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Eugene Atget Appreciation

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snusmumriken said:
Certainly. But the discussion here is always whether there was a third intent, an artistic pretension. Or whether he was ‘only’ a craftsman doing his self-appointed task tastefully. And in the latter case, is art then an emergent quality?
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Quite often great artistry is a by-product of great craftsmanship. You'll never be able to tell when artistry was intentional and when it was accidental, so to speak.

This doesn't only apply to Atget. Nor just to photography.
 
snusmumriken said:
Certainly. But the discussion here is always whether there was a third intent, an artistic pretension. Or whether he was ‘only’ a craftsman doing his self-appointed task tastefully. And in the latter case, is art then an emergent quality?
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I would suggest that any craft that requires continual repetition produces art as an emergent quality.
 
Don_ih's comment "Atget's photo is a view of the knocker and not the knocker itself. So, while it does allow for an appreciation of the knocker (since that is the actual subject), the photo has its own characteristics which set it apart as something in-itself to be appreciated. And, frankly, Atget's photo brings a more vibrant life to the knocker than the other two. His angle of view and the light when he took the photo bring out a certain expression that isn't visible on either of the other images. He didn't have to choose that angle. But he did."

Is exactly what I think. My inclination would be to shoot the knocker head-on. At least I can admire Atget's work even if I am unable to duplicate it.
 
snusmumriken said:
Certainly. But the discussion here is always whether there was a third intent, an artistic pretension. Or whether he was ‘only’ a craftsman doing his self-appointed task tastefully. And in the latter case, is art then an emergent quality?
Click to expand...

Art isn't as mystical as that implies, anyway. Art is the norm, not the exception. That doesn't mean it's always good. Art and craft are hand-in-hand - along with technique and style. You can think of it like this: tapestry weaving is a craft - a skilled application of a practice - but it may result in something that is considered art. It never stops being a craft to become art. And the maker never stops being a craftsperson to become an artist. The craftsperson may never be aware they are making something that will be considered art. They don't need to be.
 
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I've seen enough original Atget prints to know that they don't look anything like snappy "f/64" "fine art" prints at all.
Almost looked antiquated even in their own time; understated contrast. The point is, that's the look he wanted and knew how to do. It worked for him; but it might not work at all for a wannabee. There were a number of Atget wannabees in the 70's - more pretentious than convincing. An exception was the architectural photographer Philip Trager; he successfully rekindled some of the same vibe.
 
Don_ih said:
Art isn't as mystical as that implies, anyway. Art is the norm, not the exception. That doesn't mean it's always good. Art and craft are hand-in-hand - along with technique and style. ...
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Excellent...thank you. This why I consider calling oneself an artist should be the norm. It is not the big deal many think it is.
 
Well, the banter can get kinda sophomoric peep-showish at times on some of these forums, perhaps better suited for a dedicated section on nude photog. But I wouldn't want to press for moderator action if it's low key. It's no secret that Atget photographed prostitutes; but it was a pretty small part of his overall inventory. But sometimes a line gets crossed; I'm not insinuating it has in this particular instance, but it certainly could. Sure, I have plenty of examples of famous nude photography on my own photo book shelves - Stieglitz, Wynn Bullock etc. I just don't like feeling like I'm back in a high school lunch room conversation 60 yrs ago, or hearing more of the disrespectful blue collar descriptions of women, and jokes about them, I heard to at work for 40 yrs. I don't care about Robert's Rules of Order; but what would women themselves on this forum think about it?
 
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DREW WILEY said:
Well, the banter can get kinda sophomoric peep-showish at times on some of these forums, perhaps better suited for a dedicated section on nude photog. But I wouldn't want to press for moderator action if it's low key. It's no secret that Atget photographed prostitutes; but it was a pretty small part of his overall inventory. But sometimes a line gets crossed; I'm not insinuating it has in this particular instance, but it certainly could. Sure, I have plenty of examples of famous nude photography on my own photo book shelves - Stieglitz, Wynn Bullock etc. I just don't like feeling like I'm back in a high school lunch room conversation 60 yrs ago, or hearing more of the disrespectful blue collar descriptions of women, and jokes about them, I heard to at work for 40 yrs. I don't care about Robert's Rules of Order; but what would women themselves on this forum think about it?
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It's a legitimate question whether his nude photos were art or voyeurism or something else. French Post-Impressionist Paul Gauguin painted nude underage indigenous girls in the South Seas where he retired and married a 13 year-old and became very controversial for his paintings, especially today. It would be interesting to hear from women here what they think about Atget's photos.
 
Alan Edward Klein said:
It would be interesting to hear from women here what they think about Atget's photos.
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Wild guess: you'll get a huge variety of opinions, because, fun fact: not all women think alike. 🙂
 
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