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“Emotional Communication” – My Flawed Definition of Art
Defining art for photographers is fraught with difficulty. Ask an academic the question: “what is art?” and you will generally get either: a clever monologue, witty remark that dodges the question, or a combination of the two.
My answer is just two words: “Emotional communication.” Which, I admit, is neither clever nor witty, but it has the advantages of being both short and, for a photographer, I would assert useful.
Whereas the Oxford Dictionary (online) defines Art as:
“NOUN: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”
IMHO: this is just more words, same meaning.
The most obvious flaw in the definition is that not all emotional communication is Art. My recent discussion with a workman who deemed it appropriate to dump a pile of rubble outside my house, contained a good deal of emotional communication, none of it art!
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