John Szarkowski (1925 –2007) was an outstanding curator of the Department of Photography at , dedicating nearly 30 years to this work. His contribution to promoting such renowned photographers as Robert Frank, Walker Evans, Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander, William Eggleston, and Diane Arbus was key to shaping contemporary photographic art. In addition, Szarkowski was a respected photographer who worked his way up from a practicing artist to a world-class curator.

Szarkowski emphasized the fundamental difference between photography and painting. In his view, photography is "taken", whereas painting is created. This distinction results in different ways of conveying emotions. This contradiction is particularly evident today, as AI-generated art provokes a similar backlash from many artists. Szarkowski suggested that new forms of art require new ways to evoke emotions.

Every new medium is accompanied by the creation of new professions and the disappearance of old ones. Photography, cinema, and digital media have transformed the world as radically as social media is doing today. Szarkowski noted that the best photographs emerge from accidents, improvisations, mistakes, and experiments rather than a deliberate effort to create art. This raises the question: What is needed to evoke new emotions in photography today, and how can we define what constitutes art in the age of photographic manipulation?

Szarkowski left a significant theoretical legacy, with one of his most important works being the book "The Photographer's Eye". It presents a collection of about 200 photographs grouped into five categories. The book aims to explore the external appearance of photographs and the reasons that determine their visual form. It examines style, traditions, and the creative possibilities available to photographers.

Photography captures reality, but a photographer must see the invisible within it. The issue of authenticity is especially relevant today when digital manipulation undermines our trust in the objectivity of photographs. Although straight photography still exists, faith in visual evidence is eroding.

Photography changed painting by offering a new perspective on capturing events. However, Szarkowski noted that photography rarely tells a story by itself. Its power lies in turning the ordinary into something meaningful and creating symbols. Yet, due to social media and the superficial consumption of images, this meaning is often overlooked.

Choosing what to include or exclude from the frame has always been a fundamental task for photographers. The dominance of vertical formats on social media has reshaped compositional approaches. Early photographers sought to fill the frame because printing was expensive. Today, with the development of VR and 360-degree photography, framing continues to evolve in new directions.

A photograph always captures a slice of time, not an instant. Motion blur, once considered a flaw, is now viewed as a creative tool. The concept of Henri Cartier-Bresson's "decisive moment" is often misunderstood. It was not about capturing a climax but achieving visual harmony. Modern photographers use long exposures and time-based experiments, as seen in the works of Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Point Photography began as a means of documenting reality but soon transcended that role. Today, creativity is often stifled by social media trends, where the pursuit of likes hinders artistic exploration. However, those who follow their own path continue to uncover new visual frontiers.

Szarkowski asserted that photography was born as a whole entity, and its history lies in our progressive understanding of that wholeness. Today, photography is more popular than ever, but its evolution comes with new challenges. What will photography look like in 5 to 10 years, considering the development of AI and new technologies? The answer remains uncertain. It is crucial to continue experimenting and seeking new ways of expression beyond popular trends.

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