artist?

2 pages of posts in 11 hours?
That's what I call a "what is art" thread.

I found out it was way more fun to be a craftsman. The work is satisfying and it doesn't have to "move" anyone, it just has to be what it is supposed to be, to a satisfying level.
Also I get to laugh at whoever calls my craft "art".
 
so it seems like we don't want to talk about art/artists so very much...although this thread turned out much better that i ever expected.

i consider myself to be a very bad, untalented photo artist. call me pretentious, i guess.
there are a few images i truly like and really do not care if they pass muster elsewhere. (maybe i am pretentious)...
i don't much care if rff changes into a photo forum or stays where it is...i like it here and am mostly content...what does irk me are those who complain about what we are but make no sincere effort to make changes.
...and those snotty one liners that some throw out because they think it's funny or just have an inflated self view...those folks can go **** themselves.
 
Thanks for these questions, Back Alley. I appreciate them.
"who here considers themselves to be an artist?
I was told, decades ago, that UNESCO defines an artist as a person who is acknowledged as an artist. In other words, other people decide whether you're an artist, not you. Just like other people (doctors in this case) decide whether you're crazy. The point is to make pictures that are interesting, and whose purpose is significant and clear. Calling yourself an artist isn't the issue. It's just beside the point.:bang:

"does being an artist impact your philosophy about gear? is gear just a means to an end or does it contribute to your art?"
I know that a new camera or lens can inspire me to make new work. And, I lurve handling shiny new machines.

"what stops us, as a group, from discussing photography/art?"
Speaking personally, it's much harder to think about what makes a picture succeed or fail, than to analyse what makes one camera better for my purposes.

It's also hard to develop a vocabulary that is clear and useful when discussing a mute, still object like a photograph.

Maybe an answer to f16 sunshine's question involves finding words and analyses that help us understand what makes a picture succeed or fail.

"can a hobbyist be an artist?"
If you want to deal with that term, rather that with the work, sure a hobbyist can be an artist. There's an exciting fine art genre called Brut Art; but staying closer to photography, The Snapshot Aesthetic has produced marvellous pictures.

And I agree with John; when I worked in art galleries and went to artist parties, I remember people didn't talk about their paintings. They talked about their accountants and their divorces.:D
 
f16sunshine said:
You seem to be an expert on cacklers and the U.S.A.
Good for you :) .... Are those Hobbies ?
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Unfortunately, you didn't even try to define what you mean by «medium», but let me give you a hand regarding the term «hobby»:

Noun[edit]

Wikipedia has an article on:
hobby
hobby (plural hobbies)

An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time.
I like to collect stamps from different countries as a hobby.
(horses) An extinct breed of horse native to the British Isles, also known as the Irish Hobby
Synonyms[edit]
(activity done for enjoyment in spare time): avocation, pastime
Derived terms[edit]
hobbyist noun
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[emph. mine]

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hobby#Noun

I agree with those who say that being an amateur and being expert isn't mutually exclusive; e.g.: heraldry is a field that cannot be studied on a university, all heraldists are basically hobbyists. Nevertheless you must have certain epistemic authority if you want to make money with it; yeah, some countries (Canada, UK, etc.) do even have authorities that cover this particular topic. Where such an authority isn't prevailing you must find out yourself whether or not a heraldist is actually a serious expert, or just a crook.
 
back alley said:
with talk elsewhere of rff being mostly a gear forum and not so much a photography forum got me thinking a bit...
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I think a distinction should be made here between art and craft and gear. There is nothing wrong with discussing equipment. I collect, I have many dozens of rare or strange cameras and I will talk off the ears of anybody interested in learning about them.

However when it comes down to discussing photography, I would for example rather talk about a photographer's techniques, style, and craft, than what camera he happened to like. For most intents and purposes a camera is a camera is a camera, what model and brand are practically inconsequential in most cases. I'd rather discuss when HCB decided to press the button, or Moriyama shooting without looking, or Eggleston's long time use of extremely low perspectives - than what brand camera they used.

That's all craft related, but not necessarily unrelated to art. For art, it is sometimes interesting to see what the photographer had in mind when they were working images. What did they want to say to the viewer? And were they successful in making their point? Or when posting one's own images, what did you intend your work to do? Or what did you have in mind while making them? This is frequently ignored, if not outright discouraged.

This is all much more interesting than talking about what camera a person had. Sure, there are special cases where the camera played some crucial part in the process - maybe it was modified, or built by hand, etc. just to get the image. Or perhaps the creative process left some sort of mark on the equipment. That is

who here considers themselves to be an artist?
does being an artist impact your philosophy about gear? is gear just a means to an end or does it contribute to your art?
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I don't produce any photographic art. But I appreciate some of it, and it does.
 
tunalegs said:
This coming from you means something less than nothing.

In any event, have you anything on topic to contribute? Or are you just here for the usual derailment?
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Lmao, Tolstoy nailed it upthread. Everybody wants to put a little label on their shirt so they and everybody else knows where they stand. Then they set to work defending it as best they can.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
I don't remember it, so I wasn't trying to troll you.

I have had problems sometimes remembering things since I suffered a stroke in 2013. I ran into one of my former students yesterday and I felt like an idiot because I couldn't remember the kid's name. I recognized him, I knew he had been one of my students but couldn't remember his name :( This happens a lot to me.
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I'm sorry to blindside you with that, then. It's probably best forgotten, actually. Honestly dude, I'm terrible with names, you probably remember them better than I do. No one blames you for not remembering things when you've had a stroke, they're mainly glad you're still around.
 
Ranchu said:
Lmao, Tolstoy nailed it upthread. Everybody wants to put a little label on their shirt so they and everybody else knows where they stand. Then they set to work defending it as best they can.
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It's interesting that's what you got out of those quotes.
:)
 
radi(c)al_cam said:
And your rhetorics do not really interest anyone, tunalegs, except perhaps some dominionist creepers who suddenly, when it's against certain persons, are your allies.
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Another excellent on-topic post from radi(c)al_cam.

edit: BTW, do you even take photos? I don't think I've ever seen you post any. I sometimes wonder what you're doing on this forum.
 
tunalegs said:
Another excellent on-topic post from radi(c)al_cam.

edit: BTW, do you even take photos? I don't think I've ever seen you post any. I sometimes wonder what you're doing on this forum.
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Lol, there it is. Now you're the forum police.
 
Ranchu said:
Lol, there it is. Now you're the forum police.
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Just a wannabe usurpator, I'd say ;)

That's exactly the problem: we are talking about amateurs vs. people who perform lege artis (artists in the widest sense), and I mentioned even a certain infamous hobby brain surgeon.

But apparently, here we have to do with some sort of hobby forum police deputy's assistant's boot boy's toy — close but no cigar I presume ;)
 
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