fd9
join:2002-11-11
| When does photography become "art"?
I've been wondering lately; I've seen my fair share of pictures on here, but most of them have one common similarity in that almost of them are just...well, just photographs. But there are a few that, in my opinion, I would consider as art.
So then I started thinking - what makes photography art? What makes it beautiful?
Yeah sure, we've seen dozens and dozens of macros of insects, butterflies, flowers, etc. but (in my opinion) they all lack something. What is it? Is it because there was no real thought behind the picture? No story behind the picture? Nothing that reflects "the bigger picture" - as in, a larger concept behind it? A larger meaning?
Again this is just my perosnal opinion, but once you've seen a dozen photographs of a flower, you've seen them all. They're just snapshots. So what makes it art?
Is all photography art? I don't think so. I think photography is art when there is something more. Wheather it be some emotion, or a portrayal of a larger concept. Or simply something that reaches out to you when you're looking at it.
Anyway, I don't know why I babbled on like this; just something that had crossed my mind. |
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kchaz
Just...Be
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said by fd9  :So then I started thinking - what makes photography art? What makes it beautiful? Yeah sure, we've seen dozens and dozens of macros of insects, butterflies, flowers, etc. but (in my opinion) they all lack something. What is it? Is it because there was no real thought behind the picture? No story behind the picture? Nothing that reflects "the bigger picture" - as in, a larger concept behind it? A larger meaning? Again this is just my perosnal opinion, but once you've seen a dozen photographs of a flower, you've seen them all. They're just snapshots. So what makes it art? you have a LOT to learn about art, and life in general it seems....your outlook on art is very narrow-minded, shallow and extremely arrogant...frankly,i feel sorry for you....it seems you can't experience the joy of a blooming flower because "you've seen them all"...man, don't you see????there's meaning behind whatever you make meaning of...
and how the hell do you know what the photographer is thinking at the time? how do you know what THOUGHT they put into their shot?....according to you, shots like what you stated above don't take thought...how self-absorbed can you be???? that's just insulting to many around here...and in a way you sound like you can't do it as well, so you are just flaming and trolling to make yourself feel better???? well, i hope you do...i bet looking at all YOUR art, with all it's glorious meaning makes you feel a lot better doesn't it?
i invite you to take some thoughtless macros like many have done, including myself... and try to climb outside your box of self-righteousness maybe???...try to see that there's meaning and art in ANYTHING you put your passion into...
sorry, but you could not be more wrong in your thinking...here's a thoughtless image just for you...maybe you can find some meaning behind it??? i sure did... |
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Exit
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join:2001-04-10
Canada
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| reply to fd9
To me an artistic photo is one that makes you stop and look. I can browse pbase all day and only have a few images that really make me go wow. It can be a look on someones face, the lighting used, colours, an imaginative perspective or any number of things that just set that image apart from the others. An image that conveys emotion and shows the photographers passion for the art form can easily be seen in a great photo. You could also say that one persons art is an others trash so it's certainly in the eye of the beholder.
That's my $1022.22 (let's not short change here  ) |
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climbers
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edit:
July 12th, @08:09AM
| reply to fd9
»/nsearch···=r&q=art
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Gemologist
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|  reply to kchaz
said by kchaz :you have a LOT to learn about art, and life in general it seems....your outlook on art is very narrow-minded, shallow and extremely arrogant...frankly,i feel sorry for you....it seems you can't experience the joy of a blooming flower because "you've seen them all"...man, don't you see????there's meaning behind whatever you make meaning of... and how the hell do you know what the photographer is thinking at the time? how do you know what THOUGHT they put into their shot?....according to you, shots like what you stated above don't take thought...how self-absorbed can you be???? that's just insulting to many around here...and in a way you sound like you can't do it as well, so you are just flaming and trolling to make yourself feel better???? well, i hope you do...i bet looking at all YOUR art, with all it's glorious meaning makes you feel a lot better doesn't it? i invite you to take some thoughtless macros like many have done, including myself... and try to climb outside your box of self-righteousness maybe???...try to see that there's meaning and art in ANYTHING you put your passion into... sorry, but you could not be more wrong in your thinking...here's a thoughtless image just for you...maybe you can find some meaning behind it??? i sure did... Couldn't agree more!!!
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AzzKicker
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join:2001-02-04
Edinburg, TX
clubs: | reply to fd9
Art really is just a way of expressing something. So really anything can be an art. |
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rog
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BC
 ·Shaw
| said by AzzKicker :Art really is just a way of expressing something. So really anything can be an art. Just to elaborate on Azz's comment.....when the camera goes "click". "Art is in the eye of the beholder". |
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Bryon
R.I.P. Bassman442
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| reply to fd9
There is light beyond the visible spectrum, just because we can't "see" it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I accept that "Art" is subjective, and that the biggest obstacle to seeing it is... me.
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sharondippity
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July 12th, @01:11PM
| reply to kchaz
said by kchaz :said by fd9 :So then I started thinking - what makes photography art? What makes it beautiful? Yeah sure, we've seen dozens and dozens of macros of insects, butterflies, flowers, etc. but (in my opinion) they all lack something. What is it? Is it because there was no real thought behind the picture? No story behind the picture? Nothing that reflects "the bigger picture" - as in, a larger concept behind it? A larger meaning? Again this is just my perosnal opinion, but once you've seen a dozen photographs of a flower, you've seen them all. They're just snapshots. So what makes it art? you have a LOT to learn about art, and life in general it seems....your outlook on art is very narrow-minded, shallow and extremely arrogant...frankly,i feel sorry for you....it seems you can't experience the joy of a blooming flower because "you've seen them all"...man, don't you see????there's meaning behind whatever you make meaning of... and how the hell do you know what the photographer is thinking at the time? how do you know what THOUGHT they put into their shot?....according to you, shots like what you stated above don't take thought...how self-absorbed can you be???? that's just insulting to many around here...and in a way you sound like you can't do it as well, so you are just flaming and trolling to make yourself feel better???? well, i hope you do...i bet looking at all YOUR art, with all it's glorious meaning makes you feel a lot better doesn't it? i invite you to take some thoughtless macros like many have done, including myself... and try to climb outside your box of self-righteousness maybe???...try to see that there's meaning and art in ANYTHING you put your passion into... sorry, but you could not be more wrong in your thinking...here's a thoughtless image just for you...maybe you can find some meaning behind it??? i sure did... Geezy chreezy climb down off your huffy bike and breathe in a brown bag for awhile to calm down.
I can see what fd9 is referring to, sometimes you get sick of looking at bugs or flowers.
Art is about expression, right? And many times, photography isn't so much expression but basic recording of a scene. When do you put your spin on a thing? By picking an angle? A lighting effect?
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Edit This
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| reply to kchaz
said by kchaz :said by fd9 :So then I started thinking - what makes photography art? What makes it beautiful? Yeah sure, we've seen dozens and dozens of macros of insects, butterflies, flowers, etc. but (in my opinion) they all lack something. What is it? Is it because there was no real thought behind the picture? No story behind the picture? Nothing that reflects "the bigger picture" - as in, a larger concept behind it? A larger meaning? Again this is just my personal opinion, but once you've seen a dozen photographs of a flower, you've seen them all. They're just snapshots. So what makes it art? you have a LOT to learn about art, and life in general it seems....your outlook on art is very narrow-minded, shallow and extremely arrogant...frankly,i feel sorry for you....it seems you can't experience the joy of a blooming flower because "you've seen them all"...man, don't you see????there's meaning behind whatever you make meaning of... and how the hell do you know what the photographer is thinking at the time? how do you know what THOUGHT they put into their shot?....according to you, shots like what you stated above don't take thought...how self-absorbed can you be???? that's just insulting to many around here...and in a way you sound like you can't do it as well, so you are just flaming and trolling to make yourself feel better???? well, i hope you do...i bet looking at all YOUR art, with all it's glorious meaning makes you feel a lot better doesn't it? i invite you to take some thoughtless macros like many have done, including myself... and try to climb outside your box of self-righteousness maybe???...try to see that there's meaning and art in ANYTHING you put your passion into... sorry, but you could not be more wrong in your thinking...here's a thoughtless image just for you...maybe you can find some meaning behind it??? i sure did... I am in 110% agreement with kchaz . A well reasoned and thoughtful response to the OP's question. The truth wins once again.
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jaykaykay
4 Ever Young
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edit:
July 12th, @02:56PM
| reply to fd9
Count me in as one to think that all photography is art. If there are hundreds of art categories and standards for same, »www.getty.edu/research/conductin···ds/cdwa/, the same thing can be said for a painting as for a photo. In fact, one of the categories is photography, »www.getty.edu/research/conductin···esz.html. Life is art!
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pog
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| reply to fd9
You mention that your comments are your personal opinions yet you insist on using those to make sweeping generalizations. That's not how it works. Art, as you've noticed, is an intensely personal thing and each of us sees art/beauty somewhat differently. Further, not everything is meant as art.
Personally, in addition to composition and emotion, I find beauty in craftsmanship. To me, something well-made is often artistic on those merits alone. IOW, there doesn't have to be a larger picture or story or meaning. Things can have intrinsic meaning/value.
Just because you are tired of something or don't see any value doesn't mean it's not there. It also doesn't mean you won't see "it" five minutes from now. It's OK not to like something and you don't need to defend your position... just try not to be offensive about it. Most of the folks that posted those flower shots are the ones that are reading this thread! |
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sharondippity
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I think everyone is confusing beauty with art.
No doubt photographs can be quite beautiful, but the beauty is attributed to the subject being recorded.
What the question is, when does photography become art? I agree, recording a beautiful thing is very rewarding, and you get to enjoy it forever. But, is that an expression or creation of your own? To me, that's what art is, when you put your spin or creativity into a something.
I could take dozens of landscape photos of intense beauty, but it's not MY art, it's nature's. I can't very well take credit for the beauty of the sea or the forest.
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God was my co-pilot, but we crashed in the mountains and I had to eat him. |
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Gemologist
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USA
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edit:
July 12th, @03:30PM
| No, not confusing beauty with art.
Photography is art from the time you think of the shot and frame it up. You can't just point and shoot a picture and expect a top notch photo.. can happen.. but not often.
This shows how little some know about photography. When someone picks up a paint brush all they are doing is "mimicking" a scene in nature or a building or a flower or whatever.. but that scene is really already in existence somewhere or they have seen it similar somewhere and recreating it from memory (unless strictly abstract.. which is no different in some cases). I do both regular hand drawn art as well as photographic art.. and they both are more or less one in the same and both take just as much work and just as much talent to do right.
Photography is all about the angles, the lighting, the background or Bokeh, and so on... There is alot more there then just the subject of the shot.
I think maybe people need to learn more about Real photography and such before making generalizations and such. Plain and simple.
In fact to be honest... It is much easier to paint with some oils or acrylics.. or use some pencils to sketch.. or some oil or chalk pastels.. and do a picture then it is to do something like a macro of an insect. None of this is even including Post Processing of the image in an image editing program or in the darkroom if you use film. Ansel Adams shot landscapes all the time and every single piece of his work is considered Fine Art.
Takes a lot more then a point and click to capture real images.
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I spent a $3300 on a dSLR and lens to take good pics but people with cheaper stuff take better pics... How!? |
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Edit This
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join:2001-05-08 | Bravo Gemologist . So very well stated.
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noe3
Question Everything
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join:2004-10-04
Burnet, TX
| reply to fd9
Cambridge definition of art:
Definition
noun
1 [U] the making of objects, images, music, etc. that are beautiful or that express feelings:
Can television and pop music really be considered art?
I enjoyed the ballet, but it wasn't really great art.
2 [U] the activity of painting, drawing and making sculpture:
Art and English were my best subjects at school.
an art teacher
3 [U] paintings, drawings and sculptures:
The gallery has an excellent collection of modern art.
an exhibition of Native American art
Peggy Guggenheim was one of the twentieth century's great art collectors.
The Frick is an art gallery in New York.
4 [C] an activity through which people express particular ideas:
Drama is an art that is traditionally performed in a theatre.
Do you regard film as entertainment or as an art?
She is doing a course in the performing arts.
5 [C] a skill or special ability:
the art of conversation
Getting him to go out is quite an art (= needs special skill).
Wordsmyth:
Art: a fine skill that has resulted from natural ability, practice, or study.
Photography: the reproduction of an image on a light-sensitive surface.
Too many photographers try too hard. They try to lift photography into the realm of Art, because they have an inferiority complex about their Craft. You and I would see more interesting photography if they would stop worrying, and instead, apply horse-sense to the problem of recording the look and feel of their own era.
ATTRIBUTION: Jessie Tarbox Beals
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jaykaykay
4 Ever Young
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join:2000-04-13
Scottsdale, AZ | Are you agreeing that photography or a lot of it isn't art? |
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fd9
join:2002-11-11
| reply to kchaz
said by kchaz :said by fd9 :So then I started thinking - what makes photography art? What makes it beautiful? Yeah sure, we've seen dozens and dozens of macros of insects, butterflies, flowers, etc. but (in my opinion) they all lack something. What is it? Is it because there was no real thought behind the picture? No story behind the picture? Nothing that reflects "the bigger picture" - as in, a larger concept behind it? A larger meaning? Again this is just my perosnal opinion, but once you've seen a dozen photographs of a flower, you've seen them all. They're just snapshots. So what makes it art? you have a LOT to learn about art, and life in general it seems....your outlook on art is very narrow-minded, shallow and extremely arrogant...frankly,i feel sorry for you....it seems you can't experience the joy of a blooming flower because "you've seen them all"...man, don't you see????there's meaning behind whatever you make meaning of... and how the hell do you know what the photographer is thinking at the time? how do you know what THOUGHT they put into their shot?....according to you, shots like what you stated above don't take thought...how self-absorbed can you be???? that's just insulting to many around here...and in a way you sound like you can't do it as well, so you are just flaming and trolling to make yourself feel better???? well, i hope you do...i bet looking at all YOUR art, with all it's glorious meaning makes you feel a lot better doesn't it? i invite you to take some thoughtless macros like many have done, including myself... and try to climb outside your box of self-righteousness maybe???...try to see that there's meaning and art in ANYTHING you put your passion into... sorry, but you could not be more wrong in your thinking...here's a thoughtless image just for you...maybe you can find some meaning behind it??? i sure did... Boy you are rude.
First of all, I didn't mean to sound insulting - And I'm sorry if I did (I serioulsy am). As I stated in my original post, my opinions are just that. MINE. Not yours, and not the next guy. It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree with me, but you shouldn't suddenly throw out names in my face like you did. That was very rude of you.
I have to learn alot about art and life? Thanks - I think I'll decide that for myself. That's pretty ironic don't you think considering that both ART and LIFE are abstract ideas (everybody has different opinions and views on them). Just because they don't aggree with yours doesn't make mine wrong or right. It's an opinion.
And then you have the nerve to say that I'm "flaming and trolling to make myself feel better"? Where did you come up with that, out of your magic BS hat?
Anyway, the purpose of my post was just to start an open disscussion about art. I wanted to hear other views; not start an argument (too late!). Everything I said were simply my honest views, and nobody should of taken it personally. I'm sorry that you did. |
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Gemologist
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USA
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edit:
July 12th, @03:42PM
| reply to noe3
Yet again coming from someone with no real knowledge of true photography.
Art is no different... You are simply copying something you have seen at some point in your life either created by man or by nature. Even abstract is based off of something in existence... even fantasy art is based off of existing or mythological creatures.
Photography, Painting, Drawing, Sketching, etc. is all the same thing.. just done on different mediums. Kinda like saying sketching isn't real art... but painting is 
One really can NOT even begin to legitimately compare the two art forms without having extensive knowledge in both.
»andrzejdragan.com/
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I spent a $3300 on a dSLR and lens to take good pics but people with cheaper stuff take better pics... How!? |
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sharondippity
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| reply to Gemologist
said by Gemologist :This shows how little some know about photography. I see, so my opinion differs from yours so suddenly "know little about photography" Nice debate skills. How about you get to know your subject before making grandiose conculsions?
said by Gemologist :In fact to be honest... It is much easier to paint with some oils or acrylics.. or use some pencils to sketch.. or some oil or chalk pastels.. and do a picture then it is to do something like a macro of an insect. This may be from your personal experience, but that hardly qualifies you to apply that to everyone else.
No one has stated that ALL photography is not art, merely the question has been posed, WHEN does it become art?
If it's possible to not be defensive, this would make a fine topic.
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God was my co-pilot, but we crashed in the mountains and I had to eat him. |
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