by Editor Colin Dixon
Edited and published by Yvette Depaepe, the 4^th of August 2023 

'Avec la mer du Nord' by Desmet Patrick

This came to my attention at a Camera Club talk in the UK when a presenter stated “remember photography is not art”.
This resonated with me as my feelings had always been I was creating art in my photography.

What is the description of art?
In the Oxford Dictionary it is “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”

So from the above description I would say we photographers can and do produce works of beauty and emotional power.  This has been a question since the beginning of photography. In fact today this is still a question.  Google “What is art “ and you get the 7 types of art :
Painting.
Sculpture.
Literature.
Architecture.
Cinema.
Music.
Theatre.

But then there are the 8 forms of art which includes photography.
So let us look at both sides of the argument.
There are people who assert that a still photograph is never art, while there are others who assert that photography is considered art under the right circumstances, but that not every photograph taken is automatically considered a work of art.

'Vision'  by Hans-Wolfgang Hawerkamp

NOT ART
For a long time after its invention, people considered photography only as a skill and a tool for documentation.

At an early meeting of the Photographic Society of London, established in 1853, one of the members complained that the new technique was "too literal to compete with works of art" because it was unable to "elevate the imagination". This conception of photography is a mechanical operation of you pressing a shutter and technology recording an image of what was a moment in time, sometimes described as looking through a window at life. Another argument would be photography captures reality rather than creating a subjective reality, which is what “real art” does.

'Desir d’existence 1/5'  by Sebastien DEL GROSSO

PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART (of course it is)
As discussed this argument is still alive as any Google search will tell you.
But over time since the beginnings of photography more and more people regard photography as ART.

The development of photography as an art form happened quickly. But, what made photography an art form in the first place was the application of science in the creation of art. What types of photography are art? The answers are as limitless as with any other medium. Just as a painter uses paint, a brush, and a canvas, the photography uses a camera and computers/dark room as their tools.
It is plain to see that a carefully composed, exposed captured image has inherent artistic value. Photography, as a medium, can shade reality with new context and meaning. Messages and surrealism can be conveyed through the presentation of a still image. The juxtaposition of visual elements can take on new value when frozen in time as a photograph. All of the near-infinite photographic variables and possibilities make it clear that photography is artistic.

Over time, barriers to artistic acceptance have been eroded and the pretentious protection of “traditional art” has lessened (but not dead). We here in 1X are definitely artists and this site proves 100% what great artists can do with our tools and technology. 

LET US ALL CREATE AND ENJOY OUR ART HERE ON 1X.

'Harmony of Feelings' by Juliana Nan

'Wavy spiral' by Vangelis Makris (Mc Ris)

'The Golden Zebra Body' by Kristian Liebrand

'Lady’s Man' by The Gar – Geir Jartveit

'Art Lovers.' by Ben Goossens

'Year 2020' by Sulaiman Almawash

'Lost Soul Forever' by Nick Amanda

n/t by Vladimir Tikhorskiy 

n/t by Radik Driben

'Lines' by Asef Azimaie

'The Selfie' by Victoria Glinka

'Twisted Roof (Eternal shadows I)' by Oussama Mazouz

'Artic Fox' by Georg Scharf

'Goldfingers' by Edith Hoffman

'An ill wind' by Adrian Donoghue