh, Priya Kambli, Kalpesh Lathigra, and Vivian Poey, to name a few.

I have also recently enjoyed returning to twentieth-century emigre photographers whose work I have always cherished. There are some photographers whose work has stayed with me for decades such as Lucia Moholy and André Kertész. However, I am always looking, questioning, learning, and unlearning. Fully embracing these uncertain, even vulnerable, states of knowledge and being is essential to creativity, including curating and writing.

"How does curating photography compare to other forms of visual art?" Interview with Helen Trompeteler, Deputy Director of Programs at the Silver Eye Center for Photography

For part two of our dialogue with Helen Trompeteler we ask: How does curating photography compare to other forms of visual art?

“Photography is a medium with unique material and theoretical histories. Since its invention, people have used photography to inspire, record beauty, and foster understanding of themselves or the world around them. Yet since its beginnings, photography has also caused harm as a vehicle for othering, racism, and colonial and capitalist ambitions. Recorded photographic histories have systematically prioritized Western-centric narratives. Therefore when curating photography, one must be constantly mindful of these specific histories and prejudices and how they are lived out today in contemporary society and visual culture.

Installation view of Fellowship 22 with Good Hope by Carla Liesching, 5 May - 6 August 2022, Silver Eye Center for Photography. Photograph by Sean Carroll

While recognizing these individual contexts, photography belongs to many different disciplines and is not an isolated art form. I see photography's relationship to other visual art forms holistically. Curating contemporary photography involves considering image-making in a highly expanded field. This framework encompasses many art forms, including collage, sculpture, video, installation, and performance. For example, in Fellowship 22, Carla Liesching's sculptural site-specific installation Good Hope and Steph Foster's multimedia practice exemplify such interdisciplinary forms of contemporary photographic practice.”

"What goes into curating a photography exhibition?" Interview with Helen Trompeteler, Deputy Director of Programs at Silver Eye Center for Photography

When thinking about curating photography, it is important to consider what goes into the process, and how it compares to other forms of visual art. We spoke with curator, writer, and Deputy Director of Programs at Silver Eye Center for Photography Helen Trompeteler, whose curatorial practice ‘promotes photography as a fine art medium that can provoke contemporary dialogue, foster community, and inspire more equitable futures’ on what goes into curating a photography exhibition.

“When I begin developing a new exhibition, I critically ask myself how this exhibition will create new opportunities for connection with audiences and serve the artist's creative vision. Many additional self-reflective questions affect my curatorial approach, but these foundational concerns inform all my subsequent decision-making. These decisions include final image selection and layout, paper and framing options, and the writing, design, and pacing of interpretive text. All these elements are part of storytelling in the physical exhibition space. They will affect how audiences engage with photography and whether the artist will realize their aims.

Installation view of Mouse Trap with photographs by Patricia Voulgaris, 3 March - 23 April, 2022, Silver Eye Center for Photography. Photograph by Sean Carroll.

Curating is a highly collaborative process. I collaborate closely with all our artists at Silver Eye. I strive to provide a framework of care, support, and facilitation so they can take new creative directions or risks in their practice. I feel very fortunate to collaborate with colleagues, including Sean Stewart, who shares his immense expertise in printing and production. 21st-century definitions of curating perceived the curator as a solitary guardian or authoritative voice in defining an aspect of knowledge or taste. However, my curatorial approach always aims to be conversational. I focus on introducing themes, references, ideas, and frameworks for individuals to explore on their own terms. Collaborators are essential to my curatorial thinking, including everyone who engages with the exhibition and shares their perspectives.”