There are several very good and accessible books around which discuss this question. I can recommend these:
"The Art Question" Nigel Warburton "But is it Art?" Cynthia Freeland "Philosophy of Art" Noel Carroll I probably have some others knocking around, but can't be bothered to get up and look for them. The first of these is particularly well written and argued. Warburton is a professor of philosophy at the Open University here in the UK, and has written several excellent books. He is easy to read without being condescending and without missing stuff out. All of these books review historical attempts to answer this question, and explain why they have failed, and why it is really the wrong question to be asking. It's impossible to answer the specific question 'what makes a photograph art' because it presupposes a workable definition of art. And there isn't one. If there was, nobody would still be asking. Personally, I have never really understood why people feel the need to categorise things as art or not-art, or even as good, bad and indifferent art. I would rather approach the object or performance in question, and examine my own reaction to it, the reactions of other people, and its effect on the world. This is what really matters, not its art status. -- Cheers, Bob > -----Original Message----- > From: Tom Reese [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 06 May 2005 12:35 > To: [email protected] > Subject: what makes a photograph art... > > Background: I bought Bill Fortney's "Great Photography > Workshop" book a while back. In the book, Bill recommended > another one called "Developing > The Creative Edge in Photography" by Bert Eifer. That book > contains some interesting (to me at least) thoughts on what > makes a photograph 'art.' These definitions are compiled by > Mr. Eifer and are not necessarily his. These are some of the > definitions: > > art pleases the eye > > art brings order to chaos - it creates harmony > > art clarifies, intensifies or enlarges our experience of life > > art has mystery, ambiguity and contradiction > > I'm interested in hearing the thoughts of the group on these > definitions. Do you disagree with any of them? > > Tom Reese > > > > >
