Some challenging stuff

I'm confused after looking at those. The only response I can come up with is WTF?! :LOL:
 
Cool.

Although I went from being appreciative that the guy dug a hole for his image, then had a wtf moment as I read that he "used photoshop to make it appear deeper". Don't get that.
 
Cool.

Although I went from being appreciative that the guy dug a hole for his image, then had a wtf moment as I read that he "used photoshop to make it appear deeper". Don't get that.

Haha, there was a boulder under it so I guess it was his only option
 
Cool.

Although I went from being appreciative that the guy dug a hole for his image, then had a wtf moment as I read that he "used photoshop to make it appear deeper". Don't get that.

I agree, could have just photoshopped the whole thing, and 2500 hours? really? it looked photoshoppped to me before I read the text so it wasn't worth that effort. I really liked the idea but there is something about integrity...
 
A quick scroll through the images had me thinking there's more photoshop than photography going on here, that doesn't make the images bad, some of them are pleasurable enough to view - some of the water-colour effect ones at least. But challenging?
 
I agree, could have just photoshopped the whole thing, and 2500 hours? really? it looked photoshoppped to me before I read the text so it wasn't worth that effort. I really liked the idea but there is something about integrity...

I didn't think of it from this perspective. The comment about using photoshop by Harlequin makes sense now haha
 
A quick scroll through the images had me thinking there's more photoshop than photography going on here, that doesn't make the images bad, some of them are pleasurable enough to view - some of the water-colour effect ones at least. But challenging?

TBH many of them looked more like scissors and a prit stick. It's hard to know whether I should feel like an ignorant philistine or if they're simply poor art.
 
I've been very tempted to just let this thread wither and die but I started it so I feel a bit of responsibility...

AFAIK Unseen is a successful international photography fair (it's in its eighth year) and to quote "that showcases the latest developments in the field of contemporary photography practices". In that sense it strikes me that is a bit like the cat-walk fashion shows, very few people, if any actually wear the stuff that is on the catwalks but those shows drive the industry in certain directions, elements of the clothing seen there trickle down into the main stream. That said obviously most people stick doggedly to jeans and a tee shirt or whatever but one day they might turn around and find that they are almost completely detached from what is happening.

I find this challenging because people are producing this work and other people, well financed people, presumably intelligent and influential people are taking it seriously. It is all too easy to write it off as "Arty farty nonsense for airheads" but it seems to me that trends (and hence the money) in photography might be going in directions that we never see represented on this forum. Compare and contrast with say Damien Hirst with his spot paintings and pickled sharks and come back to me when you are worth £300 million.

It's hard to know whether I should feel like an ignorant philistine or if they're simply poor art.
Does either have to be the case? We are entitled to connect with whatever moves us and ignore the rest, art which reaches a very wide audience is incredibly rare.
 
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The clue is tin the article's subtitle. It's 'art photography', which, as Sirch suggests, is as connected to photography-as-we-know-it :D as high fashion is to everyday wear. Some of it is also more art-that-uses-photography than photography.

However, there is 'straight' photography in there. All too often the pictures picked out to go with this sort of article don't give a real idea of what a body of work is like so I did some Googling and turned up https://charlesxelot.com/series/there-is-gaz-under-the-tundra/ which shows more than the single picture in the article, and I found it interesting to see Simon Roberts taking a change of direction.
 
TBH many of them looked more like scissors and a prit stick. It's hard to know whether I should feel like an ignorant philistine or if they're simply poor art.

Someone with artistic talent could turn out something hang-able using scissors , pritt stick and a few bits of coloured paper I'm sure
 
Like Matisse?
 
Does either have to be the case? We are entitled to connect with whatever moves us and ignore the rest, art which reaches a very wide audience is incredibly rare.

Not necessarily, but it all just seemed a bit unsubstantial and I was allowing for the idea that it might be me rather than the work that was lacking.
 
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Quote"When asked if it was a bit cheeky to showcase an artist who predominantly uses video installation, Paulenka’s answered that photography was constantly evolving and pushing boundaries"End Quote
Pushing boundaries of PS / Computers/ Digital technology, Yes! …...Nothing else imo, certainly not pushing the boundaries of the tog
Manipulating an image produced on whatever medium ( film or digital) to point that it barely resembles the original using computer technology shows very little if any skills of a photographer.
 
Which makes me think not so much of the future as the past - when photographers would go to any lengths to make their photographs look like ANYTHING rather than a photograph.

This not being a comment on the exhibition per se.
 
Life was, life is, life is not.

I think that saying can perhaps also be applied to many types of art, including photographic art.
 
Everyone has their own choice which is fair enough.
Harsh manipulation simply does nothing for me personal be it with my own photography or viewing it in the work of others.
 
I have a notion of the possible 'depth' in cultural expression. It's not a requirement, just a personal tally that I can't help making. But at the same time I don't assume that I have perfect vision or knowledge.

Irrespective of this individual notion of depth, it's also possible to have, and allow others to have, fun.

A lot of this stuff is fun. So let's slough off some of our defences, and celebrate that!

Here's to Marshall McLuhan!
 
Everyone has their own choice which is fair enough.
Harsh manipulation simply does nothing for me personal be it with my own photography or viewing it in the work of others.
I probably agree with you there most of the time as photography goes... but I'm not saying that point of view is correct, or indeed, incorrect, or that my point of view matters in the slightest in the art world. I take photos of subjects I've seen that I like... or rather try to take photos of what I've 'seen'.

If someone wants to label one of my photos as art, or documentary, abstract or whatever; and viewing one of my photos makes them happy or smile, and/or 'think', then who am I to say "It's not art, it's just a quirky looking photo of someone shopping!" or whatever?

After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so let them get on with it. In the meantime, I'll keep pressing the shutter and when a shot either captures what I've seen, or it's the result of partial (or perhaps full) serendipity, then I'll be happy if people enjoy the resulting image... if they want to call it art it's up to them. If they want to see beyond what we (or I) see in a photo then fair enough, as literally translated photography means drawing with light.
 
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If they want to see beyond what we (or I) see in a photo then fair enough, as literally translated photography means drawing with light.

/pedant mode on

The verb could as well be translated as "write", so photography becomes writing with light. And writing usually implies a message.

/pedant mode off
 
/pedant mode on

The verb could as well be translated as "write", so photography becomes writing with light. And writing usually implies a message.

/pedant mode off

Or perhaps it's just a nice thing to look at before accessing the layer of chocolates beneath the pictorial cardboard lid? :)
 
Then it's definitely to be translated "write" because the image on the chocolate boxes I open have the letters "Black Magic" written on. Not quite sure what the message means, but I'm sure it has one :).

This comes down to decorative art (although might consider that an oxymoron).
 
/pedant mode and best caricatured art critic impersonation voice on

In your implied theoretical example the text has been applied across the underlying art for an ulterior motive. The art in itself remains messageless, in the context of making one want to eat chocolates.

/pedant mode off (hopefully!) :giggle:
 
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