Biography

Brett Rogers joined The Photographers’ Gallery in November 2005. Prior to this she worked at the Visual Arts Department of the British Council where she held the joint roles of Deputy Director and Head of Exhibitions. She has nearly thirty years of experience promoting photography and visual arts both in the UK and in her native Australia where she worked as Exhibitions Manager, Australian Gallery Directors’ Council from 1976-1979 before arriving in the UK in 1980 to undertake her MA at the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her experience curating photography exhibitions began in Australia where she was responsible for supporting original research into neglected areas of Australian women photographers as well as touring photographic shows from abroad.

During her career at the British Council, she successfully increased the profile and activity of British photography abroad with shows by such figures as Julia Margaret Cameron, Madame Yevonde and Martin Parr and Documentary Dilemmas: British Documentary Photography in the Nineties. More recently, she was responsible for initiating a series of group shows which broke new ground such as Look at me: Fashion and Photography in Britain 1960-1997; Reality Check, British Photography and new media 2002-2004 (in collaboration with The Photographers’ Gallery); Common Ground, Aspects of contemporary Muslim experience 2002-2005.

Why did you fall in love with photography?

I grew up in Australia during the 60s so my entire image of Britain was formed by photographic images which I saw in the pages of my ‘fashion bibles’ Nova and Vogue as well as in the memorable photostories syndicated by the Sunday Times/Observer, such as those by Don McCullin and Phillip Jones-Griffiths. They demonstrated to me the power of photography to explore new ‘ways of seeing ‘ – insights into subjects I could never have experienced first-hand. Once hooked through the media, I then had a chance encounter with a photographic historian who introduced me to the magic of 19th century photographic processes – and started me off collecting images. I then tried to do my Masters degree on photography but in 1980 at the Courtauld Institute that wasn’t possible or easy! Since the mid 70s my entire career within the field of exhibitions has been dedicated to raising the profile of photography, both contemporary and historical here in the UK and abroad through the British Council touring programme I managed for nearly 20 years.

Can anyone become a good photographer?

I do feel that certain people have a distinctive feel for the medium and that it is demonstrated in their work from the moment they pick up a camera – its just an attitude, a particular tone of voice or strong personal vision that is most clearly articulated through the photographic medium. The child protégée Lartigue had it, so did the famous chronicler of Paris Atget. But of course one can always harness the language of photography through attending courses, reading and most importantly looking as wide as possible – to educate the eye. Perhaps the most important caveat though to all this is to trust you own vision and ideas – and just ensure you keep pushing yourself, to constantly experiment and keep pushing the boundaries.

What is more important, creativity or technique?

Both – of course creativity is the heart of a really great image but technique/choice of format/scale of image etc are also crucial to fully realising its potential. Although the last few decades have seen the dominance of image over technique, I do feel it is difficult to separate them as they are so interlinked. There is not enough appreciation of the wonder of a fabulous vintage print or the object-quality of an old snapshot or archive print– this is part of our mission at The Photographers’ Gallery to ensure audiences are made aware of different genres, and how these factors can affect the reading of an image.

Is there such a thing as a perfect picture?

Well that’s a difficult question – to me there are lots of highly memorable, powerful and resonant images but the notion of ‘perfection’ is not really relevant.

What one piece of advice would you give a budding photographer?

Be patient, seek advice, and be inspired by life itself and other art forms; visit galleries, read, look and try to find your own particular and individual voice.