I think it is absurd to think you are benefiting humanity by posting photos to Photro or having a Flickr account or foisting off a slide show on unsuspecting guests.
I take lots of pictures I don't show anyone. But that's actually irrelevant. What I was talking about was the activity of making art, and how personal that is for many people, and how many people never bother to show anyone the end result - and, for a lot of those people, it is the act of making the art that is important. Once it's finished, the artist is done with it - the fun is over.
It's not just photography. It's every artistic activity. Some people feel the need to do it yet don't feel any need to put it out in the world. Just go revisit some of what @VinceInMT had to say, above.
Not the ones I participate in because I supply useful information and avoid politics. Your case may well be quite different.
I think it is absurd to think you are benefiting humanity by posting photos to Photrio or having a Flickr account or foisting off a slide show of your latest photographic noodlings on unsuspecting guests.
So not only are our pictures worthless but we are too? No point to any of it. Sounds very depressing.
But Don, you've posted your pictures in the media section. Why did you do that? One of them you captioned: "My favourite photo on moldy film." That sounds like pride. Despite your insistence to the contrary, you apparently have an ego. Be proud of it.
Why would you spend thousands of dollars and years in art school just to lock up your work in the attic? Sure, it might not be as important as having children or caring for a sick relative. But it's part of us, has meaning, and should be shared.
The one time I think it is important to post though is when you're recommending or describing a process that you use. Showing samples is helpful to readers.
3. Showing samples.Given the choice:
1: A person making a technical recommendation or process description. No image attached.
2: Same person keeping his mouth shut because an image is expected and they don't feel like including one.
Which would be the most useful?
PS: there's also a massive difference between offering a technical illustration and showing photos for the sake of exhibiting them. The former is off-topic in this thread as far as I'm concerned (which doesn't mean it can't be discussed).
3. Showing samples.
How can your art say something to others if you don't show it? Sure, you have a right not to show it. But what is he point then? What better place to show your photographic art then on a photo forum.I just reread that comment and although I already responded to it, I only did so to the first part. As to the second, you said “But it's part of us, has meaning, and should be shared.”
No, it’s not “part of us,” it’s part of the artist, is personal, and so is its meaning. This isn’t group therapy where disclosure is encouraged but rather where each artist is allowed to decide what and if they want to say something about themselves to others through their art.
Perhaps you are familiar with the discipline of art therapy. While it has several modalities, some that work with psychoanalysis, others use “art as therapy” where the creation and process of making the art is used to work on a variety of issues such as self-esteem, cognitive and emotional issues, and just plain personal growth. The products that come out of this are not “…part of us, has meaning, and should be shared.”
IMO, many artists, and I would include myself in this, might not be working with a therapist but, to some degree, make their work with a nod, even indirectly, to “art as therapy” and find that it can boost self-esteem and lead to a range of personal growth opportunities. It’s not necessary to show the work to others for these positive outcomes to take place. The reflects the fact that we all create things for a wide variety of personal reasons.
As for this “pride” issue that has come up, let me comment on that. Some people couch pride as some kind of negative emotion, perhaps something that leads to boasting, etc. But, IMO, a healthy pride is the result of self-satisfaction that comes from a personal accomplishment as in a job well-done. There is no shortage of false pride around. I hear that all the time when people harp about being proud of where they were born. How is an accident of birth something to be proud of? What did they do to contribute to that outcome other than to show up?
However, creating something, such as a piece of art, is something that the artist can be proud of, having achieved a goal, and the artist may want to share that with their community of others who also create work and achieved their own personal goals. Whether they choose to do so is, as I’ve alluded, highly personal and certainly not required by society.
Which amounts to #2 if a person has no or cannot show (for whatever reason) examples.
If he has no samples, how does he even know it works? That lessens its acceptability to the reader. How many people would buy a garment on the web if there's no picture of it? That's a hard sell.
On this site are people with a vast amount of experience of all kinds of things. They can possibly remember the best way to do something but might not have done it in a long time. If you want to disregard what they say because they have no photos to show, feel free to do so. But making them feel their opinions are worthless to everybody because they fail to provide what you want is contrary to the best interests of the whole.
How can your art say something to others if you don't show it? Sure, you have a right not to show it. But what is he point then? What better place to show your photographic art then on a photo forum.
Pick a lane already.I agree. Having pride in your accomplishments and sharing it with others is healthy as long as it doesn't lead to braggadocio.
Of course if you don't want to share it that's okay too.
The one time I think it is important to post though is when you're recommending or describing a process that you use. Showing samples is helpful to readers.
Nobody owes you an exhibition of their work, Alan. How many times, by how many people, and in how many different ways must this be said?
How can your art say something to others if you don't show it? Sure, you have a right not to show it. But what is he point then? What better place to show your photographic art then on a photo forum.
Where did I say that my art says something to others when I don’t show it? You are building a strawman and this is not the first time.
You also said “What better place to show your photographic art then on a photo forum.”
Perhaps a place where people would be willing to purchase it off the wall.
And I don't have to accept their opinions.
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