Ever since the invention of the Camera there has been the ongoing (and rather fucking heated) debate/argument in the so called “Fine Art World” challenging Photography’s claim to actually being Art.
Now the Fine Art Assholes attitude is that Photography is NOT in any way, shape or form Art. They base Their pretentious opinion (which They believe to be fact) that because to take a Photograph you have to use a Mechanical Machine, and NOT YOUR HANDS so to speak.
I for one totally fucking disagree with the Fine Art Pompous Prats. I base My argument on the following.
I must pause this post a second to state that the Photography I am referring to is the Dying art of Film Photography, and NOT DIGITAL though I will touch on that again later on.
First off a Camera is like a Gun. A Gun can not get up off a table, load itself, search for a target, and shoot it without a Skilled Human behind it, and neither can a Camera.
That said I see NO difference then between a Camera or a Paint Brush for example. Both Cameras and Paint Brushes are TOOLS that can’t function without a Skilled Human to actually fucking use them.
The operative word here is SKILLED. Another staple of the Fine Art Idiots argument is that unlike a professionally trained Artists ANYONE can pick up a Camera and take a Picture. To that I say so fucking what?! Anyone can pick a Pen or Pencil per say and draw a picture too.
AND just like with the quote on quote Fine Fucking Arts if the Person hasn’t been trained nor educated properly then the Photo like the previously mentioned picture will just be a piece of amateur horseshit.
Not to mention that if someone takes a picture theres no way for them to ever see it if they don’t know how to develop the Picture which takes a meticulous multipart process to achieve.
If Your thinking about 1 Hour Photo or some shit like that remember We are talking about a PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER which means They do all the work Themselves unlike the lazy Digital Photo Assholes, but more about Them later.
I guess the best and only real question (that We can only attempt to answer) is this WHAT IS ART?
Official Definition of Art (allegedly as I have no fucking idea who came up with it) is The expression or application of Human creative skills and imagination, TYPICALLY in a Visual form such as Painting or Sculpture, producing works to be Appreciated Primarily for their Beauty or Emotional Power.
The first comment on that is this. Notice the key word in the definition is TYPICALLY NOT ONLY OR LIMITED TO. Photography is VISUAL, Beautiful, and Emotionally Powerful.
People seems to forget that you can tell a Story with a Photograph even though We all know the Cliche “A Picture (Photo) is worth 1,000 words”, and it proves to be true. The Photographer isn’t limited to taking pictures of shit that already exists.
The Photographer can set up or stage a shot to create a story of Their own using Props, Animals, Models, Costumes, Backdrops etc. if They so choose. This is the same way a Painter or Sculptor could paint or sculpt a bowl of fucking fruit or a Dragon.
Now here is where some may say it gets a bit sticky. While I fully believe Film Photography is a true and legit Art Form I don’t feel the same about Digital Photography.
Digital Photography IS SHIT AND CERTAINLY NOT ART. Digital Cameras preform all the tasks formerly done by the Photographer which dumbs it down so significantly that its NOT an ART.
My Question at this stage in the Art Game is What the fuck do The Fine Art Asswipes consider Graphic Art?! Graphic Art is completely created Digitally on a Computer by a Skilled Graphic Artist, BUT WOULD THEY CONSIDER IT ART?
The Debate Doesn’t Die It Evolves.
Thanks for Reading,
By Les Sober