Pixels not paintbrushes: But are we artists?

[Outrider]

I was just reading some comments on a pic I posted, and Ranger_22 referred to it as "art". Perhaps he was just being facetious, but it got me to thinking. Are we, as Joedios contributors, considered artists? We plan each picture, we set up the shot, we take the photo, and sometimes alter it with photo editing software. I suppose thatis as entitled to be called "art" as some of the stuff that earns that title. There are certainly some talented people posting work here, that's a given. The subject matter should make no difference, only the skill of the execution. If the beholder sees it as art, then that presumably makes it art. :confused:

[Sonneilon]

I would like to think so. Photography is an art in itself. Composition, lighting, blah blah blah... It's an art form. Now, some people just throw figures around, take pics and think it's the bomb. Others take care in what they do. Art, I suppose, is a subjective term too. Personally, the people who take great care in their shots (be it Luke, Dave, Shane, TG...), it's art. (you too, of course) I mean, you want to print out some shots and frame the danged thing! Like YOUR niteraven over city pic that got MY attention, it was absolutely awesome. I believe it's possible to do w/o any sort of CG artwork too. Dave has proven that. And so has Shane.

[NemesisEnforcerFan]

[FONT=Century Gothic][COLOR=Indigo]Well I always considered it art.. photography is a skill, I'm certain you could put figures out on the grass willy nilly and snap happily away.. but I for one in my supermarine dio took the time to try and get the right shots for the story I was trying to tell of a struggling marine.

Anything where you are recounting your courses of action in a similar step and literally altering what is in front of you could be considered as art.. I guess what I am trying to say is that whatever the subject is we are still photographing and manipulating the background and foreground using either figures and vehicles or photoshop similar programs to aid us (sometimes). Maybe it would be classed as modern art?

I guess before cameras and so forth you would put all your figures and draw out the landscape and figures on it.. but we're so past all this now.. comic books are considered art and some of the modern day papers use photo quality pictures to depict the cartoon.. so I guess we could be cast in a similar light.

I guess the real key here is that whilst most art groups are vague and dont necessarily have a theme we all have something in common we all love our gi joe and the characters and vehicles that are included with the theme inspire us to practice our art.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[ender098]

I'll say this; I once went to a modern Art gallery, and aside from what you expect to see (paint slung on a canvas), they had a book that had been shot by a guy with a .22 caliber rifle. If that is art, then what we do definitely is!

I mean we don't just throw figures on the ground and snap shots. We plan (or at least I do!) What angle would be best? What lighting? What pose? What background? What accessories? Then on top of that, if it's not perfect, or it has imperfections, you break out photoshop or paint shop pro and fix it as best we can! I'm not looking to have my stuff hung in a gallery, but if any of these modern slop artists can say their stuff is "art" then so is what I do!

[Sephron13]

Creativity, in and of itself, is artistic. I've certainly seen some really awesome work around the sites and am impressed with the level of skill and craftsmanship that goes into it. From the building of sets, the angle of the shot, the lighting, the photoshopping, etc. etc. etc....it is definitely art in my book.

[Sonneilon]

I think HR Giger had an art collection of him shooting himself in different body parts. I'd have to dig out one of my old Giger books and see if it was him. I know at the end of one of the books, it shows him shooting different things.

[Dersham]

Interesting question to pose Outrider, it definetely makes us question what art is. The funny thing about this, is that I've recently taken a class in Anthropology that questioned this very thing. But as Ender points out some people make some strange things into art and his book being shot by a .22 is a good example of that. Another example in France (though I forget the artist's name) had put a urinal into a art gallery and it was the act of putting the urinal into the art gallery that made it art. But seriously, a urinal? Though in another case an archaeologist attempted to put in a hunting net (used by a tribe in Africa, but I forget their name too) but she was told that her hunting net belonged in an artifact museum because of the utility that the net provided for the people.

If we look at Western European Art and how they define artwork, they may consider GI JOE picture taking as a form of artwork if we could only get it into an art gallery. Outrider, I think you have a good chance of pulling that off. But we if think of art in the form of aesthetics and what we find as stimulating, then for us joe fans of course pictures of GI JOEs are art, I believe that certainly. Again as a few of you have already mentioned, art is in the eye of the beholder and it is completely subjective. But for the sake of argument lets call ourselves GI JOE artists and pat each other on the back. :o

[phu]

Definitely! If cinematographers, painters, or normal still life photographers are artists, so are we. We use elements of design, environmental effects, character interaction, etc. to create an effective composition; I'd definitely call that art. :)

[Outrider]

Sephron13 brought up a good point. What we do here is creative, and for anything to be classified as art in my book, a measure of creativity is a neccessity. When you consider that we are basically using inanimate objects and a camera to tell a story (even in a single picture), it is an art form. As everyone has stated though, art cannot be defined by finite parameters and there can never be a yes-or-no answer. It would be an interesting exercise to see what someone with no interest in GI Joe thought of our work!