Photography is not meant to be happy

I think we have noticed it. The art that really gets to us is not happy. It’s usually miserable, sad, even desperate. If you appreciate art, you will have noticed this. Think of “Schindler’s list”, think of “Into the Wild. Both great movies and both tell a tragic story. Music works the same way. Think of Slipknot’s Snuff… A heart-breaking song. Same goes for Pearl Jam’s Black. There’s footage on YouTube of Corey Taylor and Eddie Vedder nearly breaking into tears on stage performing these.

I believe it’s the same with photography. I can’t remember a single time when a happy picture made me stop and stare at it and go wow. Yes, there are good photos with great composition, photos that are very creative, that are happy, but they don’t have the wow effect.

For me, street photography tells the story of those left out, those that are not understood, the ones that don’t fit in. These are the shots that always catch my attention. They don’t necessarily have to be melancholic or sad. I just believe they don’t have to be happy.

I believe there is a very simple explanation behind that. We evolved to tell and be told stories. This is how our ancestors survived for so long. The sad and scary stories have always been the ones that stick. This is how we learn, and this is how we remember what to do and what not to. After all, the reason our memory developed over time is to help us make our conclusions. Conclusions about what makes us feel bad and what we should avoid. Just to survive.

This could easily be the reason why comedy is one of the hardest genres to create a great movie or a book in. Try to think of a comedy that affected you. Something that stayed in your mind for days after watching it. I bet you can’t name more than a few.

Our brains just don’t let amusing information stay. They don’t let it go that deep in.

I’d had this understanding for a while, but I never consciously thought about it. Every time I went through my photos, I always preferred the ones that transmit a negative emotion. I feel the same way with other people’s work. I think this is what art is there to do. Let us let go of all the bad thoughts inside of us and start anew.