[Leica] art discussions

["Neal" <neal@nairobisafari.com>]

Discussing art is as frought with danger as discussing politics, but here goes. Art as beauty is in the eye and mind of the 
beholder. The old masters ( I'm talking Renassance here ) created their works for their patrons or clients, these were 
mostly commissioned works for money. In other words commercial art, that some of these works transcended their 
commercial or decorative value was serendipitous. Works created on the pretense of being art are by nature pretentious. 
Whether or not it succeeds at that pretense is as much up to the viewer as to the artist. Most photographers as well as 
lay observers view photographic "art" with preconcieved notions of what constitutes a good or valid photograph. Many 
of us were raised on the works of pioneers such as White, Smith, Eisenstate and Adams. Having seen and appreciated 
the multi-leveled work of these photo-journalist and photo-illustrators who were able to turn their more mundane subjects 
into true art, it is perhaps more difficult to appreciate the photographer's work that comes from a different perspective. In 
the end it is our failure to understand the work as much as it is the failure of the photographer to communicate.
Now that's pretentious!!