Essay 1
In the Victorian era, there was debate as to whether photography constituted art. One vocal critic, Joseph Pennell, a famous illustrator, argued that that photographers were not as highly trained as painters and illustrators.[3] Pennell seemed particularly incensed that photography exhibitors had other jobs, with photography being only “his amusement, his relaxation” [4] in contrast to artists who devote their entire lives to developing their skill. Pennell’s second argument that photography was not real art is based on the mechanical aspects of photography. Pennell sarcastically denigrates the photographer for relying on the camera. He “plants his machine…and, with the pressing of a button…creates…a nocturne which shall rank with the life work of the master.” [5] Pennell believed that the machine, not the person behind it, did everything – as the photographer could “reproduce a scene without doing a scrap of work.” [6]
[1] Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 11th ed. (Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1996).
[2] MLSU, Visual Arts.
[3] Joseph Pennell, "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 211 - 212.
[4] Joseph Pennell, "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 211.
[5] Joseph Pennell, "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 211.
[6] Joseph Pennell, "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 211.
Sources
Joseph Pennell. "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 210 - 213.
MLSU. Subject: Visual Arts. www.mlsu.ac.in/upload/124_visual%20arts.pdf
Merriman-Webster Dictionary. 11th edition. Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Co, 1996. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art
Sources
Joseph Pennell. "Is Photography Among the Fine Arts?" in Photography In Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, ed. Vicki Goldberg (New York: Simon And Schuster, 1981), 210 - 213.
MLSU. Subject: Visual Arts. www.mlsu.ac.in/upload/124_visual%20arts.pdf
Merriman-Webster Dictionary. 11th edition. Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Co, 1996. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art