Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => But is it Art? => Topic started by: luxborealis on May 21, 2015, 07:22:30 pm
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This photograph just won Alison Postma one year's free tuition compliments of the Art Gallery of Ontario.
If this photo was posted here under "User Critique", how would you respond?
Read more about it here (http://archive.feedblitz.com/35886/~4949774/34313224/2d9cfd919df43dd22a987d28394cbf3e).
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That's an awesome photo.
No, it's not technically interesting, it's not a great example of what you can do with a Phase Blah Blah and superior exposure control.
What it IS is an idea with the clarity of a thrown blade, executed simply and clearly. THAT is Art.
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I find it an interesting photo, whether it's art or deserves a grant for a year tuition is hard for me to judge, but some other do and that's all that's needed.
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I agree with pegelli but we don't get to see the rest of the submissions and it could have been the "best" on show. In a competition all the images are compared with each other and the "best" wins.
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It's a strong image in the sense that you stop, and you are engaged to ponder what am i really seeing.
That works for me...
Peter
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OP, It is nothing to me. But I like street and doc work, so I may not be a good judge.
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The article is a little confusing. It appears there were a number of photos submitted by her, not just one. Note they say "compositions". If a series, than they look at the styles or concepts of each student as a whole. From the article:
The winners were selected for “taking on the conventions of various photographic approaches,” the jury wrote. “Alison Postma’s masterfully executed compositions investigate the uncanny dimensions of personal space.”
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If this photo was posted here under "User Critique", how would you respond?
Read more about it here (http://archive.feedblitz.com/35886/~4949774/34313224/2d9cfd919df43dd22a987d28394cbf3e).
I am actually more curious about how you would answer the question posed. Perhaps I should have just posted the photo in User Critique with no background! :-\
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I'd crop it from the right to a 4x5 AR, increase DOF with a smaller aperture (up the ISO if nec) and increase the local contrast in the hair ;)
This shot, IMHO, winning a year's tuition depresses me. It seems " gimmicky" and staged (of course) but then it's not my "thing" and YMMV.
I tried to react to your original question, Terry!
Caveat: I have no formal training in "art" as some of you know ;)
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Hi! I'm the taker of that photo and just found this forum so I'm not sure anybody will actually see this reply, however I feel like it is necessary to clarify a needlessly confusing article.
The prize requires students to submit a portfolio of 15 images and an artist statement, so while this is one of the images I submitted, it is not the only one and makes a lot more sense in its larger context and with a written explanation. This image is from a series I did about a recurring dream I had involving another version of myself.
The prize also is aimed at recognizing emerging talent and helping students develop their artist talent in their final year of school, so the judges weren't just looking at the final images, but also the ideas we talked about in our statements and the way we think about photography.
I feel like it is important to note that I do not consider myself a photographer, but an artist (my more recent work incorporates sculptural elements into my photos, which is the direction I'm likely heading in for the near future).
If anybody would be interested in seeing some of the other photos I submitted to the prize, they are on my website under the headings "Residues" and "Untitled (Double)" @ alisonpostma.ca (http://www.alisonpostma.ca)
Thanks for looking at and critiquing my work!
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Alison. The picture posted at the beginning of this thread appears in your series labelled "Untitled (Double) only, not in "Residues". Interestingly, it appears like it should have be included in the series labelled Vancouver since those are illustrative of objects being out of place as the photo in question.
Did I miss something?
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If this photo was posted here under "User Critique", how would you respond?
I would say "I don't get it".
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Is it art? Yes. It is art because the person who created it considers it art.
Is it good art? That is up to the viewer opine.
Is it bad art? That is up to the viewer to opine.
Anything that someone produces and considers art is art. I can't tell someone "no, that ain't art". I can tell them that I don't like it, or that I feel it stinks. :) But that is different.
However, just considering something as art does not mean that anyone else will like/appreciate/understand it. Art is kinda a solitary concept.
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If anybody would be interested in seeing some of the other photos I submitted to the prize, they are on my website under the headings "Residues" and "Untitled (Double)" @ alisonpostma.ca (http://www.alisonpostma.ca)
Thanks for introducing yourself and providing the link.
I enjoyed looking at your site and photo-series. They're very different to what I normally enjoy but still very interesting.
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Sometimes the sum of a narrative is greater than the parts. I understand the artist's intent. Her work is conceptual. Some of the single images standout while others don't. I "get" that she is attempting to challenge the boundaries between the banality of experiential reality, psychological drama, and dream states. My primary critique is that I'd like to see her simplify the text, rid the photos of any and all extraneous information, and take more care in lighting and staging the subjects. Right now, it all seems almost a bit too random. Without having read her didactic text, I would have looked at the pictures differently. I don't have a quarrel with her receiving a scholarship. I hope she is able to latch onto a mentor or two who are able to keep her on track and help her further refine her exploration.
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Alison. The picture posted at the beginning of this thread appears in your series labelled "Untitled (Double) only, not in "Residues". Interestingly, it appears like it should have be included in the series labelled Vancouver since those are illustrative of objects being out of place as the photo in question.
Did I miss something?
Hi Alan,
"Untitled (Double)" and "Residues" are two separate series that wouldn't make sense to have overlapping images. Untitled (Double) is a photo series while Residues is photo-sculpture. The AGO prize allowed entrants to enter work from more than one body of work, so I can see why that might be confusing.
The page titled "Vancouver" is just some examples of what I am doing right now photographically while I am in Vancouver for the summer, the images aren't yet an organized series but rather acting as a visual diary of things that have caught my eye. It is interesting that you say it is a collection of images of things being out of place, I hadn't really analyzed them looking for a unifying theme - perhaps that is an accidental reflection of my feelings towards living in a place I don't feel at home in.
I really appreciate the feedback
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Quickly looking at the first post my reaction was "not art", move on. After looking at the artist's site I reverse my opinion. They do work as series, and actually brings feelings of warm deja-vu of my college days 40 years ago. Compositional details from around the house, done in B&W, of course. I still have them somewhere in old photo paper boxes. Even had some of them in young artist's curated exhibitions at the time.
I did not turn out to become an artist, though. But life was, and is, good…
So Alison, keep your eyes open, they are good ones...