Can a photograph be a work of art?

[ben conover]

That is total crap. If you know the difference you might be a photographer. I am a beginner, and I appreciate the ability to learn.

However, to me, using a camera is much easier than most things. No, I don't have to ask, but I did, you facetious pratt. (probably not in the American heritage).

 

Cheers.

[Allen Herbert]

using a camera is much easier than most things.

 

Splashing paint around with a brush is even easier. To find the Art,well,there's the challenge.

[ben conover]

Jim

 

I see the point now, asking yourself about art. I over-reacted somewhat, I tend to do that, sorry. I do care whether or not a photo is art, because I am just a beginner.

 

There is not so much fine art photography in the world, so I guess there is room for more.

[blakley]

Joyce was always laughing at his readers, and his critics. Here too, I suspect. He would undoubtedly have loved this thread.

[ben conover]

You know what? I already knew my answer to the question, but I was interested in other peoples views. Since you have not bothered to give an answer I assume it is you that is totally clueless.

[mike dixon]

I agree with Clam Slammer. And Ben, <b>grow up</b>. This forum doesn't need any additional trolls (when you ask questions just so you can go off on people who don't give answers you like, that's exactly what you are).

[40mm]

It's "art" if you can persuade yourself and some other people who see it that it is.

[zave_shapiro]

Art is not mathematics; there's more than one right answer. I like "art is a distillation of life". This is a useful and fine razor for cticizing stage, film and TV presentations and it's interesting how well it applies to a static medium like a photograph.

 

Perhaps we should take the view that no artist finishes as much as abandons a work ... "This is the best I could do ...". Of the moments in time the photographer could have pullled the trigger the image we see is the best of the bunch. And that is an art.

[andrew robertson]

I don't always know if something is art, but I do know mental masturbation when I see it.

And I see a lot of it in this thread.

[ben conover]

Appologies for being trollish. A few weeks away gave me some insight into enjoying photography, and art, for what it is. That seems to be

key in making art. Once again, appologies.

[J.W. Wall]

Hey Ben - post some images, please?

[ben conover]

Hi J.W.

 

I like your photos. Unfortunately I have no photos to post yet and I am still very much beginning, not confident about posting either.

I hope to get my film proccessed and scanned soon.

[levi_legaspi]

There are many forms of visual art. and Photos (thru Photography) is one of those.

 

Hence, any photo produce out of our creativity, imagination, knowledge, skills and resourcefulness is a piece of art.

 

SHOOT, be creative, imaginative, artistic and express ideas, emotion, mood etc... thru pictures.

 

Levi

[ray robertson]

Finally (or maybe not) most philosophy is about the meaning of words. The broader the defintiion (of a word) the greater the scope for endless and fruitless debate. There are few words that have a broader meaning than 'art'. In a sense you could describe everything that exists as being art. If you are religious, we are all works of art because we are 'created' by God.

 

I think we all really know what Joyce was on about. It's the technology of the camera that's mainly responsible for a result. The photographer just tinkers around the edges. Of course he chooses his subject, but who doesn't.

 

What is and what is not art is determined by a personal assessment of whether or not a particular 'work' falls into a particular predefined notion of the meaning of the word.

 

All discussions of what is or what is not art have no meaning outside a defintion of the word. There is somehow often a general, unquestioned assumption that the meaning of a word (and many other key words related to a subject of hot debate) must naturally be understood because it's such a common, ordinary word.

 

It's these ordinary, common, broad-meaning words and the emotional capital we've associated with them, that cause so much unnecessary dispute.

[enigmaphotography]

This was beaten to death for decades, and probably hasn't been seriously discussed in 30+ years. The consensus was (and is) that yes, photography is an art.

 

I love Joyce, but on this point he had a serious case of cranial rectal inversion ;-).