Photojournalism through Danto’s glasses

Since the invention of photography, photojournalism has been eager to stir up,

maintain and meet our interest in the subjects presented, to the point that we now come to ask

ourselves whether the materials on view are still within our prosaic existence or they have

crossed the line into a more powerful experience – one we call art.

In answering this rather complex question, one first turns to art history and

philosophy authority figures for starting standpoint. Thus, we come across upon Arthur

Danto’s famous observation: "There is no special way works of art have to be. And that is the

present and, I should say, the final moment in the master narrative. It is the end of the story"

(After the End of Art, 47). Considering this, how can we determine if and how much of

photojournalism can be accounted for art?

If photojournalism can be viewed as photographic storytelling to communicate

news or document life, then there are naturally bad and mediocre storytellers, and there are

the titans, whose works bring forth the transcendental. As in any human activity addressing

the senses, there are canons to which photojournalism should adhere as an aspiring art, of

which the most basic is aesthetics. Additionally, in his article Four reasons why great

photojournalism is art Eric Newton states four other criteria necessary to turn

photojournalism into art: realism, creativity, endurance in time and emotional impact

(Newton, par. 6). But, as some of these, if not all, can in themselves be subjected to

discussion, there must be a more powerful tool to help us decide one way or another when

dealing with a piece of photojournalism.

With this in mind we approach again Danto, who suggests a criteria more

consistent: "Every work of art […] embodies meanings." (What Art Is, 50). This may mean

that it is not enough for the photojournalist to provide pleasant, realistic, creative, enduring
and engaging content; in order to take the final step towards real artistic value, one also needs

to convey something more; something invisible, but at the same time present and telling to

the human fiber: meaning.

Having the above framework in mind, we are now understanding that, as

stated in the article Arthur Danto on What Art Is: "our task as viewers is to determine the

meaning embodied in the art" (par. 8). Therefore, it remains up to the photojournalism

consumer to subjectively appreciate, on a case by case basis, whether there is something

more, something hidden, something bigger behind what meets the eye.
 Works Cited

Books

Danto, Arthur C. After the End of Art, Princeton University Press, 1997.

Danto, Arthur C. What Art Is. Yale University Press, 2013.

Online sources

Newton, Eric. "Four reasons why great photojournalism is art." Kinght Foundation,

https://knightfoundation.org/articles/four-reasons-why-great-photojournalism-art. Accessed

Aug. 31 2019.

***. "Arthur Danto on What Art Is." Yale University Press Blog,

http://blog.yalebooks.com/2013/04/23/arthur-danto-on-what-art-is/. Accessed Aug. 31 2019.