Discussions in the workshop brought to light the difficulty of producing ‘fine art photography’ in a climate that has essentially commercialised and made readily available the camera to a mass market. Having never studied photography before, I found myself daunted by the prospect of establishing something unique and distinctly ‘ME’. What could I possible do, that is radically different to anyone else?
I viewed segments from the second series of ‘The Genius of Photography’, which provided a great quote to sum up my quandary:
‘The dilemma and the strength of photography is that it’s the easiest medium in which to be competent, but the hardest medium in which to have a personal vision that is readily identifiable.’
The visual arts has always been a passion of mine, largely practising the in the fields of mixed media painting, drawing, and graphic art I additionally found this comparative quote interesting:
‘There are no accidental masterpieces in painting, but there are accidental masterpieces in photography.’
I think this quote reveals the spontaneity of the medium and therefore the challenge.
Cartier-Bresson, Lee Freidlander are 2 artists who grasped this idea well, perhpas you should look at them?
ReplyDeleteAs an Illustrator I have always seen photography as an inferior medium, because no matter how hard you search for the perfect lighting, or how skilled you are with your camera, the final image is always created with the push of a button.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who claims that there are no accidental masterpieces in painting probably hasn't painted before. Many illustrators do not have a complete vision of the final image in their head, instead they let their brushes and pencils steer them towards the end result.
Photography is a hard medium to master, but if you want to know what art is, then pick any answer that pleases you, because art is purely subjective.