Clearly, Alec Soth does know what he is talking about … and he talks a lot of sense … and he talks often.
Last week, however, Magnum Photos attributed this quote to Soth and twatted it into the webiverse:
“It’s not about making good pictures anymore. Anybody can do that today – it’s about good edits…”
Thus a medium-sized discussion ensued on the Fraction Mag Facebook page covering the need for outside perspective, audience expectations, technologies beyond those of cameras but of distribution also, etc, etc …
I wanted to know why and when Soth said this and in what context he made the statement. I emailed him. Here’s his response:
Dear Pete,
I don’t when or in what context this comment was made or if it was made at all. Nor do I know who posted it. But this itself is quite telling, isn’t it? Are people interested having serious discussions about miscellaneous, fragmentary tweets? I would much rather talk about a fully realized interview or essay. In a similar way, I’m much more interested in edited projects than I am in isolated images.
Best,
Alec
I don’t know if we should now discuss this fragmentary correspondence or just leave it alone?
Prison Photography 
4 comments
Comments feed for this article
June 28, 2010 at 1:53 pm
A Fan
Why do people care so much what Alec Soth says, anyway!?
June 28, 2010 at 2:00 pm
petebrook
I think it is because Soth has, from the top of the industry, maintained relationships and discussions with photographers and admirers. Soth is accessible, he is also pretty honest about what he does and why he does it.
These thoughts on discussion are then more important given this instance in which the agency he is working for is publishing (however sporadically) quotes attributed to Soth that he cannot remember.
For me, more interesting than a debate on whether we should or shouldn’t care about what Soth says, is the debate about how new media tools inform and mis-inform our perspectives, attitudes and existing biases.
June 28, 2010 at 2:07 pm
emiliano granado
an extension of this could be that “it’s not about good pictures anymore – it’s about continually refreshing your content.”
you see people getting written up, twatted, blurbed, reblogged, etc about projects that have taken them a couple months to conceive, shoot, edit, and publish. what happened to photo projects that took years, sometimes decades to execute? are ten mediocre projects better than one outstanding project? how is the speed at which we consume photography changing the photography, itself?
how are “slower” photographers supposed to compete (both in commercial and fine art world)?
July 3, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Ace
Nothing better exemplifies the vacuousness of ‘contemporary’ art debates than debating about the meaning of a singular tweet. Just think what would happen if GOD had a twitter account.
My respect for Mr. Soth goes up a notch although I have to agree that people shouldn’t be so totally enamored with his or other artist’s opinions. They are interesting to know but not to obsess about. I suspect he may agree.