Photography vs Art
The controversy surrounding photography as a form of art.
How Photography has helped art
What is art?
Art may mean something different
depending on who you ask. Many would
consider paintings and sculptures as
popular forms of art. Art is defined as “the
expression or application of human
creative skill and imagination”. The
definition alone does not limit art to one
specific medium which has given people a
difficult time trying to decide where art
can and can’t be limited to. According to
the photography and art scholars “Its goal
is to express a creative idea or emotion
that is unique to the artist”. Art cannot be
limited because everyone has different
forms of expression and ideas and if we
all viewed art in the same way we would
not have any creativity or anything new
and unique to express to the world. Art
has seen advancements since its
beginning, and it does look to stop
anytime soon as people continue to find
different ways to express their ideas and
emotions.
Photography is defined as “the
process of recording an image”. Nina
Licul wrote in Teachers’ views on the
use of photography that photography Art and Photography
is just another advancement in scholars Hudson,
technology that is helping art Thames, Kench, Sam,
advance into something that has not
Eden, Gallery,
been done before. Cave art is one of
McGarey, and Jena,
the earliest forms of art and with
time we have continued to see Licul, Nina Licu,
advancements and be introduced to Okpoko, Chinwe and
Chaka, articles,
new forms of art and Photography is
just another example of that. Livingston, Debra,
Photography, being another and Mumford, Debra
advancement in art has allowed were used for
artists to experiment with new information in this
possibilities and expand their
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practices and has changed the way
we understand artistic expression.
The scholars also mention that
Photography also shares this ability
through the detail and execution that
goes into creating a photograph.
Time and effort in art
The advancement of photography is another example of technological progress, although many others
do not view this advancement as a positive one. Cameras can capture photos in seconds, which is why
some people may see that as cheating or being lazy since it doesn't require as much time and effort as
something like painting or sculpture. While it may be easy to capture a picture there is still much time
and effort that goes into the process of getting a photograph correctly done.
RESOURCES
Hudson, Thames Is photography art? (n.d.). http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/photography-art.htm
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/photography-art.htm

Kench, Sam (2021, March 10). Is photography art? - both sides of the debate explained. StudioBinder.
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/is-photography-art-debate/ Is Photography Art? — Both Sides of the
Debate Explained (studiobinder.com)

Eden, Gallery What is photography? is photography an art?. Eden Gallery. (n.d.). https://www.eden-
gallery.com/news/what-is-
photography#:~:text=As%20a%20relatively%20new%20medium,fine%20art%20or%20commercial%20a
rt. What is Photography? is Photography An Art? - Eden Gallery (eden-gallery.com)

McGarey, Jena Is photography “art”? AH 331 History of Photography Spring 2021 Compendium. (n.d.).
https://scalar.chapman.edu/scalar/ah-331-history-of-photography-spring-2021-compendium/jena-
mcgarey-essay-1 Is Photography "Art"? (chapman.edu)

Licul, Nina Licul, N. (n.d.). Teachers’ views on the use of photography in teaching arts in Croatian Primary
Schools. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal.
https://www.cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/article/view/909
https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=07a0c244-ac4c-43f0-9796-
1e24c3d11db6%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=147821
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Okpoko, Chinwe and Chaka, Mpho EBSCOhost Research Platform: EBSCO. EBSCO Information Services,
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Livingston, Debra EBSCO Discovery Service - Academic Libraries: EBSCO. EBSCO Information Services, Inc.
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