The Randomness Of What Is Considered Great Photography

..by MIKE JOHNSTON @ theonlinephotographer.blogspot.com


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Quote: ... a well-known photographer who was approached by a patron at an opening. The patron asked why the photographer's pictures were on the wall of the gallery and his (the patron's) weren't. The photographer looked at him with a deadpan expression and in a very dry tone of voice said ... (to be continued) ..

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please tune in next week



Bada Bing!!

Love the punchline, would love to have seen the patron’s face :-) Now I zip the lip so as not to spoil it for the next person.

Uhm ... lol.

I like succinct ... contrary to popular beliefs. :oP

It's a good article ... thanks Keith.

i keep falling off my chair trying to read it...i'll take another stab at it tomorrow.

Great article Keith. Good reading too. Should be mandatory ;=)
I too, would have loved to see the patron's face!
Thanks for the find!

you ppl make it sound so interesting...i guess i'll read it.

PS: I read it! :) I love that quote...uh, whever it went. Anyways, big day tomorrow gotta sleep...gold boxes arriving in the mail.

Haha, too true.

I'm surprised the school server didn't block that word.

Not complaining though :P

I have come to realize that I can approach my art one of three ways: I can try to please my audience by duplicating other things I have seen which pleased them. I can try to please my audience by trying to produce "quality art" which truly tries to use techniques, or tells a story, or captures a moment, or uses light/color/shapes to produce an aesthetic id (not I.D.). Finally I can try to please myself - to express feelings that I have or to produce what I find beautiful. When I pursue this last course my art tends to be more appreciated that when I try to pursue the others, but it also tends to produce art which I find stunning and which everyone else pans as mediocre.

I think this explains some of the seeming randomness of the appreciation of our art. Most of us produce art that falls into each of these catagories in varying ratios. I know I do. The crap that I discard often turns out to be that which is most appreciated. The very first photo I submitted was one that I thought was cheesy, but it received a 99 c-index. I probably would have never tried to produce photography as art had it not been for the members of Caedes choosing that photo to rate so highly. When that happened I re-evaluated my work and realized that I could produce - art. I had never thought before of my photos as art, so the public agreement that my photo was art is what got me to go into this in the first place. Who am I to say it was crap?

If you like, I can say it for you ;-) (kidding)

*edit* perhaps I should've been clearer. I was joking, but no, your work isn't crap.

No Regmar your work is NOT crap.. I love your Blue Angel and many others..

Oh hell, I'm not such a child that I can't take it. Thanks Jacqueline, for the compliment, and Rob, it's OK - I can take a punch with good humor. I'm not going anywhere. You're going to have to put up with me for a long time yet :-)

My point was just that we can't presume to know what is art without input from others. The author's point was that art is entirely in the eyes of the beholders. I think that's true.