Option Limit | Directional control Confined way Integrity status |
F
or as long as photographic images have been made, the question of legitimacy has been debated. This takes two forms. The first considers the scientific and mechanical aspects of photography and postulates these characteristics negate any claim to art. The second consideration attempts to define photographic purity, and condemns any process not adhering to this strict designation.
Pictorial photographers operating at the dawn of the twentieth century recognized logical problems associated with compartmentalizing “drawing with light” operations. Exactly how one worker can establish a distinction between photographic and non-photographic processes is complicated and arbitrary. The doctrine that the end justifies the means seems to be most applicable. The artist is free to define his own limits.
“How do I begin according to the rules? First set them up, and then follow them.” - Richard Wagner
