Is photography "art"? I sure hope not!

If, like me, you sometimes find yourself amused, confused or bemused by what passes for photography in the art world, or art in the photography world, this essay might help you understand why:

"As painful as this may sound to many, the profession and study of photography are stuck in an evolutionary dead-end...In essence, the contemporary art world is essentially saying to photographers, “All the things you care about: technical mastery, creative composition and even originality of content, no longer matter. Ouch."

Ouch indeed, but only if you aspire to the label "artist" instead of "photographer". Me, I've got enough problems trying to understand the mysteries of my chosen medium of expression without adding any additional baggage. I'm perfectly content with my boring old modernist obsessions, even if it leaves me perfectly ignored by the contemporary art scene. The author also references my friend Neal Rantoul's piece on the same topic published on Petapixel last year.