…[Instagram] has played a major role in developing photography as an art form accessible to everyone, on many different levels. It has created a platform of self-expression in which one can choose who to follow, comment on images, and easily seek and find inspiration. It is a place to see and be seen.
via Beyond Novelty, the Changing Face of Photography | We Are JUXT.
9 Comments
The pull quote above is enough to make me grind my teeth, and the interviewer makes me want to pull my teeth out, but the images are nice and I like them.
I am sick of kickstarter though. Get a job, pay for your project, then sell it if you want, or give it away. Kickstarter is a mooching platform under the guise of “social good”.
I’m one with mixed views on the subject. I love that people are photographing more now than ever before, but instagram and instagram-esque effects can, and, from what I’ve seen, often are used to “polish a turd.” the danger for photography as art is for the mass populous to deem any image with effects processing to be art and not being able to see past it at all. To quote the book Art and Fear, “Power can’t be borrowed across space and time. There’s a difference between meaning that is embodied and meaning that is referenced. No one should wear a Greek fisherman’s hat except a Greek fisherman.”
That quote is, admittedly, an oversimplification, but the idea is pretty solid. Much of the “meaning” in instagram-genre photography is referenced and not embodied. Take, for example the cross-process effects or film borders — when viewed objectively, they are used without merit more often than not. I’m a fan of picking the right tool for the job. If the photo is best served by utilizing such effects, one should use the true format. Using the quick, formulaic edits can detract from the value of the work of those who invest in the real methods.
Again, I love that people are photographing and sharing their photos in record numbers. We must simply work to preserve the true art of photography while allowing room for ourselves and others to have fun with it.
“the danger for photography as art is for the mass populous to deem any image with effects processing to be art and not being able to see past it at all”
I think assuming people are this stupid is a losing game, especially in the world we live in now.
Good is good. Bad is bad. It’s evident. Stop worrying.
No one ever said. “Now that there are so many instruments in the world and anyone can own one it’s ruining music. Save the art of music!”
Nothing has stopped there being drivel, but greatness is still well respected and received. Is it easier now to create drivel? So what.
“IF YOU MAKE EVERYTHING BOLD, NOTHING IS BOLD.”
— Art Webb
and the more softly you speak, the harder people listen to what you have to say….
The inevitable backlash has begun:
Strip away the instagram madness with “normalize”
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/normalize/id500797895?mt=8
From the app builder: “Instagram certainly isn’t new, and it’s actually an app I enjoy, but every now and again, I encounter a picture in the “real world” (AKA, any site outside of Instragram) where someone decides it’s a good idea to use it when trying to take a picture of something they’re legitimately trying to show. Something had to be done. And, as usual, simply running it through photoshop’s Auto Levels or Apple’s magic wand did nothing (or nothing of value). So, I wrote Normalize.”
I want to believe in this quote…but I am conflicted…
I want to love Instagram (mainly because I use it all the time), I want to believe it can be useful for finding inspiration, and be engrossed in people “self expression”…but alas, I must be realistic…
It’s NOT…It’s become just like Flikr and 90% of Tumblr.
People posting Fashion inspired self portraits, Food/Drink they are eating, Myspacing self portraits, Good looking girls showing their bodies to the world to get more views…pictures of sunsets, babies, flowers, trees, grass, sunrises…all things cliche’ and that take no thought process at all. Just look at the Instagram popular feed…99.9% of the photos in there are AWFUL!
I find Instagram to be contributing to the over saturation of the mundane, as well as leading young aspiring photographers to believe their work is amazing because they have 450 pictures of cliche’s and 10k followers for it. Don’t believe me? Ask people my age (21-25) who think they are amazing because their Instagram has 1000 followers.
It’s not helping many AT ALL. It’s why I only follow 40 people….20 of which who are close friends, 10 of which who are mutual photo buddies who I talk to, and the other 10 being photographers who inspire me.
You have to sift through 10,000 photos of crap before you find 1 Instagram that’s worth a damn.
I hate to be so cynical, but Instagram inspires you…I suggest visit’s 500PX, I don’t think you will feel the same way anymore.
For about a year I got involved in Wet Plate Collodion photography and in this community it has been a great outrage against Istagram, that has spoiled the photography with fake instant pictures, but I think just the opposite. Istagram, has done a great PR for Wet Plate Collodion culture and other alternative photo-process. I don’t like Istagram, in fact I hate it. It’s a READY-MADE VISION for lazy photographers that don’t pick up a camera if they aren’t pay to do that. But let’s face it , more then inspiration it is something that workaholics can do to kill boredom. But with the overflow of istagram “fakes” the original techniques are even more appreciated then it would be without them. It’s like everybody has a Zorki (russian’s copy of Leica) and that is why Leica is even more appreciated.
Comments are closed for this article!