when does a photograph stop being a photograph ?

removed account4 · May 12, 2011

i guess the title kind of says it ...

when does work on a photograph ( hand coloring, painting using waxes and dyes, and ink and pencil and ... ) turn the photograph into something else ?

thanks
john

puptent · May 12, 2011

What other light sensitive images are there? I mean isn't the term Photography inclusive rather than exclusive? Aren't we all under a fairly large tent? Prints on paper have been tinted and colored since the beginning. I find your cyanotypes and your long sun exposures on paper fascinating. There are two or three that I simply love, and if I had Cindy Sherman's money...

eddie · May 12, 2011

I had the same question, about this one, last year: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

I came to the conclusion that the artist can call it whatever he/she wishes. I assume you're referring to your new work. You can call it a photograph (it is), a painting (it is), a drawing (it is). Whatever you wanna call 'em, I like 'em... They're really creative, and appealing, images.

Barry S · May 12, 2011

Maybe you'd need a probablistic solution of some sort. Ask 1000 people to rate the photographic-ness of an object on a scale from 1-10 and analyze the results. It reminds me of strolling through an exhibition of pictorialism with my girlfriend and I was explaining all the processes used to make the images. We arrived at a photogravure and after some explanation--she said, "So that's not an actual photograph, then?" My eloquent response was, "Ahhhhhhhh...", and quickly walking on. The answer is to act like (and call yourself) an artist, not a photographer. Then you can simply list the materials beneath the title--gelatin silver print, wax, pigment, duck bills, twine, and mica.

Whiteymorange · May 13, 2011

John,
Worrying about what to call an artwork is a job for your biographer. You just keep making them and we'll be happy.

removed account4 · May 13, 2011

thanks for the encouragement !

i have been thinking that
some of these images are so
non-photographic, they don't belong
on a photography website ..

( although they do use photosensitive material and light to make
the initial image ... )

Eric Rose · May 13, 2011

Or more importantly, when does a photograph stop being a photograph?

ntenny · May 13, 2011

jnanian said:
i have been thinking that
some of these images are so
non-photographic, they don't belong
on a photography website ..

If you're speaking of your images and this website, I don't recall seeing anyone complain so far. Put me in the "it doesn't matter what you call it" camp.

-NT

2F/2F · May 13, 2011

I don't know...but I think your recent pictures certainly belong here.

Crap like this is why I just call them pictures or prints.

mhcfires · May 13, 2011

2F/2F said:
I don't know...but I think your recent pictures certainly belong here.

Crap like this is why I just call them pictures or prints.

Agreed!

MattKing · May 13, 2011

Just don't ask Maris for his answer to this question

As for my answer - it never stops being a photograph, but it may become something else as well.

Thomas Bertilsson · May 13, 2011

Whiteymorange said:
John,
Worrying about what to call an artwork is a job for your biographer. You just keep making them and we'll be happy.

I couldn't come close to saying that better.

Matthew Rusbarsky · May 14, 2011

Google around for Steichen's paintings and compare it to his platinum gum prints. there are stories of his work being warmly accepted in galleries then rejected when they sere revealed to be photographs.

Maris · May 15, 2011

MattKing said:
Just don't ask Maris for his answer to this question

As for my answer - it never stops being a photograph, but it may become something else as well.

That is an elegant way of putting it particularly because it effectively acknowledges where the photograph ends and the other stuff begins.

Bill Burk · May 15, 2011

jnanian,

Your work is always refreshing. I'd call it photography, of the highest order.

I almost would categorize photograms differently though they are made on photosensitive material. Though I would still call pinhole photography even though a lens is not involved.

The first thing I would say is not photography is the painting style "Photorealism" where a photograph might be taken first, then meticulously re-created by hand in acrylic or oil paint.

removed account4 · May 15, 2011

thanks guys ...

when does a photograph stop being a photograph ?

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