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
