Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/11/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>>Speaking about your work is very important in the art world. > >It's a disease. They take very literally the old adage that a picture is >worth a thousand >words. Usually the artistic merit is inversely proportional to the amount >of words used >to describe it. Try reading modern art criticism. I gave up after I >misplaced my secret >decoder ring. >Robert >Robert, you said it better than I ever could have....the "criticism" you >describe >is more university-sponsored pseudo-intellectual PC speak....Jeezus, I never >took Orwell literally 'til the 90s....... >Best to U and URS, >Walt Are you guys saying that there should not be any critical discourse about photography or art, or just not the complicated kind? Should we just stick to: "I like it." "Boy that's neat." "I don't understand it." "That's crap." etc.? Or should we just not talk about it at all? While there is a lot of uninspired and overly academic art/photography criticism out there, there are also well written, thought provoking studies of art and photography that we can learn a lot from, if we're willing to make the effort to actually read and understand them, and maybe even discuss them with other people. You guys seem to have a "point and shoot" attitude with respect to talking about art/photography: the less we have to think and say about it the better. Anything requiring study and thought is too intellectual, academic, unnecessarily complex, etc. Believe me, I am no fan of conventional academic prose styles, having slogged through years of it in college. As a photographer, however, I'm interested in reading what others - both photographers and critics - have to say about this activity. If nothing else, it only broadens my appreciation and understanding of photography and gives me something to think about, even if I disagree with it. To limit myself to the exchange of evaluative opinions is, well, too limiting. Guy - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html