Satan Bug wrote:
Only differing perspectives on ever changing reality...

heavy but I disagree, if you have passion for what you create, if the viewer is drawn in and if you create somthing from nothing then it is art. I feel strongly that photography is an art form and proof is in Chicago, look at those monsters of the midway, Bob Randell is the best portrait shooter alive and he is in Chi Town. Thats art baby

jonathan ledeux wrote:
heavy but I disagree, if you have passion for what you create, if the viewer is drawn in and if you create somthing from nothing then it is art. I feel strongly that photography is an art form and proof is in Chicago, look at those monsters of the midway, Bob Randell is the best portrait shooter alive and he is in Chi Town. Thats art baby

While I agree photography is an art I disagree on the standards you set. Artistic commercial work is not art in my eyes. It's creative and meets all your other standards EXCEPT for it being art. Art is created out of passion and a need the individual artist is driven by. It is not the slave of money or ad agencies that drive most commercial photographers. It is created because the artist feels the need as strongly as a junkie feels the need for his/her next fix. And it's usually NOT a group affair. When you have a stylist and a hair dresser and a MUA and an art director all conspiring to create something just whose "art" is it exactly? I know legally, baring a work for hire agreement, the copyright belongs solely to the photographer but really..is it their creation? Weston, Bullock, Gowin and the rest of the great art photographers worked alone. And most did not use models but their family, friends and lovers. A few commercial photographers have been elevated to the art status like Penn and Avedon but they are outnumbered 100 to 1 in the field by people who chose other ways to make a living while pursuing their art unaffected by the pressures of the commercial marketplace. And as the OP mentioned, different people see things differently and that is a major part of both life and art. One persons art is anothers commercial image... or porn. We bring our own expierences to an image and that as much as anything determines how we will see that image.
Mike

Mike Walker wrote:

While I agree photography is an art I disagree on the standards you set. Artistic commercial work is not art in my eyes. It's creative and meets all your other standards EXCEPT for it being art. Art is created out of passion and a need the individual artist is driven by. It is not the slave of money or ad agencies that drive most commercial photographers. It is created because the artist feels the need as strongly as a junkie feels the need for his/her next fix. And it's usually NOT a group affair. When you have a stylist and a hair dresser and a MUA and an art director all conspiring to create something just whose "art" is it exactly? I know legally, baring a work for hire agreement, the copyright belongs solely to the photographer but really..is it their creation? Weston, Bullock, Gowin and the rest of the great art photographers worked alone. And most did not use models but their family, friends and lovers. A few commercial photographers have been elevated to the art status like Penn and Avedon but they are outnumbered 100 to 1 in the field by people who chose other ways to make a living while pursuing their art unaffected by the pressures of the commercial marketplace. And as the OP mentioned, different people see things differently and that is a major part of both life and art. One persons art is anothers commercial image... or porn. We bring our own expierences to an image and that as much as anything determines how we will see that image.
Mike

Thank you Mr Walker,
                             its been awhile ,I hope you have been well. your explanation covered what I neglected, thank you. to answer the question of whos art is it anyway when a team works together on a project I feel that it is the teams art as they all worked together for a common goal. I like shooting city-scapes but no one wants to see them, its still art just not very appealing art at this time, but the passion is there regardless. Porn is porn for one reason, its sole purpose is to promote masterbation.

lotusphoto wrote:
that's really fly man

Hehe....I do like his avi

Alix Andrea wrote:

Hehe....I do like his avi

I like yours, too.  Looking at your portfolio, I am considering that you are art... praise to The Creator.

jonathan ledeux wrote:

Thank you Mr Walker,
                             its been awhile ,I hope you have been well. your explanation covered what I neglected, thank you. to answer the question of whos art is it anyway when a team works together on a project I feel that it is the teams art as they all worked together for a common goal. I like shooting city-scapes but no one wants to see them, its still art just not very appealing art at this time, but the passion is there regardless. Porn is porn for one reason, its sole purpose is to promote masterbation.

Yep! And I LOVE cityscapes..especially at night..just not good MM subject matter iI guess.
Mike