Content vs. Form

[Fender5388]

how do you feel about this?
Is a photo that uses the elements and principles or art weaker if it lacks content?
Can a photo that lacks form still be strong if it has a strong meaning?

Personally, sometimes i like to just go out and find compositions, I look for repeating patterns and strong lines. They don't always have meaning, but i find them visually pleasing still. I've been told that in these i need to find meaning instead of relying on Form. But i do not totally agree.

what do you guys think in general? Im not talking about any one specific photo.

 

[JG_Coleman]

Hmmm... arguably, the difference between meaning and form could be considered an artificial distinction. Why can't pleasing forms be understood to possess meaning simply by virtue of the fact that they are pleasing forms?

I would submit that any given photo, if some sincerity and skill was invested in it's creation, can be seen as meaningful by those who are willing to see it that way. Whether or not a photo "possesses meaning" is a highly subjective determination that probably reveals more about what is meaningful to the observer than it does any inherent meaningfulness of the photograph.

 

[tirediron]

...They don't always have meaning, but i find them visually pleasing still...

Is not visual appeal a form of meaning? Personally, I find terribly pretentious when people talk about "what the artist meant" or "what the artist is trying to say". They weren't there, they don't know what he or she intended. Personally, I think that most of the time photographers, painters, etc are just trying to produce work that they like.

 

[Mike_E]

Art that conforms to a convention is advertising.

 

[KenC]

If an image produces a reaction in a viewer, then it has meaning. If an image of an abstract form does so, then in that image form is content.

 

[unpopular]

I think that a larger questions what the purpose of photography, is it purely artistic in that it conveys ideas such as form, or is it craft in that it is a tool with some specific purpose such as a means to enhance or prolong human memory or communicate specific events.


Of course all art and all craft have element s of both art and craft, my teapot is the color red, and an abstract painting hangs on my wall as a means to improve atmosphere, however, the teapot has a specific purpose, to make tea, and the painting is only valuable because of sthe concept of the formal concepts which it potrays.


I think that there is smething a bit amateurish about insisting that any work of art must have some secret meaning beyond the immediate and formal, and even moreso to insist that the experience of the artist must confine the image o express some sort of universal aesthetic or message as we all have our own world view which shapes and forms how we view and accept a piece of artwork.


One thing I think we'd all be better off remembering is the specific purpose that a photograph has, and view the image within that specific context. A photograph that documents a crime scene or political rally has criteria for success that differs from one that illustrates purely visual or aesthetic concepts.

 

[molested_cow]

It's whatever that floats your boat and makes you happy.
However, don't get easily content.

This is really a process for artists and designers. In art and design education, students start from understanding the basic elements such as form, pattern, texture, material and of course the skills that is required to create them. Some thoughts are then applied into this process, but usually remains in a very elemental state.

It is when the student goes into post graduate education when the content really takes the primary stage. This is where it is assumed that all students enrolled in the post graduate program have already acquired the necessary skills to express themselves fully without major challenges. Only with strong fundamental skills can a student put most of his focus on developing the meaning.

There is another side of this, which is when the student gets done with school and steps into the reality, in a world where their skills and expressions is only as valid as it is relevant to what people want. Some people want to see form (sports cars), some people want content ( computer/interactive devices). Both have its market and audience, just got to know which side you want to be on.

Then again, you don't have to choose side. Just do whatever that pleases you.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

It is when the student goes into post graduate education when the content really takes the primary stage.

Balogne. Thinking conceptually, and using art as a form of self expression, starts as soon as you have a teacher that nurtures it. That can begin in grade school.

 

[Fender5388]

there are a lot of good responses here, and some stuff i've never thought about. It really is all just opinion. A photo or piece of art in general doesn't have to convey some sort of political or social reference to have content. And it's to bad that at my school that's what seems to be pushed.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Its not "too" bad your school pushes it. You should be pushed to think conceptually. Just like your school should teach you the difference between 'to' and 'too'.

No art doesn't have to make a political or social statement. But art can evoke simple reaction, such as soothing, sensual, calm, excitement, apprehension...art can pull emotional strings like fear, loneliness, love, etc., etc. Thinking conceptually, understanding, and using the visual language of design elements helps you achieve this.

 

[Fender5388]

Its not "too" bad your school pushes it. You should be pushed to think conceptually. Just like your school should teach you the difference between 'to' and 'too'.

No art doesn't have to make a political or social statement. But art can evoke simple reaction, such as soothing, sensual, calm, excitement, apprehension...art can pull emotional strings like fear, loneliness, love, etc., etc. Thinking conceptually, understanding, and using the visual language of design elements helps you achieve this.

Please, do not correct my grammar. It's off topic and doesn't contribute anything to this thread, and was just a typo on my end. We aren't writing novels here.

And when I said it's "too" bad it seems to be pushed, I meant i feel like its pushed that you have to make a statement. That it's not "good" art if you aren't addressing some issue at hand, whether it be homosexuality, the government, America's obesity, etc..

I don't have a problem with thinking conceptually, and learning to think that way. I have a problem being pushed to think in the ways mentioned above, and being told that I'm wrong if it doesn't match the ideas of someone else.

People have differing ideas, but in a learning environment shouldn't there be a certain level of open mindedness and encouragement to pursue your own direction? where the learning comes in the development of your ideas and the experience you gain through the process?

 

[The_Traveler]

art doesn't have to make a political or social statement. But art can evoke simple reaction, such as soothing, sensual, calm, excitement, apprehension...art can pull emotional strings like fear, loneliness, love, etc., etc. Thinking conceptually, understanding, and using the visual language of design elements helps you achieve this.

If an 'art' piece does not evoke something in someone beyond the creator, then it isn't art, it is a personal aide memoire.

 

[unpopular]

^^ modernist baloney! just because an experience is limited to the artist does not invalidate the art which is created from it; art should not be confined to the conventions and sensibilities of the audience.

 

[The_Traveler]

^^ modernist baloney! just because an experience is limited to the artist does not invalidate the art which is created from it; art should not be confined to the conventions and sensibilities of the audience.

So anything is art if the maker says it is meaningful?

 

[Mike_E]

^^ modernist baloney! just because an experience is limited to the artist does not invalidate the art which is created from it; art should not be confined to the conventions and sensibilities of the audience.

So anything is art if the maker says it is meaningful?

That and you can sell it.