Philosophy of Photography
By Jason Canavaggio
29 February 2008
This is not for you.
Scanning thousands of photos online and pouring over the heavy pages of photography books, listening to critics of pictures give their testimony of what is and what is not art. Is photography even art anymore? Or was it even art to begin with?
Photography killed painting realistic scenes with its ability to capture reality in a three dimensional way. The only paintings left worth being called art were those of abstract thought or affluent symbolism that were instantly accepted as art and not debated. Of course society holds on to the old relics of what photography killed as a memento of what was, but in the process of the unknown massacre did we create a perpetual tirade of techniques?
It seems that's all a photograph is for. How well did this person use the rule of thirds? Or how well did they use lighting in this photo? Our obsession with the sole purpose of technique has even lead to the manifestation of manipulative programs to even correct if not instigate technique that wasn't even there at the beginning. In the attempt to have photography be accepted as art, did such pioneers of photography start a system of soulless technique we have yet to shy away?
Every photography class I've seen or heard people talk about have only taught technique and nothing more. This is how you do this. This is how you do that. Photographs are disregarded on the basis of a person's opinion, and that opinion usually rides on the methods used in the picture. However, if one seemingly important person happens to like the techniques used they'll call the photograph art and use it, which then leads to everyone then accepting the photos they had written off as nonsense claiming it was the greatest work in history. Photography: science of smoke and mirrors?
It is rare to see any symbolism used in a photograph to display a deeper purpose. It is the symbolism and alternate realities of abstractism that make a picture art. Why is it that a photographer fails to ask what their work means? What does it stand for? Where's the heart? Why is it that so few choose to break the rules to create something that's truly beautiful not for anyone else, but for themselves at the risk of it not being mass produced? Why are there too few to celebrate the Destructors?
A single click and we have the one opportunity to do something no one has done before, to show a world where there's a deeper meaning behind things, a world of true beauty that would leave anyone gaping in awe.
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