iPhone Art?
It's an accidental work of modern art, maybe.
Is an accidental image art? Last night, sitting on my porch after sunset, I decided to take a photo of a vase of chrysanthemums lit by only a candle. I framed the image with my hands and then picked up my iPhone. The result wasn’t what I expected, but I liked it.
The best I can tell, the candlelight caused a malfunction in the iPhone camera. The result looked like modern art does to someone who knows little of modern art — the ignoramus who walks through an elementary school art show and comments that some of the pictures are indistinguishable from works hanging at the MOMA in New York.
I wondered if my accidental artwork would appeal to an art collector or museum. How would they know that the photo I intended to take (and shortly after that did take) was simple and boring?
These thoughts, fueled in part by wine, prompted me to consider the definition of art. What is it? Does it include “accidental art?” I wonder how artists define art. The following morning, I researched the question to get the answer.
Artists are not shy in articulating what art is. Here is a sampling of what I found:
Pablo Picasso wrote, “Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” My accidental photograph is a lie if I don’t admit it was accidental…
