Two mediums through which art
can be expressed paintings and photography are pioneers in the art world. However, like many things that coincide both
have their advantages and disadvantages when compared to each other. "What
I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever,
impossible to reproduce.” Karl Lagerfeld. This quote epitomizes the true
meaning of photography. “Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.”
Pablo Picasso. A painting is an expansion of its painter. Although painting and
photography can be viewed as one entity this essay will define each of them,
highlighting their positives and negatives and also to clearly state which, if
any, outweighs the other.
Painting - an art form that
transcends through time and culture is an expansion of the painter. Invented
centuries ago this form of art can still be seen today; its immortality reigns
supreme.
Painting is a mode of creative
expression, and the forms are numerous. Drawing, composition or abstraction and
other aesthetics may serve to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention
of the practitioner. Paintings can be naturalistic and representational (as in
a still life or landscape painting), photographic, abstract, be loaded with
narrative content, symbolism, emotion or be political in nature. To illustrate,
the oldest known paintings are at the Grotte Chauvet in France, claimed by some
historians to be about 32,000 years old. They are engraved and painted using
red ochre and black pigment and show horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo,
mammoth, abstract designs and what are possibly partial human figures.
Paintings could be seen displayed in houses, business places and important
institutions.
Photography derived from the
Greek photo- for "light" and -graphos for "drawing" is the
art, science, and practice of creating durable images by recording light or
other electromagnetic radiation, either chemically by means of a
light-sensitive material such as photographic film, or electronically by means
of an image sensor. Photography makes it
possible to duplicate anything so that it could be analysed by the viewer.
During the 20th century, both fine art photography and documentary photography
became accepted by the English-speaking art world and the gallery system. In
the United States, a handful of photographers, including Alfred Stieglitz,
Edward Steichen, John Szarkowski, F. Holland Day, and Edward Weston, spent
their lives advocating for photography as a fine art. It should be noted that
at first, fine art photographers tried to imitate painting styles.
Although both painting and
photography are types of art they are similar and yet different. A painting can
never be reproduced exactly the same way in which it was created, however, it
can be duplicated through photography. Due to the fact that everyone has his or
her preference one may appreciate photography more than they appreciate
paintings and vice versa. Therefore in my opinion none outweighs the other,
both are perfect to who appreciates them.
Artist: Sopheap Pich
Medium: Metropolitan Museum
Date Completed: 2008
