Why are photos so extreme nowadays?

[rich815]

It sells, that's why. I show in two local galleries, that pretty much cater to the same visitors. I sell twice as well in the gallery where "extreme" photos are not on the wall. Where the extreme photos are present, people like my work then move down the wall and buy the oversaturated, over-sharpened digi-stuff. But let's face it, I'm doing this mostly because I like it and that will have to be my justification.

And I respect that. Heavily.

[HMG]

Funny; I was having a discussion about this with someone yesterday.

You see it at all levels. I was bemoaning the entries to a local show where many otherwise decent photos were ruined (in my opinion) by over-saturation, over-sharpening, high-HDR effects. We seem to live in an age where subtlety is obsolete. Shock value is revered.

But shock value is fleeting. What's shocking one day becomes commonplace later.

Of course, we are probably rehashing the same arguments made by the realists about the expressionists.

[jbenedict]

Was Weegee graphic, extreme or just visually very truthful?

[Peter Lewin]

"Extreme" is being used in two different senses in the posts in this thread. Several are using "extreme" to define "extreme over-processing," meaning over-saturation, HDR, and a variety of other options made possible by Photoshop. Certainly that appeals to some who are looking for "decorative art." But the OP, based on the work on his site, is talking about "extreme subject matter," such as some of the work of Maplethorpe who is mentioned in one post, possibly Weegee, and a lot of Mortensen. Again, photographs dealing primarily with sex or violence also have their market, but it is quite a separate market. Based on the gallery shows I have attended, a lot of work sells which falls into neither of those two camps, so I would argue that photos do not need to be "extreme" to sell nowadays.

[Jim Noel]

If you can't make it good, make it extreme.

And/or make it larger!

[rich815]

And/or make it larger!

Or technically perfect (though lacking elsewhere) and want to be called an artist because it is.

[Drew Wiley]

Loud noises attract audiences. Whether it's an intelligent audience is another matter, and how long anyone puts up with that kind of thing is an open question too.
Gimmicky stuff gets tiresome really fast, and digi apps certainly tempt it.

[Robert Brazile]

people shot from canons, etc.

I see what you did there.

Robert