What is fine art photography?

[Clay Turtle]

To add mine;
There is no art in photography. Some try very hard to sell their ware as art, but art it is ain’t.
Now, some of the efforts might skirt the realms of Art, although it is extremely rare.

No art in photography? Hmm . . . that is certainly expressive of perhaps a rather cynical outlook? On one hand you could say their is an art to any craft or trade. The house painter becomes an artist & a slab of concrete becomes the canvas . . . some refer to it as graffiti? Well oone might as well ask what art is there in photography? To convey meaning or feelings . . . to comunicate with others. perceptions which transcend the medium?

[John Kasaian]

No art in photography? Hmm . . . that is certainly expressive of perhaps a rather cynical outlook? On one hand you could say their is an art to any craft or trade. The house painter becomes an artist & a slab of concrete becomes the canvas . . . some refer to it as graffiti? Well oone might as well ask what art is there in photography? To convey meaning or feelings . . . to comunicate with others. perceptions which transcend the medium?

Art isn't in photography. He's in plumbing. I know because Art is married to my bride's cousin

[jenn wilson]

this may as well be a discussion on "what is art?". in my experience, these exchanges are virtually pointless, as art is entirely subjective. no point is ever made that changes another's mind. as a result, most participants either become at least slightly enraged or sit nodding their heads vigorously.

there is art in everything. painting, film, music, writing, cooking, woodworking (to name only a few media) all involve art in one way or another. concept, craft and creative process all contribute to a successful finished product, whether functional commercially or not.

the important bit is to respect all photography (and art) in all its forms. you don't have to like it, but a certain amount of appreciation is necessary. it all has its place.

just enjoy whatever it is you do and keep doing it.

[Dirk Rösler]

People like categorisation and this is just another label. In the market place there are of course conventions and rules of what and who is part of it, good at it, valuable etc. Think "limited editions", "traditional techniques", "maximum tonality", "100% no digital", "printed on paper made by the forest elves" to name a few. The label is also useful to be appropriated to add value by the clueless to sell their products to even more clueless players. It is a game society likes to play, ultimately a variation of "mine is bigger than yours" which is also a popular game.

[Gerry]

fine art photography is simply a term some photographers use try to seperate their work from the mass of OTHER photographs out there. Giving a a grandiose name to something makes it seem more important but art that moves people does so without any of the pretentions the artist/curator/public put on it.

www.gerryyaum.com

[Christopher Breitenstein]

Another issue this post brings up is what is a photographer? A friend of mine once told me that a photographer is anyone who considers making pictures (with a camera) their work. Depending on how you take that it could mean any number of things. Is it strictly the process of making pictures? or making pictures along with other tasks you have to do? Given his conviction, or perhaps my projection, on how the title "Photographer" held with very little respect. it seems to be handed out to any one with a camera (and readily embraced by that person holding the camera).

Does owning a piano make you a pianist? paint brush, a painter? Pen and paper, a writer? Hemmingway had several books published before he took on the title! The list goes on and on. it seems as though all it takes to be a photographer is owning a camera!

To define Art: Art is made by Artists.

Are you an Artist?

Yours:

[keith english]

One definition that helped me in school, was to seperate fine art from commercial, fine art is made to satisfy the photographer (and hopefully eventually a buyer), commercial is made to satisfy the client.

[Leonard Metcalf]

I really like the analogy about it not being commercial... and perhaps we should add not being snapshots... (or something around that)

This comes back to the intention for me. Maybe it is there when you take it...maybe it comes latter, but the photographic art community defiantly can define it. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to choose what to hang in their next exhibition.

Mind you that decision is made based on what others write about you, and in who's collections your work resides, and where you studied, where you exhibited.

I had forgotten about this post... thanks for adding some more recent thoughts...

I'll dig up my essay on this and post it here too...

Regards,

Len

[Leonard Metcalf]

What is Fine Art Photography?

This question was posed by Paul Cosgrove to me while we were hanging images in the local photography exhibition earlier in the year. It sparked a whole train of thought, wondering indeed what it was. I subsequently posted the same question at the large format photography forum (for the link click here). I do consider my work as fine art photography and discuss my thoughts behind this ubiquitous label.

To hang on walls – My first response to questions about why I take photographs is often to say “I love people enjoying my work so much that they wish to hang it permanently on their wall.” I at first thought that this was a result of my art school training where this was one of my goals. If it is hung publicly (and not for advertising purposes) then to me it is fine art.

Collect ability – Fine art photography has been defined by how collectable the photographs are or become. Are the images enduring enough to stand the test of time. For some the ultimate goal is to have their images preserved in museums and art collections, or in the possession of collectors. What makes an image collectable varies widely from the image or content, process, photographer and historical significance. Many collectable photographs are indeed not fine art. In discussions with a gallery owner, one of the key ingredients of a collectable photograph was its rarity (ie limited print run, by edition or death).

Archive ability – Tightly aligned with collecting is the expectation that fine art photography can survive time, long term storage and display. Though this alone does not guarantee that the image is indeed fine art. Many photographs that have been actively collected (bought and sold for high prices) may not indeed be archival, but it does seem to be of primary importance to modern photographic collectors.

Art for arts sake – Because I enjoy taking photographs against my own criteria for what a great photograph is. It is the reason I study other photographers’ (and artists’) work with such passion. To observe, to copy (for the purpose of learning) and then to produce something that is indeed different. Finding ones own personal vision in a world of appropriation has become a life long passion.

Communicate – My passions for the Gaia (mother earth) and deep felt desire to stop humanities abuse of her lie beneath my wilderness (landscape) photographs. If Dombroskis’s photograph of Island Bend can educate and influence a voting public into saving the Franklin River (Tasmania), then there is hope in nature photography to be able to influence the world to move towards an environmentally sustainable future. Art by its very nature is about the communication of ideas, principles, thoughts, feelings and passions. When you look at one of my photographs you are indeed looking through Len’s lens, my interpretation of the world and what I see.

Aesthetics – My goal is to produce an aesthetically pleasing photograph without copying those who have gone before. When you look at a photograph and you get that wonderful feeling inside, because of its inherent beauty, then it must be fine art. Not to say that all fine art makes you feel good.

Made by an artist – What makes an artist? Creativity as expressed in an artwork… is perhaps one of the only clearly defining links between artists.

Sold as art - Recently I have started to wonder if the ongoing sales and popularity of particular images, some just seem to keep on selling, are really fine art images. Some of my most outstanding fine art photographs (measured against my own criteria) have never sold. Sales is a worthless criteria if you are to judge fine art by what history has demonstrated with very few artists gaining success in their own lifetimes, though since modernism this no longer appears to be the case.

These are my thoughts from a couple of years ago. Many thanks for some of the ideas that came from this post, so thanks to the contributors.

Regards,

Len

[Amund BLix Aaeng]

Whatever art is, it needs to be framed, so you know where art ends and wall begins.

Loosely quoted from Frank Zappa