Photography as Art
Q&A Radio: 15 December 2013, Question 3
I answered a question on photography as art on 15 December 2013. You can listen to or download the podcast of just this question below – or check out the whole episode of Philosophy in Action Radio.
Does photography qualify as art? I've always viewed photography as a legitimate form of art. However, many people I disagree: Ayn Rand argued that it's a technical rather than a creative skill. However, I regard photography as a technical and creative skill, just like painting. So does photography qualify as art? If not, does that mean that photography doesn't have value – or has less value than proper art forms like painting? If photography has value nonetheless, what is the source of that value?
My Answer, In Brief: In my view, photography is not, strictly speaking, art because it's not wholly the creation of the artist in the way that painting is. However, that doesn't imply anything about the value of photography, which is often considerable.
Tags: Aesthetics, Art, Painting, Photography, Spiritual Values, Values
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- Duration: 18:41
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Relevant Links
- "Art and Cognition" by Ayn Rand in The Romantic Manifesto by Ayn Rand
- Wikipedia: Photorealism
- 40+ Mind-Blowing Photorealistic Paintings
- Tim's Vermeer
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About Philosophy in Action
I'm Dr. Diana Brickell (formerly Diana Hsieh). I'm a philosopher, and I've long specialized in the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. I completed my Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. I retired from work as a public intellectual in 2015.
From September 2009 to September 2015, I produced a radio show and podcast, Philosophy in Action Radio. In the primary show, my co-host Greg Perkins and I answered questions applying rational principles to the challenges of real life. We broadcast live over the internet on Sunday mornings.
You can listen to these 362 podcasts by subscribing to the Podcast RSS Feed. You can also peruse the podcast archive, where episodes and questions are sorted by date and by topic.
My first book, Responsibility & Luck: A Defense of Praise and Blame, can be purchased in paperback and Kindle. The book defends the justice of moral praise and blame of persons using an Aristotelian theory of moral responsibility, thereby refuting Thomas Nagel's "problem of moral luck." My second book (and online course), Explore Atlas Shrugged, is a fantastic resource for anyone wishing to study Ayn Rand's epic novel in depth.
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I can be reached via e-mail to [email protected].
