When photography couldn’t be art

It’s hard to imagine, but it wasn’t that long ago that the common perception in the art world was ‘photography was not art’.  Even in the 1990’s within the safe confines of a New York City art school, it was hotly debated.  The NYC gallery scene all but confirmed it was gospel as well.  “Photography” galleries exhibited only photography and and “art” galleries showed everything but photography.  They never criss-crossed. 
 
Thankfully, this myth had been dying for the last 10-15 years.  It is really exciting to see galleries champion photo-based artist that have broken the molds.  Now any gallery worth their salt has at least one or more photo-based artist on their roaster.   The most interesting conversation about photography today is not how sharp one’s lens is.  We now live in a post Flicker / Instagram world, where everything has been photographed and re-hashed already.
 
This is why I’ve dedicated my studio practice to experimental photography.  If we deconstruct the very lens we look out into the world, everything becomes new again.  The way I see it, if a camera lens is for crystallizing sight, then my photograms are a catalyst to confront that which is unclear.
 
Exhibition Photography Expanded at California Center for the Arts