Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Photography and portraiture - Jacky: Is photography an art, trying to answer an old question?

Jacky: Is photography an art, trying to answer an old question?

Text | Jacky

No.1

At the end of the term, after the last class, the students came over and asked me to take a photo with them.

After filming, a girl who usually doesn't talk much gently asked me, "Teacher, is photography art?"

I hesitated and answered, "Some count, some don't."

No.2

The girl raised an old problem that has been debated for decades and has never been solved.

Perhaps the key is to figure out what art is. Otherwise, I'm afraid I can't know whether photography is art or not. We often see people say what something is or have to do something. When you asked him what was behind him, they were dumbfounded, didn't know how to answer, and called you bold. I don't know why these people say what that thing is, and how they can do things they don't even know.

Scholars have different views on what art is. On the basis of various viewpoints, I think art is to consciously use skills to create things or expressions that are more beautiful than what we see and hear every day.

Artistic works and performances should be better than what we usually see or hear. The scenery in the picture is often more beautiful than the environment around us, and the love in the novel is often more touching than our own experience. If not, just keep your eyes open and look around. Why spend money and time on cinemas and museums?

That's why I said that some photography is art and some is not. Some photos are mainly used for documentary, such as taking photos with teachers after class, reporters cutting the ribbon for leaders, and police shooting the crime scene. These are not works of art, and the main purpose of some photos is to create a more beautiful image than reality and give people beautiful enjoyment. For example, before dark, negative exposure compensation is used to create night scenes, or lighting is used to create hairstyle light, eye light and side light. Documentary photography focuses on seeking truth, while artistic photography focuses on beauty. Truth, goodness and beauty sometimes conflict.

Some people say that how many works of art are made with great efforts, and using a camera is art? Indeed, on the whole, photography is not as difficult as many other art forms. Many pianists and oil painters began to learn sketch on the piano when they were three or five years old. When I was in primary school, photographers didn't seem to need to practice snapping and sketching. Art requires skill, but it is not entirely based on difficulty.

Zheng Banqiao drew a bamboo tree with a few strokes, which was relaxed and natural.

Mcnally racked his brains to film the unmanned aircraft of the US Navy, and finally came up with a trick similar to China's ancient poem: get up at dawn, not illuminate the aircraft, but illuminate the surroundings.

He and his team stayed up late to prepare. When the morning sun changed the color of the sky behind the distant mountains, eight flashlights were fired at the runway under the plane, and two long light boxes illuminated the two ends of the wing. There is an orange-red chip in front of the lamp. So there was a very shocking scene: the backlit mountains were still dark, the sky had turned red and gold, the runway reflected bright orange light, the triangular plane was well-defined, but its face was mysterious, and its shining wings were like sharp swords. The design and shooting of this photo is by no means easier than Zheng Banqiao's famous paintings.

The main criterion of art is beauty, not difficulty. Skills should be used to create beauty, not to show off skills. B. Russell said that science is neutral and can be used to do good or bad things. Some people think that science is right, which is silly. The same is true of skill, which can be used to make a work beautiful or bad. Difficult is not necessarily beautiful.

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No.3

Beauty is the most important criterion, but it is not the only criterion.

A famous simulation painting may be beautiful, but it belongs to a craftsman, not an artist. Art should be innovative. A work that lacks creativity will be called a "craftsman". Artists must have different ideas. But it is not good to be new but not beautiful. A child who has never touched the piano presses the keyboard, and each press may be different. That's novel, but it's not art. Some works are inexplicable and absolutely trendy, but they have no aesthetic feeling, which may be similar to children playing the piano.

It is important to know the difference between documentary photography and artistic photography, but some photos have both. It's hard to tell whether a thing is big sand or small stone.

Science and technology are constantly improving. Now the price of digital SLR is getting cheaper and cheaper, and the photography function of mobile phone is getting stronger and stronger. Men, women and children are taking pictures. You can know a little about photography. Knowing a few simple rules can greatly improve many people's photos. For example, don't grin and take pictures in the big sun. Too hard light will make people squint at this time. If there is a vertical line in the background, make the camera or mobile phone as vertical as possible to avoid staggered bookshelves, buildings or telephone poles behind it. In addition, generally do not be too close to the background, so that the background can highlight the main body, which is also of great benefit to the protection of flowers and trees.

If everyone cares more about beauty, our world may be better.