A conversation with John Gossage

Join the legendary John Gossage and Curator of photography at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Toby Jurovics for a conversation about The Pond and its role in the history of American landscape photography.

Introducing the work, Toby notes: "They are not easy photographs to understand, nor is the subject matter equally likeable." What is then that makes Gossage such a great photographer? Gerry Badger seems to have the answer(s). Here is an extract from the chapter called A Certain Sensibility: John Gossage, The Photographer as Auteur in his brilliant book The Pleasures of Good Photographs (Aperture, 2010):

"What makes a very good, or a great photographer? Is it the steady accumulation of stunning single images, in the manner of a painter, the standout pictures that catch the eye in an art gallery and immediately attract the imitators, perhaps forming the beginnings of a school? The painterly photographers, or the photographic painters, if you will, like Andreas Gursky or Jeff Wall, would seem to think so, although this is not to say that their particular ouevres are simply disconnected successions of highlights without an overaching meaning, an accusation one might certainly fling at the less-gifted followers of this tendency.

Is the great photographer characterised by style? There is a presumption, with the recent art market interest in the medium, that photographers who are artists rather than mere photographers distinguish themselves as such by exhibiting a marked style. Therefore there is a tendency, encouraged by the work of the Bechers and the Dusseldorf School, to progressively distill one´s vision, reducing the range of subject matter and its treatment until it can be claimed - usually by the gallerist - that so-and-so has developed an original and instantly recognisable style. Style equals branding, and branding means sales, so we get the fairly common phenomenon of the photographer who hits upon one extraordinary image and then repeats it, with minor variations, for the rest of his or her career. In short, the Mark Rothko´s of photography.

Or are the really great photographers drawn from the ranks of those who reject visual style in favour of a visual sensibility, those who recognise that the medium is profligate rather than reductive, and more akin to the film or the novel than the painting? Those accordingly, who tend to put content before form.

Of course, there are no rules for creating great photographers. Great artists, great photographers, reach such a pinnacle because they do not follow the norm. They break rules. They follow their instincts and convictions, not the herd and the smart money. But in my view at least, the best photographers tend to come from the last category, those whose style and individuality emanates from deep within them, and is not, as is the case I feel with all too many, something grafted on from outside."

1000 Words Photography Magazine #10

It gives us great pleasure to let you know that the new issue of 1000 Words "Aporia" has now hit the digital shelves. To view it please go to: www.1000wordsmag.com

APORIA: [uh-pawr-ee-uh, uh-pohr-] The expression of a simulated or real doubt, as about where to begin or what to do or say.

[from Greek, literally: a state of being at a loss]















This issue brings together a number of exciting artists in an attempt to tackle the idea of a shared reality and the possibility - or impossibility - of its representation through photography. "Photography is a fiction," said John Gossage "not the fiction that implies a lie, but the kind of fiction that describes the experience you are getting as fleeting and transitory yet at the same time permanent. It’s not reality in the normal way we navigate it."

With this in mind, Photography critic and Picture editor at The Telegraph, Lucy Davies considers the fascinating portraits of Robert Bergman; Aaron Schuman speaks to Craig Mammano about his work on survival and isolation in the Treme neighbourhood of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina; Curator Susan Bright takes a look at Taryn Simon’s new book Contraband; Artistic director at QUAD and Co-founder of FORMAT International Photography Festival Louise Clements takes a look at the portfolio of young Russian photographer, Nikita Pirogov; Natasha Christia profiles Czech-born, Tereza Zelenková, another promising young talent who graduated from The University of Westminster in 2010; and finally 1000 Words Deputy editor Michael Grieve brings us a rare and rewarding interview with the highly-respected and controversial Magnum photographer, Antoine d’Agata.

In the books section, we turn our attention to From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America by Alec Soth, Boris Mikhailov’s The Wedding and the stunning Thirty Two Inch Ruler/Map of Babylon by John Gossage.

As always, there is no shortage of people to thank, but we would like to show our appreciation to Santiago Taccetti from CCCH Creative Studio, Barcelona for his stellar design work, Carla Rigau for her expert translation services and new staff member, Robson Yee for his hard work and assistance with all matters editorial production. 1000 Words would also like to warmly welcome the recently appointed Board of directors and looks forward to working with them on the next stage of the organisation’s development. They are: Camilla Gore, Nicholas Barker, Simon Baker, Louise Clements, Aron Morel, Tim Clark, Michael Grieve and Norman Clark.