Photography as Art [NSFW]
Volume I, Number 3
I used to passionately believe that photography was a science, not an art. As a college student studying photojournalism, I often shared that opinion with anyone who would listen. One of my friends at the time was an art major, with a photography emphasis—we argued about this a lot.
And while there is definitely a strong science element to photography, I’m not ashamed to admit that I was wrong—photography is an art.
“It is not absolutely art nor is it absolutely science. The true nature of … photography is a paradox.” —Attributed to Terry Parker, streetdirectory.com
My hands-on, left-brain photography education was heavy on the science of photography: the exposure triangle, the rule of thirds, the relationships between exposure and chemistry and time and temperature in developing film. The camera was a precision tool, finely tuned to consistently produce images based on these scientific calculations.
But photography as art? Not a chance.
Art was painting, drawing, sculpting, designing buildings, pottery, dance—things the kids taking art classes in school created, not people like me who couldn’t draw a stick figure without it looking like a disjointed jumble of lines.
But I was wrong—so wrong.
Over the past several years I’ve come to appreciate not just the art in photography, but the history of photography and how the art-versus-science debate has been going on for well over 100 years.
Recently, I’ve had opportunities to display my photographs in gallery exhibitions. Seeing my photos hang with the amazing artwork of dozens of other talented creators is exhilarating. Being present at the gallery openings, meeting new people, and revisiting past acquaintances really brings this introvert out of his shell.
Creating art is addictive—and I’m hooked. In addition to pulling from my archives for pieces to exhibit, I’m starting to create new work specifically on the themes of upcoming exhibits.
Throughout this metamorphosis I’ve learned to let go of the rules and explore, experiment, and extract the creative energy I didn’t even know I had.
And the further I journey down this road, the more I realize that the answer to the question of whether photography is an art or a science is …
Yes.
It's almost like you've been Jesuit educated. One of the hallmarks of the graduate at graduation (the first, in fact) is somebody who is open to growth. More than most, I've benefitted from your growth as a photographer and - yes - as an artist. I look forward to more of your explorations.