[Leica] Is Photography Real...

[Tom Finnegan <TomF@piengr.com>]

on 2/13/01 3:35 PM, B. D. Colen at bdcolen@earthlink.net wrote:

> We've at one time or another kicked around the subject of whether
> photography is a literal art, or as interpretative as any other art....
> 
> So last night I am reading in The Tao of Photography and the subject is
> being discussed. And the following allegedly true story is told...
> 
> P. Picaso is painting a woman's portrait, and her husband is watching,
> becoming more horrified by the minute. Finally he can take it no longer:
> 
> "That doesn't look anything like my wife," says He Who Ought To Know.
> 
> "Well, what does your wife look like?" PP asks.
> 
> The man fishes in his wallet and hands Picaso a photo of the woman.
> "THIS," he says, "is what my wife looks like."
> 
> Picaso stares at the image for a few moments and then hands it back,
> saying, "Awfully tiny, isn't she?"
> 
> Discuss amongst yourselves.
> 

Another bit of Picasso-ism that may, or may not, have anything to do with
photography.

Picasso is at an opening of his latest works. There are all sorts of well to
do people milling about checking out the paintings. Picasso comes upon a
woman is is examining a painting simply titled 'Fish'. The woman turns to
Picasso and remarks, "I don't get it, this doesn't look anything like a
fish."

"Ahhh....", Picasso says, "but you see, it isn't a fish, it is a painting of
a fish."

The book "On Looking at Photographs" by Bill Jay and David Hurn talks about
this topic a bit. From what I remember, Jay and Hurn tend to label literal
work as 'photography', and non-literal or interpretive work is considered
'visual art that uses the photographic medium'. Thus by this definition,
B.D. engages in 'photography', whereas Cindy Sherman is largely a visual
artist that just so happens to use the photographic medium in her work. Of
course, there was that series of 'Image Cannot Be Displayed' that B.D. did a
while back that came across as somewhat interpretive. I guess Eggleston
would be a photographer.

Tom Finnegan
Seattle