I posed a question on Facebook yesterday, Art or Shit? I posted a couple of shots I took from home and asked for some feedback (You can see the shots on the Williams Photography Facebook page). As is typical of Facebook, I didn't get much, but I still pondered the question.Art is a very subjective and passionate thing to people, and can lead to some very heated debates. I posed the question to a colleague who looked at the pictures and came away with a very astute observation.
Taken in context, the two shots were very interesting due to the subject matter; a shot of some music books, and a shot of my CD collection. The CD's I shot with a fisheye; the books I shot in color, but added some HDR effects in post processing. Ah, but were they Art?
This person thought that individually the shots were just alright, but because he looked deeper into the subject matter he saw something most casual observers would not have. What is that you ask? Well let me try and explain.
The cover you see above is from the seminal Rolling Stones' album 'Exile On Main Street', one of the greatest rock albums of all time. The black and white shots on the album cover are a collection of people, places and things, woven together to create a wonderfully schizophrenic montage. The pictures, taken individually are nothing spectacular. Pieced together they're brilliant, but you have to have an appreciation for the music to really 'get it'.
The two shots I took, taken individually are just nice simple shots. Together, they create a contrast between old and new, young and old, black and white, and color. Without the context of really looking and seeing what they're about, you miss it. Now are they great shots? Probably not, but if they are at least interesting and create a thought or two worthy of debate, than I have probably created something one could call Art.
Have a great weekend. I'll be seeing ya, all down the line.
