[Leica] art

[DAVE YODER <leica@home.com>]

Let's ease up on art, for art's sake (not you, Art). If it provokes some
kind of emotional response or introspection, or just some little
intangible feeling somewhere, who's to say it isn't art? Some of this
sounds a bit like "serious artist" grumblings about photojournalism not
being art during the last decade while it was exploding on the "art scene."
When I saw selections from the San Diego Museum of Photographic Arts
(hope I got that right) permanent collection, a very large percentage of
the ones they chose to display were clearly from within the realm of
photojournalism (can't be precise on the %). And, I might add, they were
usually more engaging in one way or another than the ones that were not
journalistic (now, I wouldn't want to try to define journalism either).
I mean, how many bleached cow skulls perched on desert rocks can one
take? (with all due respect to any luggers who've taken pictures of
bleached cow skulls on desert rocks).

My favorite artist of any genre, Ani Difranco, sang it well: 

"I'm living for something I can't even define."

- --Dave