Abstract/semi-abstract photography and you

[Mike_E]

What place do abstracts/semi-abstracts have in your photography? Do you shoot them often? Why do you think abstract/semi-abstract photography is not very popular?

It seems to me that abstract art is an act of subliminal communication.

For communication to work well both the speaker and the listener (photographer/observer in this case) need to have an agreed upon set of conventions. You could call this a common language if you like.

Someone who engages in the abstract arts tends to have a much larger vocabulary than some one who only occasionally comes into contact with the abstract. So, it often boils down to one side saying a lot more than the other side can understand and then the other side gets bored and walks away with out buying the work- both figuratively and literally.

Hertz Van- has brought this up a number of times. If he isn't tired of the whole thing, you might get his views. If you can find him that is. :/

 

[invisible]

It seems to me that abstract art is an act of subliminal communication.

For communication to work well both the speaker and the listener (photographer/observer in this case) need to have an agreed upon set of conventions. You could call this a common language if you like.

For communication to be subliminal, the recipient of the message should not be aware that the sender is communicating something, yet the message gets through regardless.

Someone who engages in the abstract arts tends to have a much larger vocabulary than some one who only occasionally comes into contact with the abstract. So, it often boils down to one side saying a lot more than the other side can understand and then the other side gets bored and walks away with out buying the work- both figuratively and literally.

I assume you're assuming that every photography (abstract or otherwise) has a specific, coded message to convey. I don't agree with that premise. Some photographers probably use their photos as a vehicle to communicate ideas, while some others just don't.

Abstract photography (hell, photography in general) doesn't have to be obtuse, mysterious, or highly coded to be good.

 

[Crazydad]

I assume you're assuming that every photography (abstract or otherwise) has a specific, coded message to convey. I don't agree with that premise. Some photographers probably use their photos as a vehicle to communicate ideas, while some others just don't.

I couldn't agree more.

While I am by no means an art expert and am still new to photography, I do appreciate art in all it's forms. Especially work that makes me think and/or feel. But does a piece of art (photgraph, painting, sculpture, etc.) have to convey some message to be considered good? What if they asked a photographer (or painter, sculptor, etc.) what his/her piece is saying and they just say, "Nothing really, I just thought it looked cool." Would it be considered as good art? I think most people, especially ones who consider themselves connoisseurs of fine art, will often infuse a meaning the artist never intended.

It reminds me of "Back to School" with Rodney Dangerfield when his character had to write a paper about Kurt Vonnegut's books, so he had Kurt write the paper. And the professor (Sally Kellerman) told him who ever wrote the paper didn't know the first thing about Kurt Vonnegut.

 

[Mike_E]

Sorry, I thought we were talking about art rather than graphic design.

For something to be art it has to communicate something- even if it's the warm fuzzies.

Sub (def-{ http://www.answers.com/topic/sub-prefix }) = below, underneath.

Liminal ( http://www.answers.com/liminal ) sensory threshold.

Just because the viewer can't consciously detect a message doesn't mean that there isn't one there.

I have in the past defended snap-shooters here and caught a bit of flack over it. But i have never made the mistake of thinking that a photo taken without forethought is anything but a snap-shot.

I still think that there is a place and time for snap-shots but if some one is going to start slapping "High and Mighty" terms to a photograph then they have a responsibility to the craft to at least make the effort to fulfill the requirements of whatever they are making claim to have created.

 

[invisible]

Sorry, I thought we were talking about art rather than graphic design.

This is so derogatory and presumptuous that I won't even bother to reply. (It's also the second time in just a month that someone here dismisses a whole profession. Way to go!)

 

[Mike_E]

Graphic design is a fine profession but this is a photography forum.

 

[abraxas]

...
Abstract photography (hell, photography in general) doesn't have to be obtuse, mysterious, or highly coded to be good.

Photography is a branch of graphic design.

There are no rules. The image can portray anything the artist wants it to, or not.

If you like what you do, and do what you like, then pursue your interpretations without regard of others. Not much more to it than that.

 

[Alex_B]

So it's down to personal perception...because I can't recall a single abstract but could sketch out many of my favorite "conventional" viewed images.

Hey, I can recall both

Maybe I should post more of my abstracts on here ... after I flooded the forum with conventional landscapes

 

[Alpha]

I just did a 5-shot series on expired polaroid t59. Radically different from the rest of my work. Love it. Who cares about popular.

 

[Mike_E]

And I'll bet $50 of your money that you thought about what you were going to shoot before you pressed the shutter button.

 

[Alpha]

Try $5. 5 sheets. Open box, expired. Do you take me for a fool?

 

[Mike_E]

You mean if you use your own money to bet against me?

:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

 

[abraxas]

...

... Especially work that makes me think and/or feel. But does a piece of art (photgraph, painting, sculpture, etc.) have to convey some message to be considered good? What if they asked a photographer (or painter, sculptor, etc.) what his/her piece is saying and they just say, "Nothing really, I just thought it looked cool." Would it be considered as good art? I think most people, especially ones who consider themselves connoisseurs of fine art, will often infuse a meaning the artist never intended.

...

I think sometimes the new meaning could better relate what the artist may have felt. I enjoy hearing interpretations of my work before I define what it was I feel I was attempting to say with the image. Although it's satisfying to hear that I've successfully expressed what I wanted to say, it can be far more interesting to hear another's intelligent interpretation, or, peer into the dysfunctional psyche of the nonproductive and intentionally ignorant.

 

[invisible]

And I'll bet $50 of your money that you thought about what you were going to shoot before you pressed the shutter button.

Let's say we have one subject and two photographers A and B. Photographer A puts a lot of thought and time in planning his shot; photographer B, on the other hand, sees the subject for the first time while walking by, then grabs his camera. Both photographers take their pictures, and the resulting photos are strikingly similar.

Is photo A better than photo B? (You know, because of the fore thinking and the fact that photographer A had something to say through his image while the other guy was obviously just a snapshooter.)

 

[JC1220]

Let's say we have one subject and two photographers A and B. Photographer A puts a lot of thought and time in planning his shot; photographer B, on the other hand, sees the subject for the first time while walking by, then grabs his camera. Both photographers take their pictures, and the resulting photos are strikingly similar.

Is photo A better than photo B? (You know, because of the fore thinking and the fact that photographer A had something to say through his image while the other guy was obviously just a snapshooter.)

On a commercial project, A, will most likely be more successful than B. In this situation it is about communicating an idea, object or specific message most likely accompanied by text, etc.

If we are talking about art, all things being equal between them, photographer B will create a photograph with more lasting meaning. Visual arts are about feelings, discovery and the artist interaction, not the self centered action of communicating an idea or the wanting to be understood through ones photographs or the forcing of your perceptions on the viewer. Work created in this manor will be nothing more than a clever cliché that will never last.

The creation of fine art, a photograph, should certainly be informed by intelligence, but it is not lead by a specific thought process; it is always by feel and intuition and never analytical.