If you want to play the restraining order game, but I kinda like the attention!

Just to answer question one... ¦3

[link]

A simple answer for a complex question!

1. What is art to you?

Something that evokes thought or emotion... if both, than it is even more powerful.

It can be solely for the artist and other artists, or can hold a message for a larger audience. Some art is more effective than other pieces. Not all popular art is good, or bad. Nothing defines 'good art.'

2. How would you define Art Photography and differentiate it from other photography?

Art photography is more theatrical. Photography can be used to document, to capture moments, or be to envision something (like a building, a place, a person) in a new/exciting way. Art photography is more extravangant, more dress up. It can be conceptual or purely aesthetic.

3. Do you view photomanipulation as an art? What types of photomanipulations do you not view as art?

Photomanipulation is an art. Albeit, a trashy tabloid making Angie look 90 pounds fatter to sell magazines isn't exactly classy, but PM is a skill, and can be used for good or evil

There's an obvious difference between someone dicking around with Photoshop and sticking their head on Popeye's body and an actual piece of art Photomanipulation. There's a lot to be learned about textures, colours, and creating new, seamless worlds with the bits and pieces of unrelated ones.

And hell, some of the greatest art works on the 20th century were photomanips! Look at Hannach Hoch.

4. What gallery do you participate/post to on dA, where you see a difference between art and what you consider "not art"? What is that difference?

I do mostly comic book art and fanart. There is plenty of incredible fanart, but you get a lot of people posting screen caps from Naruto and calling it 'art'. Obviously, stealing someone else's work is NOT ART... you can appropriate things if you are doing so to make a point (in a satirical sort of way), but there are some things that are very clearly meant for Photobucket.



5. Is art in "the eye of the beholder"?

Oh hell yes! Some things I like, others might think are crap, and vice versa. There is no such thing as a perfect piece, that everyone can appreciate.

6. Would you consider a snap-shot "art"?

It depends. If someone is in the bathroom taking smutty Myspace shots, then no. Sometimes, you get a spontaneous shot that captures something very beautiful, or emotional, or poignant. On occasion.

7. Would you consider snap-shots of the photographer in a mirror as a "portrait" or "art"?

Lol, I suppose refer to up above. They make good reference pictures, but unless you are making a point about mirror pictures, then no.

8. Do you consider fan-fiction and fan art, art to be posted on dA?

Lol, it's half my gallery, so I suppose I should answer yes

Here's the deal. Fanart is an IMMENSELY broad category. Sometimes, you are merely inspired by something you read/saw. Is this fanart? Sometimes, it's a celebration, or exploration of a character. There can be some really great fanart, if people bring something to it.

9. Would you say that 10+ deviations of the same type (the photographer's face, a poem with the same themes, etc) devalues the original concept and art?

Not at all. Some artists do huuuuge series on a single theme, and it evolves over time. Now, the ADD amoung us can't stick to that for long, but dedication must be commended.

MIND YOU, dedication is different from stagnation. The difference lies in exploring various sides of the same theme instead of regurgitating it 500 times.

10. Is there anything else you would like to add on the subject?

Art can really be anything. It's such an intensely broad concept in our scatterbrained, blackberry-wired, Starbucks-injected society Just make what you like.

1. What is art to you?
Anything and everything.

2. How would you define Art Photography and differentiate it from other photography?
In my opinion, intention. Bad art is still art.

3. Do you view photomanipulation as an art? What types of photomanipulations do you not view as art?
Sure, so long as it's not interwebs crap like lolcats.... but even those could be considered art I couldn't say no to this question any more than someone could say oil painting isn't art, or collages aren't art.

4. What gallery do you participate/post to on dA, where you see a difference between art and what you consider "not art"? What is that difference?
Photography and textures are my main galleries. Sometime you can see people treat the photography gallery like a photobucket, but I haven't really noticed this lately. As for textures, and this applies to all of Resources, sometimes people seem to think their junk photos would be useful to people, so we'll see a lot of blurry/useless textures submitted to Textures. Again, it's all about intention. If someone intended for a photo to be a useful texture that someone would use, it'll have some redeeming qualities about it, but if it's just some throwaway 'dud' photo, I don't know why they even bother submitting it.

5. Is art in "the eye of the beholder"?
Sure. Art, if anything, requires someone to witness it... otherwise we'd have even more trouble trying to define it

6. Would you consider a snap-shot "art"?
They can be, look at Polaroids for example, a camera, film and genre that revels in snap-shots and 'bad' photography. Somehow, taking a 'happy-snap' or snap-shot with a digital camera is not art, but doing it with a Polaroid or holga is.

7. Would you consider snap-shots of the photographer in a mirror as a "portrait" or "art"?
I see a theme going on here Yes, it's definitely still a portrait, art or not and whether it's art or not depends on the photo. Myspace has done a good job of making it bad fashion to take your own photo in the mirror, but I think a good photo could still be taken in this way.

8. Do you consider fan-fiction and fan art, art to be posted on dA?
Most definitely. A lot of it might be done by artists still developing their skills, but it is art just as much as any other form.

9. Would you say that 10+ deviations of the same type (the photographer's face, a poem with the same themes, etc) devalues the original concept and art?
Again, it depends on their intent, and it's artistic merits. An entire gallery of the exact same passport photo would just make me smile, I'd love that. Endlessly exploiting a theme, however, is a different story.

10. Is there anything else you would like to add on the subject?
My view of art is very open ended, and depends more on my eyes (and other senses, come to that) than on what school the artist went to. I can see art in urban decay, in nature, in city streets, in spilled garbage cans. I see art everywhere and in everything. It does me no good to discriminate, and I have to question the motives of people that do.

1. What is art to you?
A conscious, creative effort.

2. How would you define Art Photography and differentiate it from other photography?
Art photography is more complex than the average family photo or the vacation snapshot. The photographer may put just as much effort into the perfect shot as any traditional or digital artist would put into their masterpiece.

3. Do you view photomanipulation as an art? What types of photomanipulations do you not view as art?
Photomanipulation is art, though at times it can be an easier or shorter method of creating art. The problem I see with photomanipulation is that people view it as a 'cheat' -- especially those who create it. You can't cheat good art. Just as much time and effort needs to be expended in a photo-manipulation to make it aesthetically pleasing, and it's very easy to tell which photo-manipulations accomplish this task and which fall short.


4. What gallery do you participate/post to on dA, where you see a difference between art and what you consider "not art"? What is that difference?
Hm... Photography, spontaneous portraits maybe? I do see spontaneous portraits that are wonderful works of art, but the vast majority of them are just snapshots.

5. Is art in "the eye of the beholder"?
Yes.

6. Would you consider a snap-shot "art"?
See above. xD

7. Would you consider snap-shots of the photographer in a mirror as a "portrait" or "art"?
It depends vastly upon the piece in question.

8. Do you consider fan-fiction and fan art, art to be posted on dA?
I've seen beautiful fan art, and I love receiving fan art, so yes.

9. Would you say that 10+ deviations of the same type (the photographer's face, a poem with the same themes, etc) devalues the original concept and art?
Yes.

Most professional photographers will take multiple shots of the same scene/concept. The artistic mastery comes in selecting which few (or even just one) make the most compelling compositions, and which bring across the message they are trying to convey with the most success.

10. Is there anything else you would like to add on the subject?
Nope.

I always love your journals! The titles always draw me in. I'll note you my responses to the questionnaire a little later, I promise!

Here's a contest being run by myself and *Death-By-Romance. The journal entry is [link] and the news article is [link]

Pimp us, please? Love you and all your amazing goodness!