Is Photography Art? Why/ why Not?

[Maris]

I 've seen three different types of artists being credited as doing photography.

Firstly is the performance artist who does the actions of camera use: basically pointing, looking, clicking. Eventually the camera won't click anymore because some gizmo inside it is full or used up. Hand the gizmo (CF card, casette, spool with funny paper on it, whatever ?) to a helpful person along with some money and eventually pictures come back. The performance artist is (somehow) a photographer. Ironically the performance artist does not need to know that the photographic medium exists. Just do the actions, pay the money, and pictures follow. A contentious example would be Henri Cartier-Bresson. Only by the thinnest coincidence of history and technology did he do his camera work when film was the ordinary stuff to put in cameras. In other eras his pictures would still be wonderful but not photographs. H. C-B, I suspect, would not care a damn.

There are those who know the medium, nuance the light, do the processing and end up with pictures consisting of accumulated marks occasioned by the impact of light. Since the products of their work are indubitably photographs I guess these folks are photographers too. Examples would include E. Weston, A.Adams and most APUGers.

In recent years a new species of artist has evolved whose medium is photographs. No, not making photographs but rather making art out of photographs. End products of their work are often collages, assemblages, installations. Arthur C. Danto, the American writer, has suggested the word photographist instead of photographer for these workers. I would suggest some major art from David Hockney or Bill Henson would fall firmly into the photographist category.

[WarEaglemtn]

Yes. No./because someone says so.

[lkorell]

Everybody knows there is no such thing as art. If there was it would be taught in all the schools and shown more on television. ??????

[jd callow]

Everybody knows there is no such thing as art. If there was it would be taught in all the schools and shown more on television. ??????

School is for sports. Humanities, who needs em?

[Claire Senft]

Come on think about it. Why does it matter to you whether somenoe considers photography art or by extension a photographer as being capable of being an artist?

Does not the fact that you are concerned about it say something about the ego an securities on the people on either side of the question?

Will having an opinion about it change the nature of a photograph or photography?

Does an object made for a viewing audience that causes a reaction by having been made and viewed become intrinsically different if it is a considered piece of fine craftsmenship as opposed to being looked upon good work of art?

[jd callow]

A rose is a rose regardless of label. Why should we care if you call it a rose and I call it flower? It is only important if we wish to understand each other better. If the word rose is thought to have a higher pedigree than flower, how does that reflect upon yours or my ego or securities?

If art is an object that can be made from any material, which I think it is, than it is a dumb question.

It is probably dumber to run from the word art as is often done here. If art is some amorphous entity than I suspect we all benefit by talking about it.

[lkorell]

Seriously, it is not an important question. If you do what you love to do and you are satisfied with what you are creating, it does not matter what it is called.
Art is an experience that, when defined, creates a box that doesn't come close to accurately describing it. Not many people understand art, its role in society, and especially those who participate in its creation. That mystery is what makes it a unique and beautiful experience for us...and that is what counts the most. (IMHO)

Lou

[BradS]

And how are we to distinguish between roses and weeds?

[Peter De Smidt]

If there's a plinth or urn in the picture, it's art. Otherwise, it's not. This test also demarcates porn from art.

[Kino]

And how are we to distinguish between roses and weeds?

The same way you personally distinguish between what is art and what is not...