Digital BW, The Print

Martin Wesley wrote:

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Austin Franklin" <darkroom@...>
>  
>
>>Agreed, but is it photography or graphics art?
>>    
>>
>
>Austin,
>
>I don't know that I care too much about that either and you start to get
>lost in the definitions. I could reasonably say that photography is one of
>many graphic art forms but I know what you are taking about. A photographer
>I know started out hand tinting and has involved the full blown use of oils
>to the point that none of the silver emulsion shows through on some of the
>pieces. Is it painting? Is it photography? Perhaps it is both and an art
>critic would call it "mixed media"  Personally I don't think that it is
>necessary to assign a piece of work to a category.
>
>  
>
EXACTLY!!!

BRAVO!!!

Whether a particular art fits in Category A or Category B is for 
critics...  artists who worry too much about staying "within the lines" 
are constricting, if not artificially restricting, their means of 
expression and thereby their art..

The impressionists and the fauvists were mocked...

Dadaists were ridiculed...

Surrealism and Cubism were called insane...

The famed Blue Horse was called pointless and unreal..

Historically, they were all greeted with derision and snobbery by the 
"established" genre..

BUT, eventually, they all sold because they spoke to people because they 
held a mirror up to reality..

I won't worry about definitions...

In fact, referring back to your associate who uses oils on silver 
prints, I did much work like that with my IR silver prints..  Now, I can 
do the same to my infrared neg scans with more control in PhotoShop... 
 Of course, even with PhotoShop, I often color outside the lines..   ;-)

As for whether we are graphic artists or photographers, it doesn't 
matter to me.. I'll leave that to critics..  I'll just work on my 
imagery and remain happy I am able to produce art that speaks to me (and 
hopefully to others as well)..   


Keith
 
 



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