Poll: artistry

[runnah]

@ Runnah,

Is it so surprising that since you have embraced the persona of someone is thinks humor is everything and that most things you say are an attempt at humor, that it is impossible for me to tell when you are being honest and trying to be funny?

Is that a question or a statement?

Anyways I try to be honest with a bit of humor. If you cannot tell the difference than it's no big loss to either party.

 

[ronlane]

What, this is an invalid poll. Everyone knows that to be an official poll on TPF you have to include Bacon.

Oh, but to answer the given question, I don't think I am far enough to be able to decide.

 

[pixmedic]

I chose option #2, although I dislike its use of the word "perfection". I would have preferred the term "technical accuracy".
I realize that the common phrase is "striving for perfection", and I do understand its meaning for the context of this poll, but what would one do if they actually achieved perfection? Is that even possible? (in a technical sense, NOT artistic, since they were separate options) {( is artistic perfection possible, given that art is subjective?)}
so...i do not consider myself an artist.
maybe I CAN be "creative" when I photograph. maybe there is some artistic choices made in every photograph taken. But I think that in order for ME to consider myself an "artist", I should be looking at the end product to be an artistic creation, aaaaand I dont. I am mostly thinking about the technical aspects when I photograph.
the lighting I want, the angle i want, the pose i want, and while those things CAN be used in the creative/artistic process, I THINK about them in the technical sense. numbers, angels, flash output, diffusers, ISO, aperture....I dont think of photography as "creating an image", I think it as "capturing an accurate image"
since that is how the process works in my mind, I would consider myself a "technician" rather than an "artist".

Lordy....I hope that makes SOME bit of sense Lew...
I was having a bit of trouble articulating my thought processes as it relates to your question.

 

[pgriz]

I am an artist because my wife says I am, and who am I to argue?

Joking aside, anybody who does creative expression for the love of it can be called an artist. You don't have to be good at it, but you do have to have a feeling about whatever it is you do. All of us were artists when we were little, but over time, we forget the magic of pure creation, and focus on goals and processes and scores. We no longer do stuff for the love of it, but because it gets us somewhere, earns us something (and it doesn't have to be monetary), and often is done to impress others. Personally, I try to remember the artist of my youth, and encourage that creative little imp. Sometimes I skip, run through leaf piles, bark at the moon and make up silly poems. Sometimes I take pictures, just because. And sometimes, my wife and I lie in the grass and imagine the figures in the clouds passing by. My daughters, when teen-agers, would be mortified. Now, they occasionally join me in the little games. Because life is short, and there are not enough people willing to be artists in the world.

 

[The_Traveler]

What, this is an invalid poll. Everyone knows that to be an official poll on TPF you have to include Bacon.

Exactly right, in an odd way.
Here we are, xxx number of people who spend inordinate amounts of time and money, working very, very hard at an avocation or a profession that is, at its root, an art.
We perseverate in thinking and dreaming about our equipment, our lenses, our work - and yet most of us can't even admit to the desire, the wish to create something really, really great, to actually be an artist.
We have to take the curse off of it with humor.

Macho crap.

 

[rlemert]

I selected option 2. While I do want my pictures to be as "beautiful" as I can make them, that can be accomplished completely within the realm of "technical expertise" (considering 'composition' to be a technical skill). I consider someone to be 'an artist' when they are attempting to manipulate reality for an emotional (or even intellectual) purpose, while I am more concerned with recording reality.

 

[The_Traveler]

thanks for the honest articulation of how you see yourself and your work.

 

[ronlane]

I'll admit to the desire to create something really, really great for myself and others to enjoy (and make me a boat load of money ) but at about a year and a half into this journey, I just don't know enough. (or so I feel). It would mean a lot to be considered an artist. At photography, at music (guitar and/or mandolin) or any other of the things that I do that would be considered art. But as I critique myself, I just think "jack of all trades......".

 

[hopdaddy]

I chose Option One .......My Hand held Xerox machine ,Is where my ART begins .Once in my digital dark room ,The Art is enhanced . I use every method I can come up with to create a photograph , with the power to move your eye where I want it to go .

 

[Steve5D]

Exactly right, in an odd way.
Here we are, xxx number of people who spend inordinate amounts of time and money, working very, very hard at an avocation or a profession that is, at its root, an art.
We perseverate in thinking and dreaming about our equipment, our lenses, our work - and yet most of us can't even admit to the desire, the wish to create something really, really great, to actually be an artist.
We have to take the curse off of it with humor.

Macho crap.

Well, the poll is lacking. It doesn't allow for a person to be both.

Frankly, I think everyone who picks up a camera would like to consider themselves, at some point, an "artist". Your poll speaks to a need to choose between the two, and I don't believe it's an either/or proposition.

Not even close...

 

[The_Traveler]

If someone could pick one ability: 1) the ability to be an artist who can create interesting, wonderful, amazing, insightful pictures or 2) to be a superb technician with the skills to create pictures that were technically perfect, what choice would most people make?

 

[JacaRanda]

If someone could pick one ability: 1) the ability to be an artist who can create interesting, wonderful, amazing, insightful pictures or 2) to be a superb technician with the skills to create pictures that were technically perfect, what choice would most people make?

I would pick #1. However, in the majority of pictures I take I seem to strive for #2.

Sadly, #1 is just not in me :no smile:

 

[The_Traveler]

If someone could pick one ability: 1) the ability to be an artist who can create interesting, wonderful, amazing, insightful pictures or 2) to be a superb technician with the skills to create pictures that were technically perfect, what choice would most people make?

I would pick #1. However, in the majority of pictures I take I seem to strive for #2.

Sadly, #1 is just not in me :no smile:

Technical perfection is a reasonable goal and a skill that anyone can reasonably aspire to and, once a level is achieved, can be repeated without inordinate effort.
OTOH, artistic achievement, while easier for the lucky few, is never guaranteed and every artist starts from scratch with each creation.

Look at Ansel Adams, most or all of his pictures are as technically perfect as any mortal could hope to get, very few of his images achieve close to the same level of artistic glory.

 

[pgriz]

If someone could pick one ability: 1) the ability to be an artist who can create interesting, wonderful, amazing, insightful pictures or 2) to be a superb technician with the skills to create pictures that were technically perfect, what choice would most people make?

I would pick #1. However, in the majority of pictures I take I seem to strive for #2.

Sadly, #1 is just not in me :no smile:

Jacaranda, my friend, it is in you. It has always been in you. But it is closer to the surface when we are little, and we forget so very much as we get older. The artist comes out when we play, when we have fun, when we dream, and when we don't care who's watching. So go play, and let your inner child comes out. Play because it's fun. Take your camera and jump around. Put on a slow shutter and spin in a circle. Put it on burst mode and chase the dog down the path. Shoot out-of-focus lights because they are pretty. Go play - and allow the artist in you to peek out.

 

[limr]

If someone could pick one ability: 1) the ability to be an artist who can create interesting, wonderful, amazing, insightful pictures or 2) to be a superb technician with the skills to create pictures that were technically perfect, what choice would most people make?

First one, all day long.

If someone could pick one ability: 1) the ability to be an artist who can create interesting, wonderful, amazing, insightful pictures or 2) to be a superb technician with the skills to create pictures that were technically perfect, what choice would most people make?

I would pick #1. However, in the majority of pictures I take I seem to strive for #2.

Sadly, #1 is just not in me :no smile:

Jacaranda, my friend, it is in you. It has always been in you. But it is closer to the surface when we are little, and we forget so very much as we get older. The artist comes out when we play, when we have fun, when we dream, and when we don't care who's watching. So go play, and let your inner child comes out. Play because it's fun. Take your camera and jump around. Put on a slow shutter and spin in a circle. Put it on burst mode and chase the dog down the path. Shoot out-of-focus lights because they are pretty. Go play - and allow the artist in you to peek out.

Wish there were a "Love" button for this :heart: