The Influence Of Photography In American Society

“To Plato, art was imitation of nature, but in the 19th century, photography took over that function, and in the 20th, abstract art overturned the whole notion that art was about representation. And although art meant skill early on, conceptual artists elevated ideas over execution. So what is art?” (Herman, "27 Responses”). The research question guiding this investigation is: How did the introduction of modern photography technologies, such as the digital camera and Photoshop, influence what is considered art in American society? For over 180 years, photography has been an important art form to the human race. It has been used for communication, expression, and overall fun. The perception of photography as an art form is a widely varied opinion.
Recently, with the integration of digital cameras and advanced editing software, these debates have grown more heated. Many feel that the digitalization of photography has taken away the true essence of the form, while others feel that the evolution has simply opened up more doors for photographers.
There are many aspects that affect the way one looks at art and further judges it. In photography, these aspects have evolved over time, resulting in an incredibly complex issue that takes into account many elements of photography itself. As a photographer myself, this subject matter is extremely interesting to me and I care deeply about the perception of photography as I value the medium as a respectable art form. This investigation will look into these elements and push a deeper understanding of how art is defined and what affects this definition. The introduction of modern photography technologies has affected the way Americans view art because the creation and integration of editing software has led to the questioning of “what exactly is art” and debates over the ethics of photoshopping, and the evolution from dark room to digital has allowed for more advanced techniques of capturing the world, thus showing that ¬¬¬the definition of art is widely unique and can easily be influenced by many aspects of our
culture.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of art is, “Something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings” (Merriam-Webster, “Art”).
Art is a vastly unique and expressive concept that is prevalent throughout the entire world. It varies with culture, location, or time period. What we know as art today is entirely different than what we knew as art 100 years ago. Technology has had an enormous impact on how art is made and what parameters under which we, as humans, define art. Technology has had an especially huge impact on the art of photography, as the methods of creating photographic art would not have been possible without modern technological advancements. Currently, humanity is seeing a “boom” in digital manipulation techniques, meaning that we no longer just take photos, which further impacts the art form. Advancements in digital editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, has greatly impacted the field of photography as a whole. We live in a day and age where we have to be skeptical of everything we see; we look at photos and immediately think, “I bet it was photoshopped”. The program opens up endless possibilities and opportunities for an artist; with skill within the program, one can create anything. While fraud will always be a risk, we’ve learned that relying only on mechanical processes or devices is entirely futile (Mayes, “Revolution in Photography”). According to the article, “Is Digital Art
“Real” Art?” a digital artist and a “real” artist are one in the same thing. A real artist has to learn how to paint with brushes, sketch with charcoal, and mix pigments. Their actions cannot be undone and their art exists physically. On the other hand, a digital artist does all the same things, except it’s on one expensive machine. A computer is a clean workspace where one can make mistakes without worry. This single machine provides every color and every utensil (Zagrobelna, “Digital Art”). However, digital manipulation software should not be viewed as an unfair advantage. The equipment that an artist uses should not make or break their