Each winter as temperatures start to dip here in New York, I find myself reflecting not only on what happened during the past year but also what the next one may hold – what will 2022 bring?
But lately it has been increasingly challenging to maintain my optimism when listening to the news, particularly when faced with current events that make me despair about our collective future. It becomes hard not to feel pessimistic.
At first thought, thinking about fine art photography and specifically some of the exhibitions set for museums and galleries this 2022 immediately brings my spirits up. One reason may be changes taking place at various levels in fine art photography world: institutions are showing works by underrepresented communities which reflect this welcome change; several shows listed below reflect it well.
Another reason I am excited to visit these exhibits has to do with their inherent pleasure of seeing.
John Berger begins his book “Ways of Seeing” by noting, “Seeing comes before words. A child looks and recognizes before learning to speak.” However, in the following paragraph he adds another sense in which “Seeing comes before words,” such as establishing one’s place within our world – though words may explain this reality to some degree; our perception never changes its reality, thus leaving unresolved relations between what we see and what we know…”
At the very least, attending more photography exhibitions may help you better understand where and how you fit in the world – which may be unnerving at first but can ultimately be profound. Therefore, visiting some compelling fine art photography shows can be an excellent way to define or redefine yourself as both a photographer or admirer of fine art photography.
