Why do we make art?

Stefan,

NOW I know why you asked me the question yesterday! And I thought it was an attempt to get me to justify taking such banal landscapes! Hadn't realised it was so much more philosphical...

Best wishes,

Andrew

Thank you AL, indeed that might all be it. ^^
Thank you Paul for your insight, most of us here indeed shoot with that mind thought.

I-berg you nailed it where I was after so it's just human to create art?

Yes Thoramay but there must be something driving them to express those emotions in form of art, what is that urge you're talking about... what make us different then a bird that sings so lovely. Of course the reason why it sings is different but if it would sing without those reasons then what?
It's the big question indeed

Indeed Andrew that's why I asked, I might asked it more since it does give you some insight behind the thought of the photo.
Indeed it was more philosophical but your answers were good

Do we take photos to create art?? or do we take photos because within us is a creative force that cannot be ignored. I would never be bold enough to claim my pictures as art. That is for someone else to make the judgement. As to what that driving force is, again it is individual. For me it is an appreciation of God's creation, a homage to His relationship with me. My first thought on waking is that I have the start of another day to drink in all the beauty of nature and to be able to react to its wonders. This is not for everybody but it is my driving force, a silent song that I sing all day and the knowledge that lifts my depession and enables my creative spirit.
Thoramay.

Thoramay, you know that doesn't answer my question.
I'm also an absolute atheist but I also have my believes, but those believes don't drive me to make art and since we're both human, at least I hope we both are there must be a common factor between us all... although that factor seems to be lacking with some
I certainly won't deny that believe doesn't drive you.

If you do not believe in God, or deity, I fear you will search in vain with no one able to answer your question to your satisfaction.
I will pose to you the following questions. What is Joy, love, laughter, sorrow, peace, hope, goodness, evil? The list is endless.
If you can answer this first question then I ask you again.
What drives us humans to laugh, feel sorrow, be evil, show goodness, know love, give love.
Why are you only concerned about what drives our creative nature?
The source of our creativity resides within our emotions. The same source that drives us to laugh also drives us to be creative. We call it human nature. It is our nature that makes us each different.
Where does that nature eminate from? There has to be a source. Nothing in this world exists without a source and reason. I believe that this source is a God figure, or call it what you will. Theologions express it as 'a belief that passes all understanding'.
Your question poses the bigger question, yet to be answsered. What are we? Why are we here? What purpose do we exist for? I know how I respond and rest in that other emotion that has no answer. HOPE,
thoramay

Well the first are all emotions triggered by hormones, a reason why drugs are so addictive.
The second are all memories and instinct, the soul so to say (human nature in your words).
Why do we've a soul? you ain't going to like it but evolution explains it. Creatures that are able to learn and remember and apply that knowledge survive better then those that don't.
The only problem is I can't fit art into evolution, I can however fit creativity in it, capability to imaging things and prepare us for things that might happen is a good strategy for survival.
I don't see how I would find the answer if I said that god or gods gave us art, because why would they have given that to us?

Indeed the step beyond this is why we are here at all but first let us focus why we even create art since it looks pretty pointless in terms of survival and therefore evolution.... or is art a way to express creativity, visions, ideas?

I'm not here to fight religion there is already more then enough blood shed for that but I believe that everything that happens, happens for a reason.

Cause and effect right, the effect is we make art, now the answer is what causes that?
We eat because we are hungry
we rest because we are tired
we sing because we are happy
we draw because...?
we sculpture because... we like to create?
we take photos because... our memory is so bad???

I'm quite convinced there must be a very simple answer to this, it's most probably that the answer is too simple that we don't believe that it can be the answer...

ps. Could it be that we make it because we learn, I know it's strange approach but what do you think?

Your logic is flawed, dear Stefan. You avoid answering my question. You simply offer an explanation that satisfies you but has no real legitamacy. Evolution has no bearing on our soul(unless your deffinition of soul is different from the accepted one).
We agree that we have emotions. So! What drives us to use emotions, such as laughter. Some laugh, some do not. why? Some see photography as art, some do not, again Why?
Let's not draw religion into this as a a generality. I stated a personal viewpoint that would not draw blood from even the most fanatical follower. The simple answer is within you and within me. We simply are not clever enough to understand what motivates our actions. We simply respond.
It is not for us to know everything, but to simply enjoy what we find enjoyable, to laugh at what amuses us, to love and be loved, to suffer pain and bereavement all without needing answers as to why. To seek answers is natural. To take our quest to the point that we miss the gift within us is sad.
We do what we do because it comes naturally to us. We may have to work at it but the effort is enjoyable.
thoramay.

We no longer need all our time to provide food and shelter. So we fill in the gap with entertainment. To some art is entertainment, so people step in to provide it as a comodity, in order to fulfill there need for food and shelter.

Thoramay I've answered your question maybe not the way you attended to but emotion are just that what I say, pleasure is induced by dopamine and various endorphins that's released by the brain as a rewarding system and that rewarding system is triggered by all sort of things some are "baked in" and some others come there by memories and experience. Why some laugh and others not comes down to experience and memories that have shaped us and of course we get some genes from our parents in the mix, that's what makes us.

Soul is basicly a person's total self, individuality, what make us us.
I answer that memories and genes makes us us and that's my point of view until I learn otherwise, although I don't think genes are necessary for a soul but being able to react something in a unique way, so individuality come by memories experience is a soul.
Probably not your view but it is mine.

Yes I want to seek answers and since I don't believe in a gift within us so i can't miss it. If you find that sad then you find it sad, I'm not here to change your view but I'm looking at things with other eyes.
I believe that you should not take something for granted and therefore it's hard for me to believe in a god or gods and I don't see how it would change my life if I did.
I'm simply here to make the most I can with my life and treat anyone like I want to be treathed so bascily do good feel good, do bad feel bad. If I do good and there is a god or gods I'm sure they aren't racists that would ban me to hell because I didn't believe in them.

Indeed Barrie stupid me, it isn't a primary life necessity or how do you call it
But what I try to say is there must be a simple answer for it but indeed entertainment is also among them.

What I mean is what drive/drove people like Ansel Adams, Annie Leibovitz, Henri Cartier, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, etc. to do create so much art, dictating their life to it. Do you think they have one feature/need/urge they all have in common?

What I was after with learn is that art is a way to communicate and the basic idea behind communicating is sharing information so learning.
So can we see those artist as teachers learning us emotions, different perspectives?

i think it is universally accepted that we are born with gifts. We talk of a gifted child, better descibed as a special ability. All great artists are spoken of as gifted.

I speak of my faith as a 'believe beyond all human understanding'. Don't change that to 'taking something for granted'. No one knows where our soul goes at death. I simply hope that Jesus's words that He goes to prepare a place for us that where He is so shall we be is true. I canot prove it. You cannot disprove it.

If hate is an emotion, then it can be controlled and managed by dopamine in the way you claim other emotions are controlled. I do not believe this.

Some people are totally lacking in a sense of humour. Why, if it can be changed by chemical changes in the brain? It does not add up or support your theory.

It is interesting to exchange viewpoints but we are straying very far from your first question on why we create art in photography. We should agree to disagree and leave this thread to a testamony of how wonderfully different we are

thoramay

Thoramay, I agree with what you said now in this way, it sounded differently first
Oh no it's great to see it from another view point, we travel very often from course here in this forum
But yeah lets cut it short here, my last comment on this since I'm interested in some of your views.

Hate is a complex emotion with a lot of variation the same with love but they have narrowed it down to some regions of the brain, you might find this wrong but it could help people with an disorder.
Besides that don't you believe that something like an antidepressant work?
Maybe you should try a joint once and tell me if it made you happy or not

Indeed gift in such a way as a talent comes down to genes in the first stages and stimulation and development of that talent and maybe something else, who knows
But can't you be good in something without having talent for it?

I wonder if those artist needed to express themselves or if it was simply a way to make a living?

A challenging question Stefan! I don't think it's that easy to answer - it's easy to make up reasons, but less easy to articulate underlying motivations.

There are certain things I find strongly pleasing visually, for instance an old building, a harbour, someone's face, a piece of furniture, the colours of trees or mountains, patterns of light and shade... equally I find some images particularly pleasing because of what they capture or how they are composed or both. Therefore I get pleasure from making images that have those sort of visual qualities, both for myself and to share them with others - maybe to convey something of the world as I enjoy it. My technique doesn't always match what I want to capture, but I know I can do much better using photography than any other form of visual art!

Antidepressants did nothing for me. They are not the solution for everyone. Morality is something we have not touched on but my morality would never allow myself to experiment with substances that alter my personality. I believe that God put us on this earth to help, support and sustain our fellow beings, not to experiment with our health and future well being. Over and out.
regards Thoramay.

Stan thank you, it's a tough pill this one.
it need great skill to capture something that you see on a photo, it also bring me joy when I see I've captured it.

Thoramay, indeed the brain is an organ that's very hard to understand if we would ever completely understand it would be hard to say. It can be used for good but also for wrong, if it's there to help disorders then I'm fine with it but if we get so far that we can order a baby that's is as talented as Mozart then things have gone very wrong in my eyes.
But well that might take a long time and morals like you talk about would have change then since moral is taught to you by the people around you, I don't think it's instinct or anything else with what we are born with that tells us what's wrong a right.
A good example is the food we eat today, how many would find it sad to slaughter a chicken but are more then happy to go to the super market to get one

Somehow I don't think that on a camera forum that we're going to determine the existence, or non-existence of (insert your deity here).

For what it's worth ... while I'm new here, two things that I feel shouldn't be debated in online forums are: hardcore politics and religion. It's a sure fire recipe to causing massive rifts in the participants as most people are squarely rooted into their position behind X. Again, just my 2 cents.