“We’re only here for a flash”: Steve McCurry on Life and Photography

What does the photographer known for the famous Afghan Girl photograph have to say about photography, storytelling, and the state of the world today? Sciences Po sits down with Steve McCurry to get a peek inside his world and artistic process.

It was the students who held the reins during the “Masterclass Culture”: In the World of Steve McCurry hosted by Sciences Po’s School of Public Affairs on December 9th, 2021 featuring photographer Steve McCurry and curator Biba Giacchetti.

From the organisation of the event itself, to providing biographical elements and contextualising the discussion, as well as preparing questions on the political, artistic, and curative aspects of McCurry’s work, and delivering concluding statements, the students from the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs were involved in virtually every aspect of the event planning for this Masterclass.

On Working in the Cultural Field

This event, in addition to its larger implications for art and culture, was designed as a pedagogical tool for Sciences Po’s students, and asked larger questions about morality, art, and curation, while also touching on the more practical aspects of working in the cultural field. As moderator Florence Botello, Academic Advisor for the Culture / Cultural Policy & Management Stream at the School of Public Affairs, reminded students during the discussion, “Your life in the cultural field will be a life of meetings—very inspiring and important meetings—which will define what you do in the following years.”

As luck would have it, McCurry and Giacchetti’s relationship—a 25-year-long working relationship that spans continents and bridges languages and cultures—is a case study in artistic and curative collaboration, founded on respect and mutual commitment. The familiarity between the two as they sat on stage answering questions was clear—going so far as to interrupt each other while they were speaking to add details or clarifications.

Ultimately, it was evident that their relationship is one founded upon, above all else, the deep  love for, and appreciation of, the photographic medium. As Biba Giacchetti noted, “Steve[’s work] speaks to everybody. It must be simple but beautiful; it must be understandable but respectful.”

On Storytelling and Curation

Moving between the two key themes of the talk—storytelling through image and the curation of images themselves—Steve McCurry and Biba Giacchetti offered a glimpse at what it means to devote one’s life to the medium of photography.

Steve McCurry is most well-known for his work in Afghanistan, where he has travelled over 30 times throughout the course of his career. On his first trip to the region in 1979, as he described during his talk, the conditions of this war-torn country spoke to him on both a human and visual level. As he stated, describing the families he met and the villages he visited during that first trip, “I ended up getting very attached to the story. It kind of gets under your skin.”

As the talk continued, this idea of storytelling was applied not only to the photographic medium, but to the art of curation as well. As Giacchetti noted, “Each picture has its own story, but we put our own stories into the picture.” It is for this reason that she has chosen, in this most recent exhibition The World of Steve McCurry, not to arrange the photographs by date or region. As she emphasised, when attending an exhibition, “each one of us has a different reaction in front of the image.” This is because, as she went on to explain, our personal stories and histories interact with the image in front of us. She therefore chose to leave the photographs selected for the exhibition open to the diverse and personal interpretations that would inevitably be applied to them by their viewers.

On Seizing the Moment

As Steve McCurry stated near the end of the talk, he aims to travel and experience as much as he can, because our time on this earth is brief. In a world plagued by war and violence—a reality that McCurry has witnessed up close throughout his career—he admitted that it is difficult to remain optimistic. “There is a lot of work to be done,” he replied when asked about photography’s role in the contemporary world. “Something is better than nothing, but is it enough?”

By way of conclusion, Alice McCrum put forward the following suggestion as a solution to this question, “Maybe a combination of art on one hand and action on the other is the way forward.” In the meantime, the students of Sciences Po are learning to ask questions, explore ideas, and seize the moment. As McCrum urged her peers during her concluding remarks, “Take risks, be curious, and overcome reluctance and fear.”

This event was part of the “Masterclasses Culture” event series organised by the School of Public Affairs. 

The Sciences Po Editorial Team

Find out more

• About the Master-Policy Stream: Cultural Policy and Management
• About the Master-Policy Stream: Culture (French track)
• About Sciences Po’s School of Public Affairs