The Art of Photography Today

01 Aug, 2013

By Fernando B. Arroteia
Translation by Harriet Batey

So what about it? Is photography art too? Well, this question has long been discussed by scholars, critics, artists, photographers etc., and it has become clear that in the majority of cases, photography can be considered an art from. That is, aside from photo-journalism, which is obliged to present events, unvarnished and untouched. Although, nowadays even photo-journalism has a more artistic dimension in its photographic style. As such, we recommend looking at the page “Folha Fotografia” on Facebook, where you can find beautiful examples of this. Yes, an objective lens can be the producer of art.
In the past, photography faced much condemnation from the art world, with the belief that it would lead to painting’s extinction. However, today we see that both are surviving side by side, influencing one another and, occasionally, dividing the space within museums and galleries. Perhaps painting is today less popular because of various factors, but on the other hand, photography has greatly helped in the promotion of painting and other artistic forms.

In the same way that some great painters reached the pinnacle of fame, the same has happened for some photographers; take for example Steve McCurry who rose to stardom with his photograph of an Afghan girl featured on the cover of National Geographic Magazine. Or, the photographer Annie Leibovitz, who has snapped the greatest celebrities of the past century, including the last photographs of John Lennon just hours before his assassination. Or with our greatest Brazilian representative, Sebastião Salgado, considered one of the world’s best photographers through his incredible works denouncing the ills of society.
Either way, despite these mentioned names, most devoted photographers are not considered artists. But, it is impossible to look at their images and not call them “works of art”. As such, to help facilitate identification of artistic photography, the term “Fine Art” has started to be used when images are captured for solely artistic reasons, printed on high quality paper and framed to the standard required by galleries and art museums.

Through this backdrop, the work of various photographers has been highlighted including the young Brazilian Alexandre Urch, a graduate of graphic design and with a specific vision of everyday streets. Another example is Raphael Macek, who has taken equestrian photography to another level, exhibiting some of his beautiful images of horses both in Brazil and abroad.
Within this dimension, photography has become one of today’s most popular means of artistic expression. And digital cameras played a key role in this ‘democratisation’. In today’s world, invaded by Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter amongst others, photography has reached a never before seen level of popularity. Now, we are constantly bombarded on social networking sites, with incredible images captured by professional and amateur photographers from all over the world.
Personally, I have always been fascinated by the art world. Moreover, I believe that every photographer has tried, at least once, to create some artistic presentation until recognising their lack of talent. However, I now know that I can use my camera as an artistic tool. So if you own a camera and are also passionate about art, it’s time to put your artistic side into practice.