Just to clarify today’s title, my opinions are not artistic, but today they are about art.  The title was made to be put up with no explanation, but I just couldn’t do it.

I love conversations about art.  My views on art and everything else change slowly.  Hopefully that is because I spend a lot of time thinking about  what I offer up as my opinion. One of those opinions that will be unlikely to ever change, is that art itself is a matter of opinion.  Always!  There is no way to create specifics about what is art.  There is no “art expert” that can tell you what is and is not a work of art.  Many will try. They will of course be giving you, their opinions

I am not anti art, and in fact I have a broader view of art than many people.  Yes, yes….painting, sculpture, all forms of music and dance, acting and even photography.  I believe writers can be artists.  Writers of not just poetry, but books of fact and fiction and even journalists.  I believe craftspeople can be artists.  Knitting, sewing, carpentry and more are as likely to created a work of art, as is a painter.  To my view some of the greatest art of the 18^th and 19^th centuries was created by furniture makers. Notice I did not say that it is my opinion that everybody who does any of the things listed above are artists, only that they can be, in my opinion.  The preparation and cooking of food can be one of the finest arts.  Whether you’re a chef, a short order cook or a home cook, a creative mind with a loving touch can be the qualities of an artist. I believe you can turn your performance in a sport into art.  Michael Jordon at his best was an artist. Of course that is my opinion. I have seen horse and rider in dressage shows meld together and become a single artist.  Even woman’s barrel racing (horses) can become an art form. To be honest I believe a child making mud pies in the back yard has the potential to create, what I might consider, a work of art.  Just my opinions.

I have never been very artistically impressed with the Mona Lisa. I mean I can see this guy could paint, but going back to my previous examples, I have known furniture makers who could make furniture but I did not consider them to be artists either.  Not all that are “great artists” for the many, are great for everybody.  Now Monet…that’s art.  My opinion.

I’ve always thought that most photographers are frustrated painters.  Sometimes reasonably successful painters leave painting behind to take photographs.  Art Wolfe comes to mind first and certainly Valerie Millet is becoming a big name in landscape photography.

One of my opinions on my own photography that has evolved and changed recently, is my view of my wildlife photography. No matter how many or few people ever call any of my images art, my wildlife pictures are to me, about capturing and sharing art that has been provided to me by my wild friends.  They are the artists. I am not commenting on other people’s wildlife photography, only my own.  It is personal, and concerns my relationship with wildlife.

Art has nothing to do with how unique your work is, or for that matter how identical it is to what is created by others. If I wear a pink tutu and dance under the street light tonight, that’s unique, but it doesn’t mean that I have done anything special.  If I dress like every man on my block  and head out to that same street light and feed a homeless person, then I might be special.   I am not saying that it is not good to be unique. I am saying that uniqueness in and of itself is irrelevant when it you ask the question of is that art. Develop your own personal vision and live by what that is. Keep evolving but be who you say you are. Art is like anything else in life, it is about (it’s just my opinion) believing in things, creating a vision, and then sharing it. It is up to everyone else to accept or reject it.

I currently view art and artists of all sorts, all over the internet.  In my past life, I visited many galleries and museums, and have even known two painters. I don’t need artists telling me that they are artists. It is good that they believe in themselves, but for me….well I’ll make up my own mind.  Be who you are and be the executor of your craft, and let the art flow.  The world will tell you if they believe you as an artist.  That is my opinion.

When I write a post like todays, there are understandably a few readers who might think I am writing about them.  These are cumulative observations, with a few specific people thrown in.  None of this is directly about people who I know either through personal contact, or the digital world.

As photographers, our personal view of our subjects, and our decision as to what are our subjects, should always evolve and expand. The first day I took a serious camera into the field I must have photographed 10 unrelated subjects in 20 different ways. Despite that, as the years rolled on my subjects and my vision increased.  I have known photographers with an extremely narrow view of what constitutes a photo subject. I have seen them eventually  open up and welcome the entire world as a potential subject.  All of my previous suggestions to do so had fallen on deaf ears.  The years marched on and the subjects expanded without me. You cannot tell someone what they have to do with their creative energy.  Give it time and it will blossom.

My life would have been emptier and uglier without art.  I would be far less educated and I would have never been able to visit (through video, still images and words) every corner of this great Earth and beyond without art.

Go out and be who you are today.

———————————————————————————————————

Ah then there’s Facebook.  If there were not friends whose images I enjoy viewing, and industry leaders who’s careers I enjoy following….bye, bye.

Recently I get two okays for two friend requests of mine.  The only problem is I cannot remember my last friend request (years?) and I never heard of either person.  I accept and immediately get notices of new groups I am being added to, and about 20 requests to click like to groups/spams that are either connected with those two people, or to nobody I recognize.  I ignore everything, and then the next day I see I have been unfriended by my two newest friends. These Facebook whirlwind romances are so difficult.  I actually believe that one or both of these individuals are not people at all.  I think they are spamming experts (companies really).