November 18, 2014
Rough Draft: Is Digital Photography Considered Art?
Art is defined as, “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings”, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary (merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art). When art is a subject that is argued about, imagination and inspiration must be considered. “At what point does something become art?” is a question asked in a book called, What is Art? - 27 Questions 27 Answers (Bringezu, Kramer, Schmutz, & Fondation Beyeler, 2012, p. 8). According to, What is Art? - 27 Questions 27 Answers no one can state what art is. Therefore, no one can judge what any piece of art is worth because every piece of art …show more content…
Additionally, people thought that photography was something specialized and no one could do it unless they were professionals. Digital camera was invented by Sony in 1981 and its name was Mavica. It took digital photography about 20 years to develop by technology and to become the mainstream business that it is nowadays (Gregory, 2005). In 2002, Pete Walker, assistant librarian at Bradford Central Library said, “Digital photography is here. It is no longer a domain simply for professional photographers and digital imagers” (line 1). In other words, digital photography was something new in the media field that was pulling the professional photographers back. Because computer sales were increasing, people were starting to try this new hobby and it became popular. The sales of the digital cameras beat the sales of film cameras (Walker, 2002). After that revolution in the media field, the number of digital photographers increased. When social media and networks became popular, digital photographers started to post their photos and their work, and it caught on. Professional photographers started to lose their jobs because of digital …show more content…
In the past, art was made by using tools such as oil paints, marble or bronze. Nowadays artists use new materials such as: wire, rubber and Photoshop, so it is a matter of opinion what a masterpiece is (Bringezu, Kramer, Schmutz, & Fondation Beyeler, 2012). Proponents of digital photography being considered as art claim that digital photography is art. They point out that there is a lot effort and skills behind one single digital photo. Also, there are many artistic tools that can be used on images such as Photoshop. Opponents of digital photography being considered as art claim that digital photography is not art. They point out that digital photography is about copying and editing someone’s idea to be claim ownership own work. Also, the opponents argue that film photographers have inspiration and they put a lot of effort into one shot. On the other hand, digital photographers have no inspiration and they do not put in a lot of effort to take a picture, and technology is helping them a lot. Also, the do not consider anything with technology as art. However, for the reasons mentioned below, it will become clear that digital photography is an