I think the confusion is not yours. (But you know that.)
It would appear that very many confuse being able to do something well and showing that they mastered a skill (craft) with art.
They are, of course, two entirely different things.
i never understand why people insist that there is a craft to using a camera, processing + printing ... it is technique and skill.
once one understands the technique and modifies it to fit their own needs, and improvises, it becomes "art".
is it a "craft" because it is made by hand ?? sorry for my confusion ...
I messed around with cameras and techniques for years and years. Since I've finally decided on a format and method of working, I am finally able to really work on seeing.
juan
I actually feel like the simplcity of shooting with my newly aquired Rolleix has helped me walk across the bridge into the more artistic side. I am feeling with a fixed lens high qulality machine that gives me options I need, I no longer make the technical stuff a worry at all when I am shooting. I am just concerned about getting my visions painted onto the film. I will always be interested in the techinal stuff though as is naturally my nature with everything but I am now making art more than ever.
I get what you are saying, but the way I see it, the amount of technique one needs to learn in order to get started with expressing concepts with the camera is minimal; much, much, much more minimal than almost any other artistic medium, IMO. The basic techniques take about a day to explain to a group of students (composing, how shutter speeds and apertures affect the picture, exposure, how light meters work and how to use them, focusing, depth of field). Then it is just a little practice, and you can start expressing concepts visually. The great (and terrible) thing about photography is that you can do a whole lot with it if you have just a little bit of very basic information.
So, I think there is an initial technical hurdle that takes just a little bit of understanding and practice, but after that, most of the visual vocabulary is complete, and there are just bits and pieces to learn as you go on practicing.
I believe "artistry" is mainly something that is a characteristic of a person, and has little to do with medium or technique. These things simply hone and focus ones artistry. I don't think that you can become an artist just because you start using a medium that is used for making art.
I too think that 2F has hit the nail on the head. Perfection of craft/technique/skill, the making of 10000 negatives, etc, may certainly aid one's ability to make a certain kind of art or even art generally. But it is clearly possible to produce powerful photographic art with a limited or narrow technical mastery.
Often, I think, an obsession with technical mastery simply helps those of us who are not great artists to bridge the gap slightly, or at least allows us to pretend to ourselves that we are bridging the gap
Ian
I'd still say that if you try to bridge the gap (even slightly), or even pretend to do so, by obsessing about technique, you are wasting your time.
Well you should still strive to make the highest quality work you can. That way your technical skills will improve; and this will give you more options. But you shouldn't allow the search for technical skills to become the object of your work, which should should remain art making.
It will give you more options, but do nothing to your artistic skills.
Skill in using tools does not lead to artistry. That is drawn from something quite different entirely.
Well you should still strive to make the highest quality work you can. That way your technical skills will improve; and this will give you more options. But you shouldn't allow the search for technical skills to become the object of your work, which should should remain art making.
...if both you and your audience are satisfied with what you make, then searching for more technical skills is at best an academic exercise and at worst a distraction.
How have you discerned that Tichy wasn't looking for an audience/market/way to make a living off his art?
he chased a journalist away with an axe.
i never understand why people insist that there is a craft to using a camera, processing + printing ... it is technique and skill.
once one understands the technique and modifies it to fit their own needs, and improvises, it becomes "art".
is it a "craft" because it is made by hand ?? sorry for my confusion ...
I messed around with cameras and techniques for years and years. Since I've finally decided on a format and method of working, I am finally able to really work on seeing.
juan
As 2F/2F says, there a very limited minimum set of skills needed to work in photography. Artists out of other fields take up photography all the time, often with results humbling the technique-enamoured amateur. So, once you got the basics down pat, it's just a question about wanting to do art. There are creative techniques, too. Looking, hearing, feeling, experiencing artworks with the expectation of a synesthetic experience is one. Project work is another. This is, sadly, less often taught than technical skills. I suspect it's because no equipment sales come out of it
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