UPDATE: The winner is…Colleen C!
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I’m awake. Sitting at my desk and blinking bleary-eyed at my computer screen. One morning soon, I have to let myself sleep in…
Today, I’m not writing. I’m heading to Little Rock to the Arkansas Art Center, all the kids in tow (yikes!), to see their current exhibits. I’m most excited about the one entitled, “Dorothea Lange’s America”. You may have seen this picture when you studied American History and the Great Depression. She was a Depression-era photographer. This one, called Migrant Mother, has always haunted me.
Anyway, be thinking of me today, walking through a quiet museum with my daughter and her kids, aged 12, 11, 7, and 2. Yeah, I’ll be frazzled trying to keep them from running around and climbing on things. And I’ll probably be hearing “I’m bored” a million times—but they are going to suffer through it anyway! Someday, they will appreciate it! 
Anyway, since I’m trying to get ready, this post will actually be short! All I have is a question. Okay, with a bit of a setup.
I belong to an art guild. And they are just a tad snobby about what they consider art. For sure, they consider my painted dominoes craft rather than art. When one of the group decided to add a photography contest to our annual calendar, I could almost hear what was going on behind their raised brows: Photography isn’t a “real art”. Well, until you see a photograph like the one above, you might believe that. Some folks think quilting isn’t an art (I do, especially when you see one with stunning colors or patterns).
So, what do you think?
Is photography an art or a skill? Is quilting, felting, card-making, etc., a craft or “real” art? And if you think it’s possible to raise it to the standard of “real” art, what do you think it takes?
Answer and be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
TRIP UPDATE: The kids were awful in the car going to Little Rock, so we didn’t dare try taking them all to the museum. Instead, we took them to see Zootopia. Next weekend, we’ll have fewer kids underfoot. THEN, we’ll go see Ms. Lange’s exhibit!
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I think it is an art. I believe that really good photographers, see the image in a different way. That is having an eye for pictures. Not everyone can draw, and I believe that not everyone can take a great photo.
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All of it is art. Someone is offering their skills and talent to the world. Whether we appreciate it or not is up to us.
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How many struggling artists were told their style wasn’t real art for years? Artifacts of everyday objects from hundreds of years ago are now displayed as art in museums. Art is in the eye of the person who treasures it.
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It’s art. Any ‘craft’ that inspires Beauty or thought, is art.
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Yeah I think it’s art. IMIO they especially are that photo and good luck with the kiddos
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Of course it is art. Anything that evokes emotion, creates a dialog, or inspires a person is art.
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Art is anything that expresses something the artist felt. It can be music, painting, writing, photography or quilting. Art is in the eye of the beholder. It is too personal for any one person to define or categorize it. Ideally it evokes feeling in the viewer or reader but each person is different and will have a different reaction.
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I do see it as art… you are capturing a moment that tells a story…
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Photography is both. The skill is in knowing how to put all the aspects of the picture together. The finished result is then art. The same can be said of quilt making, card-making, etc. I think if all the “skills” are honed enough then the end result may turn into “real” art. We also need to remember that, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
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YES! It is “real” art. All of it. Have they heard the term “folk art”? I mean really, I have seen quilts with just as much beauty and inspiration as a Monet painting. When you think about it, Monet was dappling with paints so what made it art? It’s the passion in the item. Not the medium used. It’s all about the passion. Whether one is making a quilt, knitting a sweater, writing a book, painting a picture, whatever, if there is passion and love, it is art. Just my humble opinion. 😀
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Any craft that allows a person to create in my mind is an “art”. I used to think that only real art was done by the Masters like Rembrandt. But being the creative person that I am….I do needlearts, quilting and watercolor painting… I think I am pretty good. My work will never be in a museum but to me it’s priceless.
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What is art? Aint’s that a tough question? I am proficient at taking pictures and while I love them, they aren’t taken by me to be art for anyone. My nephew takes photos professionally and he absolutely creates art! He’s sees color, texture, happiness, pain, in ways that most people don’t. It’s no different than a painter using paint and brushes to express the same. And honestly, I can paint my walls but that’s certainly not art! In that vain, I do believe that many quilts are art. You must understand you medium in a way that my grandmother certainly never did when she was making quilts for sleeping!
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I think that anything creative is a form of art. They do take skill as well of course.
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Like other art forms, all those you mentioned–photography, quilting, felting, card-making… all those can be done artfully. Of course, like any other art, they can also be slapped together, done without heart 🙂 It’s in how it’s practiced and how it’s appreciated by the viewer.
Hope you enjoyed the day and the movie, and that you’ll have the chance to truly enjoy Ms. Lange’s art soon!
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I believe many things, photography and jewelry making included, can be art. Even the most talented artist started out with thousands of paintings/drawings that weren’t very good. Their (our) skills increase over time, with practice, but more important, passion for what they create.
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Photography can be art. It can inform and evoke feelings. Plus, it can also be hung on a wall which for some people is “art”.
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I think all of the things you mention can be art. If the crude paintings of a few famous artists are art then how can beautiful photographs and the things you make not be art?
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Loved all your answers! Thanks for playing!
The winner (chosen by a random number generator) is…Colleen C! Congrats, CC! I’ll be in touch shortly to arrange delivery of your prize!
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Thanks Delilah! 😀