After many years of owning a photography gallery, hanging hundreds of exhibitions, matting and framing thousands of images and visiting with and watching visitors to the gallery, there is an issue that comes up frequently in reviews – should I have any verbiage*, story, or narrative attached to my images?

There is no definitive answer, but there is one answer that is promulgated across the art world in general, as if it were sacrosanct, a proverb from the art bible – “Let your art speak for itself, Let the viewer come to their own conclusions.” Specifically, can be good advice, generally, is a bunch of baloney, and can be destructive to certain bodies of work.

As an artist I agree that with much of what I have made I want the viewer to be free to interpret what they are seeing without narrative, beyond a title. However, titles can be clandestine narratives. Titles are important if you want them to be. Then, there is other work that demands a narrative, that is not complete, or less without verbiage. Typically, these are images or bodies of work with which the artist is intentionally trying to tell a story, and to achieve the desired effect, narrative is necessary because the imagery alone does not flesh out the entire story or lead the viewer where the artist wants them to go.

Having been an artist most of my life and spent almost fifty years arguing with other artists, one thing is pretty clear – artists are terrible businesspeople. This is natural and most of us are guilty. Artists have a tendency to think that somehow what they do transcends most business principles. Maybe so, but one is inescapable – marketing. And, what is not generally recognized is that the use of titles, narrative, verbiage, story are all aspects of marketing. You don’t go to the hardware store and buy the newest, most cutting-edge toilet plunger without the manufacturer telling you what it is. Most potential customers are not toilet plunger experts. Most purchasers of art are not artists.

Again, I am not suggesting all art requires a story. But, if your body of work has a strong narrative and you want the viewer to get it – consider verbiage, just enough to lead them where you want them to go. This can be achieved with an artist statement, as a handout or part of the exhibition as verbiage on the initial wall of the installation, inclusion of verbiage in the art, a bit of verbiage included in the title block, etc.

Over the years I have watched visitors to the gallery come in, make a brief, cursory pass through the exhibition, find the artist’s statement, etc., then go back and take time looking at each image. Remember – you have control, you are the author of your work.

*Verbiage can have negative connotations, but I like it as another word for words.

Kevin Tully
August, 2024