Does a photo need to say something?

[WillCAD]

Really, I think it is rather silly to suggest in the reverse of my argument that anything using paint, chalk, plaster or a variety of other media is art, anything written is literature, any noise is music, and anything in video format is a great movie or great television.

Recognized quality determines the nature of the work. I find it humourous that anyone would consider this simple basic fact as elitist, narrow-minded, and how it could possibly be self-serving is beyond ridiculous.

Ronnoco

I never said than anything video qualifies as a great movie or television. It might be crap, but it's still art.

Recognized quality indicates the recognized quality of art. It does not qualify or disqualify it as art.

I find it elitist that you think only artists can say what is or is not art. That's like saying only an MLB player can say whether or not somebody is a real baseball player.

Well, if your photography has won professional awards, been published in photo, travel, sports or other magazines, if it is in some galleries, if you have been asked to present photo seminars, if your photo business is extremely successful, etc. then the implication is that the quality of your work is at the artistic level.

What if your business is only moderately successful? What if you have only been published in a student magazine? What if you were nominated for an award but didn't win?

The qualities you mentioned can indeed be used to judge whether a piece of art is accepted or successful, but not to judge whether it is or is not art.

Your argument is that art is only art if it is recognized as such by other artists. But what if it is only recognized as such by non-artists? What if is recognized as such by only one artist? Or by 5?

What standard do these other artists use to judge something as art or not art? If you can define their standard, then non-artists could use that same standard to judge for themselves what is or is not art. If you can't define the standard, then their judgement becomes completely subjective, rendering it no more or less valuable than a non-artist's judgement.