Technological development of the past decades have made photography a massive phenomenon, or, in a more positive term, it democratized the recording of photographic images by making it technically effortless and accessible. Additionally, the publication of these photos are made essentially limitless with the spreading of image-sharing and social media platforms. For just a random example, Instagram alone has more than 2.1 billion monthly users (according to a 2022 survey), and the number of uploaded images is over 50 billion. Individuals and organizations with a wide range of personal characteristics and motivations, untrained and professional photographers inspire and get inspired by one another with no geographical boundaries or time limitation. And on top of all this, with the appearance of Artificial Intelligence on the scene, now it is not just billions of human beings but machines are also active in taking and even editing and composing photos – often with the intention and ambition of creating art. These phenomena and the still ongoing progress raise a long list of exciting questions with regard to such areas as the relationship between photo and photographic art, or in a broader spectrum, visual esthetics or the fate of visual taste as we now know it. Is the technological limitlessness and “democratization” of taking visual images useful or, actually, harmful for the position and recognition of art photography in the art world? While the number of photos taken and published is unimaginable, there seem to be some kind of uniformity, the following of certain patterns: in what way and what extension do these phenomena determine visual taste, and do they actually influence the art of photography? Shall we be worried about the disintegration of visual norms, the fading of borders that separate the ugly from the beautiful, the deformation of visual taste? And if yes, then how big is the responsibility of business enterprises that take advantage of the digital age by developing and maintaining its infrastructure, technical bases and services? Does any of them recognize these responsibilities, and what do they do in response? How much space and influence does art photography have left in shaping the visual taste of the future? Is the photographic art community prepared and equipped to join the competition, and does it get, or at least ask for, any kind of support from businesses involved in and profiting from this sector?

Speakers:
Nathalie HOYOS - curator, adviser (Office for Art Berlin) - Berlin
Artem HUMILEVSKYI - photographer, MYPH member - Mikolajiv
Ornella MARI - photographer - Budapest, Brüsszel
László NAGY - Creative Director of ACG Budapest - Budapest

Moderated by:

Anna JÁRAI - Experimental filmmaker and art manager - Budapest