Artist?

[Artemis]

Oki...this is about a photographer...me....am I an artist? I dont think I am...I call myself a photographer, but I do not try to call myself, because I am not an artist....I think people like DaviantArt (SP?) are artists...im just a photographer..
I was having an argument with a good mate of mine I know on the net, and he said I am an artist and wont budge from the position...but ive never aimd to be an artist...never thought it possible...am I an artist?

 

[ferny]

So... A bloke who plays with stone is just a sculptor and a guy who plays with paints just a painter?
I think it depends on what you do with your camera. You can create art, or record life. I'd say anyone who tries to create something with their camera is an artist and anyone who just wants shots of life is a photographer.

It's a dodgy subject, mind. You'll have to start defining what art actually is and people tend to throw pencils and cups around when that topic starts up. *ducks*

 

[KevinR]

Have you created something?
When you took the shot, was there any artistic vision involved?
If you call yourself a photographer, thats fine, but if someone else calls you an artist, thats fine too.
How in your mind are you defining an artist? Is it someone who is creative or someone that holds himself higher than others and takes himself too seriously?
Just remember your personal morals and ethics and call yourself whatever you want.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

What's in a name?
If someone says you are an artist or you decide to call yourself an artist - does that make a difference to your pictures?
You do what you have to and you do it the way you feel you must. If someone else wants to give you a label, that's up to them but I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[danalec99]

You can create art, or record life. I'd say anyone who tries to create something with their camera is an artist and anyone who just wants shots of life is a photographer.

Why are snapshots not creations? (if thats what you meant by 'shots of life'?)

 

[omalley]

Oki...this is about a photographer...me....am I an artist? I dont think I am...I call myself a photographer, but I do not try to call myself, because I am not an artist....I think people like DaviantArt (SP?) are artists...im just a photographer..
I was having an argument with a good mate of mine I know on the net, and he said I am an artist and wont budge from the position...but ive never aimd to be an artist...never thought it possible...am I an artist?

This is very touching. I remember when I was in school and we all started asking ourselves this question. I had been accepted for the juried student annual at the University and I couldn't believe anybody took me seriously. We (all the students who were accepted) got falling-down drunk at the opening because we were scared and didn't know what to do with the attention.
Anyhow, that's kind of beside the point, because whether you got accepted for the student show or not isn't a good indicator.
Here's my take, and I'm sure someone will accuse me of being a snob once again. Are you an artist, or do you just take pictures? A good way to answer this (for yourself) is to write an artistic statement. I really think you should do this, purely for your own satisfaction. A statement consists essentially of these questions:
Why are you doing this?
Why this and not something else?
Why this particular subject matter?
Why this particular style?
What are you trying to communicate with these pictures?
And, what is your motivation for making them?

This will answer everything for you about your level of seriousness. Don't worry if it's really hard to come up with answers. It could take several months of hard thinking. Your first statement will probably sound a little pretentious and you will probably be embarrassed at your own hubris. That's okay. Also, try not to think in terms of whether the work is "good".

I'm going to disagree with the others here that simply creating something makes one a serious artist. Sure, and the guy at the deli is a "sandwich artist". Hey, he created that sandwich and he had a reason for doing it. There's nothing wrong with snapshots, it's just that you have to accept that they bring joy to a limited circle of people rather than having social significance. I think sometimes it hurts peoples feelings when they have to accept that their vacation snappies only matter to them and their friends, no matter how nice they came out. Art has emotional involvement for the viewer beyond a pleasant feeling of "that's a nice picture". Art is supposed to make you feel some way. Whether you are successful in doing that is what keeps you awake at night with existential anxiety while everybody else is fast asleep dreaming about that funny episode of Seinfeld they just watched.
Let me know if you want any help with the statement. I'm glad to take a look or recommend good articles on how to write one.

 

[ferny]

Why are snapshots not creations? (if thats what you meant by 'shots of life'?)

I knew I didn't explain myself well. By shots of life I'm talking about wedding photographers, people who do model shots, product photographers. People who record life and objects on film.
When I say create something I'm talking about an image, a picture. Something more than just what is in front of the lens. Something with a meaning behind it or a photograph to provoke emotions. Take a look at omalley's site for what I'm talking about.


I do go along with not liking names and labels for things. It doesn't bother me, but I don't really see the point. You are what you are and no-one fully fits into a category or two. There's normally more to it. The examples I gave above merge together frequently.

 

[omalley]

Thanks, Ferny. I didn't put him up to saying that, guys.
I guess I like labels. It's one of my (and a lot of peoples) shortcomings as a human, to want things to be easily reducible.