A silly bias in photography:
Why aren’t photographers seen as artists?
Furthermore– why don’t we photographers see ourselves as artists?
Honestly at the end of the day, I think being an artist is just having the courage to exclaim:
This is my artwork — to hell what you think!
Thus as photographer-artists, we must proclaim ourselves, we must affirm ourselves.
The artworld hierarchy
To be frank, we photographers are pretty much at the lowest rung of the art-world totem pole. But does this matter? I think not.
Why not?
We photographer-artists don’t require the approval of anyone else to assert ourselves as artists. We photographer-artists lie OUTSIDE of the hierarchy of art; we are strong and independent– and we don’t require the “approval” or “legitimacy” of anyone else.
You got the power.
If you see yourself as an artist, and if you proclaim yourself as an artist– how does your approach or vision to photography change?
This is what I think:
- You take your “play” (artwork/photo creation) very seriously.
- You can allow yourself to indulge in any photo-related luxury.
- You have a stronger purpose in life– to make beautiful artwork (through your photos).
- You become more distant from the silliness of the ‘social media treadmill’ of photography. You disdain likes, and you build your own independent platform (blog) for your photography.
- You strive to impress yourself more and more in your photography, and care less of what others think.
More photo thoughts to come!
ERIC
