Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/12/13
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Nick Poole jotted down the following:
> Taken at face value, it merely reduces Sherman's photography to 'a
> commentary onŠ' or a 'critique of'. I have to admit I'm not an
> admirer of her work, but that isn't the point - the original question
> was whether or not it is art. That her work is a very personal
> expression of her feelings about the world is beyond question, but
> does that make it art?
The problem with this discussion is that no-one has offered a definition of
"art". So far, we are arguing about the meaning of a sound, presumably all
with diffuse, incomplete, and differing understandings of what that sound,
"art", represents.
I myself am aware that I do not have a clear, unambiguous understanding of
what "art" is. I have no problem of seeing "a commentary on" or "a critique
of" as attributes or characteristics which a piece of art can have. I
disagree that "it mearly reduces Sherman's photography", but I don't
understand what you mean by "taken at face value".
I agree that "art" is something more than simply critique or commentary, but
am unsure of what exactly this "more" consists of. I *think* I recognize it
when I see it, but I'm not sure.
And yet, at some level, the question is meaningless. Does it matter if it
is art? Perhaps art lies in the intentionality? If it was created with the
intention of being a piece of art, then it is art.
Or, perhaps art lies in absence of utility. If it cannot be used for
anything else except as an aesthetic experience, then it is art. Could we
sell clothes with Sherman's photography? (Well, Benetton probably could ;)
No? Well, then it must be art.
M.
- --
Martin Howard | "Computers let you make more mistakes faster
Visiting Scholar, CSEL, OSU| than any other invention in human history,
email: howard.390@osu.edu | with the possible exception of handguns and
www: http://mvhoward.i.am/ | tequila" -- Mitch Radcliffe.
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