Fine Art Photography: maybe, res ipsa locutus!
I stand by what I have said "Fine Art Photography" is nothing more than a marketing slogan!
The day 10 or more major universities have a degree in "Fine Art Photography" is the day it is more than a marketing slogan!
Will,
You are right to take umbrage on people wrapping themselves in attributes not matched by what they really do. So, in that case, sure, get mad at some occasional guru who calls her/himself a fine artist and is really just a marketer of mediocre work. However, you alone, cannot, even with all the strength you can muster, argue that the term "Fine Art Photographer" is itself bogus, for it is not.
There are scores of degree programs that concentrate on expanding the capability highly selected photographers with an existing portfolio. The end result is a degree, Master in fine Arts, MFA, Photography as their specialization. Entry into such programs is harder to come by, more competitive each year. What is sought is the mental and artistic challenge, a space in their lves devoted just to being creative. Unfortunately, an MFA does not guarantee a job, just the "good" experience like a trip to the Himalaya's or a journey down the Amazon, each that sort of "good" experience. Ultimately, fine Art Photographer's are recognized by their intent, workmanship, creative insight and a following by an educated community over a long period of time. Mostly, fine art photographers are those who
must make art, irrespective of how they will sell it. There's an inner need that making art helps to fulfill. Schools offering MFA degrees cannot guarantee that the degree will help them in any way. The program, however does give mental stimulation by the presence of so many talented students working together with fine photographers and other artists. More than that, they get access to not only well-equipped darkrooms but also major studio space for sculpture or painting as they might choose. However, few Fine Art Photographers have come from this background. It's not surprising since the MFA degree in Photography is likely a poor investment if getting a job was the end point of success. There are few jobs to be had, yet applications increase! So most would-be Fine Art Photographers start their creative work part time. Most often, at least until sales start, the photographer has another job, maybe even unrelated to the arts. Occasionally the artist uses photography in earning a living.
As an example, Ben Rubinstein is a fine Art Photographer, producing B&W pictures,
here, each carefully planned and executed with technical skill and informed composition such that the work is impressive to those of us who are used to seeing the various genre of B&W fine art photography in Galleries and Museums. That he earns his living as a hard-working Wedding Photographer, is besides the point! His Jerusalem series is not made for a client, just for the purpose of creating art to be displayed, enjoyed and perhaps to outlive him. The same with Jim Galli's work,
here. You wouldn't ever even think of saying they are not deserving the title "Fine Art Photographer, if they chose that heading for their business card.
Leonardo Boher's portrait of Aleucine,
here, is, at least to my esthetics and judgement, an outstanding example of a work by which this up and coming photographer will earn himself the title, Fine Art Photographer. The standard of photography here is so far ahead of 99.99% of what we see. We can learn a lot by studying such pictures and not by quibbling on the titles they have earned.
I can add to this pictures by many others here, for example Ken Tanaka's picture's of trees, silhouetted against the sky, with their motif embroidered with many many birds or a picture of a canal by Karl Esser and so many others. No one can rightly take away the earned right to be called a fine art photographer when they make plan and execute such work and deliver a final image that is so magnetic, impressive and which calls us to return again and again and tell our friends about it's life and importance.
None of these impressions are false and I have only touched the surface of who among us creates fine art.
Notwithstanding that, as in the use of the word "lite" or "light" to imply some healthy food, or "green" to suggest environmental responsibility, we should look to see the photographer in light of his/her artistic work and so not allow ourselves to be fooled by hype.
Now that does require developing some understanding as to what might constitute fine art! For that, we have an interesting and equally contraversal ongoing discussion
here.
Asher