Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Probably, I take the blame here for us over-worrying as whether or not something is "Art". We take pictures for so many reasons, hardly any for art out of bilions made each year. Photography is part of our life to document where we've been, who we meet, what we want to buy or where we'd like to go. It's embedded into almost all social exchange now and almost never gets to be printed.
Here we'd expect to have the majority of work being good representations of images that please us: form, color, balance and content all being sufficient enough to wake us up, engage us and make a good start of an exchange.
After all, one can be successful news reporter, forensic photographer, work on product, insurance and science projects, earn a good living and be happy with what we do. Yes, some like Nicolas Claris ,(and his also super-talented cinematographer son, Romain,) might shoot from a chase boat, scaffolding or tethered from a helicopter. But all in all, these accomplished folk are not doing art, unless they say so!
I'd wager that, the work done in all the occupations I've mentioned, include some of the most creative photography ever made.
So let's not worry about photography "as Art" unless that's the declared intent of the photographer or we're moved to blurt it out! Then, that's totally wonderful!
Still, there's so much to do before we declare the word "Art"! Lets focus instead on more basic skill sets of image acquisition. We need pictures that do the job declared for them. But if we don't say anything about our pictures, (assuming it's all art), then we might be stuck with two obvious problems:
Mea culpa!
Asher
Here we'd expect to have the majority of work being good representations of images that please us: form, color, balance and content all being sufficient enough to wake us up, engage us and make a good start of an exchange.
After all, one can be successful news reporter, forensic photographer, work on product, insurance and science projects, earn a good living and be happy with what we do. Yes, some like Nicolas Claris ,(and his also super-talented cinematographer son, Romain,) might shoot from a chase boat, scaffolding or tethered from a helicopter. But all in all, these accomplished folk are not doing art, unless they say so!
I'd wager that, the work done in all the occupations I've mentioned, include some of the most creative photography ever made.
Not art, mostly because they don't present and propel their work as such.
So let's not worry about photography "as Art" unless that's the declared intent of the photographer or we're moved to blurt it out! Then, that's totally wonderful!
Still, there's so much to do before we declare the word "Art"! Lets focus instead on more basic skill sets of image acquisition. We need pictures that do the job declared for them. But if we don't say anything about our pictures, (assuming it's all art), then we might be stuck with two obvious problems:
- First pictures get a free ride for technical errors, as we retreat defensively behind the reply, "But it's my Art!"
- Next we get to dismiss most pictures as they might not move us as art, but be excellent photographs doing their intended job.
Mea culpa!
Asher