Radical change in the photography industry during the past five years has ignited an explosion of photo collectives. Each collective is unique and reflects the circumstances, desires and philosophy of its members. The paradigm of photographers operating as lone wolves has shifted somewhat to one of cooperation — both within and between collectives...the collapse of some of the old methods of making a living have led to the creation of new sources of artistic and financial support.

There are a variety of models for collectives, which include different degrees of cooperation. The members of Luceo (for example) have a very tight business relationship as well as close personal and artistic ties.

“We all need to find a way to be more human with each other and be more in tune with each others’ needs and wants...If these young collectives are going to work they have to find a way of communicating with each other that is much more hands on — much more about being in community with each other”.
(Stanley Greene of the Noor Collective)

“Sometimes the artist working alone gets too much credit for work...People are often more into the narrative of the artist than the work itself. When you work collaboratively, no single person can get all the credit and it becomes more about the practice and the idea and getting the audience to engage.”
(Hank Willis Thomas of the Cause Collective)

New York Times Blog:
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/a-lone-wolf-approach-disfavored/?hp

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