Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

To me, photographic art is something that is created out of not a great shot and enhancing it to give it a different perspective from the original, hopefully making look more interesting to the viewer.

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ROTFLMFAO

tdozier3 Loc: Northern Illinois

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Not “the” viewer ... “most” viewers.
One thing this thread makes verrrrry clear is that real art is not for general consumption. The ability to see (or hear) art is both a blessing and a curse.

I encountered the attached photo at an “Art Show”. It’s an absolutely artless but decently executed piece of “artsy-ness”:

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srt101fan

Lots of good thoughts. Most trying, in a positive sense, to come to grips with the definition of "artistic photography". However, for me there is also a negative aspect to all this, and that is, as I see it, the misuse of the words art, artsy, artistic, etc. Are gross manipulations/distortions of color, perspective, scale, contrast, etc. "artistic" by definition? Some UHH citizens seem to think so. What say you?

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Believing you put some weight into your choice of words, yes. When the tools of art are applied to create something, the resulting something may easily be called “artistic”, which means it has superficial resemblance to the works of real artists. Examples from an “Art Show” attached.

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ELNikkor

similar to sculpture in a park

srt101fan

I'm speechless, as in what can I say (or write)?

alphadog

Now that's funny! thanks...

srt101fan

I love these photos, Linda; for me they definitely have "artistic" value! And I like your thoughtful commentary.

Do you think that some misuse the word "artistic" in that they apply it, as an example, to any kind of a distortion of a subject?

srt101fan

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Our definitions are as wide or as narrow as we want to make them.

One definition of art is that it has to be a product of genuine artistic capability (which is distinct from physical capability - i.e. manual skill). Some people have the ability to produce that kind of art, some (not necessarily the same people) have the ability to recognise it when they see it and some (again not necessarily the same people) have the ability to appreciate it.

Another possible definition of art is that it's anything which is a product of someone's intention to produce art - and that is the only required condition.

Those two different kinds of artist will produce two very different kinds of output, but both will claim the right to refer to their creations as art. As far as the second group goes, you could try to deny them the right to call their creations "art", but you would have to answer the question "On what grounds?", which brings us back full circle to the subject of definitions.

In the final analysis we would have to concede that if someone wants to call something "art", they are perfectly at liberty to do so. And we would be perfectly at liberty to disagree and proffer our own evaluation of what it was and wasn't.

Horseart Loc: Alabama

Complicated subject! As an artist of the paint and brush type, I have 3 types of art in my mind when it comes to photography. To ME, there are three catagories ... snapshots, pictures and photographs. Snapshots to me are picnic shots, family at play. Pictures are the dog, the farm, the house, the yard, vacation. Vacation sometimes fall into the photograph type. To me photographs are portraits, beautiful landscapes, still lifes. Artistic to me means something you'd want to hang on your wall. JMHO.

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

Sad but true. Art and anything related to it, even the very word itself has been grossly misused and manipulated specially this modern times.
From a pedestal of excellence, art has become a volcanic cesspool.

Expression has killed perfection. Technology has murdered skill.
Culture had growth & time in pieces. Bias buried the truth.
Worst of all, money had replaced knowledge, dignity & honor that even the true art is stained by their presence.

There are few real art and artist that is untouched, innocent and true to art.

pdsilen Loc: Roswell, New Mexico

LOL