[jovo]

Hmmm....interesting question. I wonder about someone like John Paul Caponigro. He is, of course, the son of Paul Caponigro so he has a very strong legacy of traditional influences, but he's been the go to guru of Photoshop digital work for years now. His own style relies heavily on photoshopped combination images and uniquely exposed (HDR) photographs and is all in color. And yet, he's not being shown in the major NYC galleries where large color prints that challenge my gag reflexes seem to rule. (Quite frankly, such work is often very large, and in-your-face-see-what-you-can-make-of-this ironic banality.....IMHO, of course.). But he is influential in current 'art' photography nonetheless.

So, does the influence come from the darlings of the 'high art' gallerists, the vanguard digigraphers of the technology industry ranks, the traditional or digital Kennabe's (of which there seem to be legions at the moment), or what? Perhaps, like searching for the definitive, great American novel, there are just too many really good creative folks making worthwhile photographs for there to be only one or two champions.