The world of art is 98% pretentious assholes.
This rant for today was inspired when I was scrolling through the a little site called lookbook.nu. You know, the one where people post their fashionable outfits and they get hyped? Today I stumbled upon the lookbook forum under the 'photography pet peeve' thread.
There, I found countless accusations; claims of what is photography and what isn't photography. The endless discriminatory ways people referred to hipsters and wannabes just jumping onto the bandwagon, thinking that they themselves are so much more enlightened than the majority of the unoriginal trash toting a dslr.
Seriously, I began to feel a little sick reading the comments. Here are a few :
(I don't mean to intentionally target the people who wrote it, which is why it remains anonymous. I don't even know who wrote it, so there. I am also in no way dissing lookbook, it is my favourite site.)
"I have some people in my school who take photos of graffiti-ed walls, turn it black and white and maybe edit the contrast a little bit, then call it photography. It's disgusting and annoying. Plus they get recognised as photographers cause of that."
"People who call themselves photographers because they take a few snapshots and can use photoshop !"
"It also annoys me tremendously that those people are award winning photographers, and I look at their pics, and I just think to myself, a color blind kid with Down Syndrome and Epilepsy could've shot this!"
"I hate it when people try and be artistic or poetic."
Seriously.
There were some voices of reason, but for the most part the angry little tirades were relentless.
What makes these accusers so much better? That's what I want to know.
Okay, so maybe these people can take a more professional looking picture next to the next myspace attempt, but to comment with such disrespect and ignorance is pretty much crossing the line. Sure sometimes a few photography attempts are maudlin and laughable, but that gives nobody the right to crow over it and rip it to pieces. Everyone starts somewhere, and they will eventually get better if they try hard enough.
To quote #1: why can't someone call it photography? It may not be the most original, but if it is aesthetically pleasing or mood inducing why shouldn't the person who took it get the credit they deserved?
Quote #2: I don't know about you, but in my opinion real photographers do exactly that.
Quote #3: The fact that 'a color blind kid with Down Syndrome and Epilepsy could've shot it' is irrelevant. The fact that the viewer came to that conclusion however, is. Why do people think they know so much about art? In my opinion, art to one person may not be art to another because it holds a different meaning or triggers a different reaction. The wonderful thing about art is that its open to interpretation, and should never have a definitive label or preconceived notion about it.
Quote #4: Uhm, sorry but this comment was a little too much. Is the person who wrote the comment trying to say that an artistic/poetic nature is inborn? If people are not good at art, should they just give up all attempts at trying to create something inspiring? Any artist or poet out there did TRY in order to achieve what they have done. You are just laughing because maybe you can pull off the deep artist facade more convincingly than the other, because inside we are all the same people.
This brings me to the next point: there is no originality. Hipsters and the like get flamed for wearing AA hoodies, skinnies, plaid, shutter shades, etc. or so the stereotype goes. They have no 'originality' and are just 'followers'. Even if they are, why does this make people sick and disdainful? They want to look a certain way, so do you. The only difference is that you value individuality higher than them, so you stray from anything popular in the mainstream. But has it hit anyone that no matter what they do, they will always be copying someone else? The fact that they try to be some elusive artistic 'individual' is already a well established stereotype, which makes them no different from the other gangs of labels.
Ignorance and arrogance.
There is no definitive form of 'good art' and 'bad art', everything is subjective.
Out of all people, these people should know.
Of course it is undeniable that some photography just comes out bad, but to go and say that flower, sunset,sky, etc photography is generalizing and demeaning a certain type, which is just unacceptable.
Well I've exhausted my rage for now,sorry for the poor flow/switching of tenses, I just wanted to get my point out.
GOODBYE FOR NOW
-Jessicat
