Question about shots taken using instant film; Are they art?

[mark]

Have you seen David Hockney's Polaroid collages?

http://www.hockneypictures.com/photos/photos_polaroids.php


What about Mary Ellen Mark's 20x24 Polaroids?

http://www.maryellenmark.com/gallery/portfolios/20x24_featured/index001_20x24_featured.html


Or Joachim Knill's 20x30 Polaroids?

http://www.joachimknill.com/photography.html


Have a look and judge for yourself.

Jonathan

Then there is Elsa Dorfman to show the other side of the coin.
http://elsadorfman.com/

 

[Jose A Martinez]

Well, it seems that the discussion about what is art and what is not appears here again, as it appears in other web forums, seminars, conferences, etc. If a can of an artist manure is considered by some art critics or theorists as art, why bother about this issue of instant photography is or is not art.

Early today I decided to work in a project, that I'm convinced that will be art, using Fuji fp3200 instant film. I've been thinking on the concept for a while and spent some time gathering equipment and supplies to produce it. Hope that I'll get what I'm looking at, an art work.

 

[Darkroom317]

Depends on the intention and how they are received. Please look up Dickie's Institutional Theory of Art.

 

[StoneNYC]

Well, it seems that the discussion about what is art and what is not appears here again, as it appears in other web forums, seminars, conferences, etc. If a can of an artist manure is considered by some art critics or theorists as art, why bother about this issue of instant photography is or is not art.

Early today I decided to work in a project, that I'm convinced that will be art, using Fuji fp3200 instant film. I've been thinking on the concept for a while and spent some time gathering equipment and supplies to produce it. Hope that I'll get what I'm looking at, an art work.

It's terrible! It's not at all art!


~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[StoneNYC]

^^^ that was supposed to have a smiley face at the end and is meant with sarcasm^^^


~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Andy Warhol thought Polaroid pics are art.

Dead Link Removed

 

[dreamingartemis]

Andy Warhol thought Polaroid pics are art.

Dead Link Removed

Andy Warhol took it to new heights with his polaroid bigshot

 

[dreamingartemis]

Until the technical aspect of charcoal improves, do charcoal drawings count as art? When Ingres did his drawings, were they considered art compared to his paintings? They sure are now!
One thing I think is very interesting is how much art and craft are still tied together in art photography discussion. A great deal of that I believe is inherent to the rather scientific medium, as well as it's influential practitioners ('saint' Ansel). In painting this was jettisoned by a large set of artists through the 20th cen. There are still painters (I was one) who grind their own oil paint, who glaze and stumble on linen supports, but it's no longer a necessary part of what a painting is, merely an aspect that informs the end result. Likewise, fiber based double weight two bath fixed prints, are still an artistic medium, but a Polaroid pinned to the wall, or transferred onto arches, or scanned and blown up can just as well be.
Is it art? Is still a super fun question. Myself, I lean toward believing in 'works of art' as a document of an artistic enactment, or possibly less palatable, art is a record of performance. I was looking at some of Dijkstra's Portraits the other day and was struck by how much this was a part of it. The act of setting up the camera, interacting just so with a complete stranger and capturing them in a moment of 'self-ness' would have been a beautiful thing whether the camera was loaded with sheet film, Polaroids or nothing at all. The use of large format film, however, gives a delightfully transparent record of the experience. Maybe the perfect medium for the moment, but not the only one.
Even Worse! Acts and the documents thereof can be rounded up or down by history. Th Gee's Bend quilters probably didn't sit down to be artists, but they've wound up in th public mind that way. Likewise I'm sure some very earnest 17th century guy sat down brush in hand to enact art, but is now regarded as decoration at best.

So, split decision on my part. With hope, I'd say that art is that which you set out with wholehearted artistic intent to bring into the world. More cynically, art is that which patrons will associate their names and money with in the long run.
sorry for the ramble!

It's okay, rambles is what I enjoy!

 

[dreamingartemis]

I hvae used a Leica M2R and a Hasselblad for test shots. Does that mean then they are ordinary camera not fit for producing "art?" This, it seems to me, is a pretty silly premise. If a toddler gets into mommy's oil paints and smears them withy her brushes on the wallpaper, does that mean she can never proeuce fine art with them> It's not about gear.

You have apoint, I guess anything can be considered art as long as it evokes a reaction from people

 

[tony lockerbie]

Good thread! I wonder how much St.Ansels' polaroids sell for these days?

 

[dreamingartemis]

Well, it seems that the discussion about what is art and what is not appears here again, as it appears in other web forums, seminars, conferences, etc. If a can of an artist manure is considered by some art critics or theorists as art, why bother about this issue of instant photography is or is not art.

Early today I decided to work in a project, that I'm convinced that will be art, using Fuji fp3200 instant film. I've been thinking on the concept for a while and spent some time gathering equipment and supplies to produce it. Hope that I'll get what I'm looking at, an art work.

Ohhh! I wanna know more about this! While I have been pondering along the same line but I honestly find myself wondering can i really embark on such a project where each shot is one of a kind? It would be more like embarking on my own painting project becasuse each shot is unique.

 

[dreamingartemis]

Good thread! I wonder how much St.Ansels' polaroids sell for these days?

I think his other more famous works fetches more than his polaroid stuff since they were only used primarily for testing purposes. Edwin Land if I recall correctly wanted to promote polaroid by getting it into the hands of professionals and Ansel Adams was one of them.

 

[StoneNYC]

If this helps at all, I consider some of my Polaroids to be art... Here are 3 examples...

The last is your Fuji 3200 film.


~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Hipster culture will call it art. In many respects it can resemble pinhole photography and is fashionable for its faults as much as its spontaneity.

 

[Steve Smith]

Patti Smith also uses Polaroid.


Steve.

 

[StoneNYC]

Bromoil (spelling?) and other paper film type imagery that isn't very sharp and resemble paintings are considered art, so how is a low quality Polaroid any different?


~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Steve Smith]

I honestly find myself wondering can i really embark on such a project where each shot is one of a kind? It would be more like embarking on my own painting project becasuse each shot is unique.

I spoke to a painter friend last night and asked him what he thought about selling paintings as unlike photographs which can be re-printed, a painting is a one off.

He said that it inspires him to paint more, otherwise he would end up with a room full of paintings which nobody will ever see. I suppose the same could be said for Polaroids.


Steve.

 

[okto]

The medium is not the message. There is no medium in which art cannot be made. Polaroids, cheese, spilled gravel, Bic lighter soot on a ceiling, wind blown at intervals through an alley—there is no answer to your question, because the question is predicated on a false understanding of art.

 

[MattKing]

The medium is not the message. There is no medium in which art cannot be made. Polaroids, cheese, spilled gravel, Bic lighter soot on a ceiling, wind blown at intervals through an alley—there is no answer to your question, because the question is predicated on a false understanding of art.

I'd agree generally, but I have concerns about cheese.

 

[Steve Smith]

I'd agree generally, but I have concerns about cheese.

When I was very young I used to go to my grandparents' house after school once a week. I used to carve boats out of cheese and float them in my tea. I'm not sure if they were art though!


Steve.

 

[StoneNYC]

When I was very young I used to go to my grandparents' house after school once a week. I used to carve boats out of cheese and float them in my tea. I'm not sure if they were art though!


Steve.

Cheese in tea? Yuck, goss, so it must be art because you wouldn't want to drink it LOL


~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk