Hmmm. I'll try sending this again. I sent it this morning, but I
never got it back, it's not in the archives, and no one responded to
it (the latter not being particularly telling g):
-- Forwarded message --
From: frank theriault [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: May 6, 2005 8:32 AM
Subject: Re: what makes a photograph art...
To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net
On 5/6/05, Tom Reese [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
art pleases the eye
Some of the most moving art I've seen (including photos) is repulsive and ugly.
art brings order to chaos - it creates harmony
Some art seems to me to be chaotic by it's very nature (Abstract Expressionism?)
art clarifies, intensifies or enlarges our experience of life
Some art confuses me all to hell. Mind you, it might be argued that
such art may make ~me~ look at life differently. I would say that art
may force or encourage or allow me to clarify, intensify or enlarge my
experience of life; I think that such revelations may be internal to
me, but that the art is something of a catalyst.
art has mystery, ambiguity and contradiction
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Some art seems pretty straightforward,
yet it may still be considered art.
I'm interested in hearing the thoughts of the group on these
definitions. Do you disagree with any of them?
I gotta say, while this is interesting, I'm back to my old bugaboo of
not really knowing what the hell art is (other than the old, I know
it when I see it). It seems to be so very far beyond definition, and
for every definition or collection of definitions one can find, there
always seem to be exceptions, modifications, caveats that make the
statements, if not meaningless, then at least less than satisfactory.
That's why I continue to resist being thought of as an artist
(beyond the pretentiousness that comes with that term). I'm a
photographer, I take photos, and if anyone wants to see some of what I
do as art, I'm fine with that. If someone else wants to see
snapshots, I'm also good with that.
But this isn't about me.
About the all I can say about art is that it's a form of communication
that seeks to explain the world and the universe and our experience
within, in ways that may not be expressed or expressable in other
ways. Poor definition, I know, but this morning, that's the best I
can do.
cheers,
frank
--
Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
--
Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
