Is a photograph also a painting?

The recent UOB Painting of the Year contest was won by a set of photographs. Some find this odd, others do not. We investigate.

Source: The Sunday Times, 5/7/9, p.7
Headline: Stir over photo win in painting contest

Quote1
A series of photographs have again won United Overseas Bank's (UOB) Painting of the Year competition. ...

Comment1
This sets the context.

Quote2
Yesterday, art enthusiast Gong Pan Pan, 23, said: "I think the title of the competition becomes very misleading if they keep awarding the top prize of a painting competition to a photograph. If the competition has changed its focus from painting to image in general, it should be renamed." ...

Comment2
The claim is straightforward. A painting competition should be won by a painting. More generally, a word must be correctly applied, or defined.

Quote3
Lecturer and artist Hong Sek Chern, 42, suggested that the term "painting" could be defined simply by its presentation of being hung on a wall. She did not mind the expansion of its definition. She said: "If the judges accept a sculpture hanging on a wall as a painting, it would be fine." "As a painter, I feel that it is very exciting for photography to push the limits of painting." Miss Hong added that this concept of hanging a sculpture on a wall had in fact already been done elsewhere.

Comment3
The suggestion is to define "painting" as "anything presented by being hung on a wall". On this definition, a photograph is a painting if it is hung on a wall. So also a sculpture, which have been done elsewhere. Think of other items that have been hung on walls. Would you consider them paintings too?

Quote4
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts president Choo Thiam Siew said that the public must accept the changing concept of a traditional painting. ... "Photos are no longer just beautiful pictures of idyllic scenes. Nowadays, they have strong, impactful messages. To me, a photograph becomes a piece of art if it has something to say, brings out an issue, and has the feeling of the artist in it."

Comment4
This suggestion is that (photograph + something to say + brings out an issue + has artist's feelings) is a (piece of art). But is it a painting? We are not told.

Quote5
Indeed, one of the judges, Mr Koichi Yasunaga, ... did note that the painting submissions were not as "impactful" as the photographs. ...

Comment5
"Impact" is now suggested as another criterion -- but for (photograph) or for (piece of art)?

Quote6
Visual artist Michael Lee, 37, ... said: "The photograph won, not because it was a photograph but because it was a critical and innovative expression of the artist's interest."

Comment6
We have more criteria: (critical expression + innovative expression + artist's interest). Again, are these criteria for (painting) or (piece of art)?

Quote7
Pausing, he said that perhaps the name of the competition could be changed to perhaps "2-D Art of the Year" or "Image of the Year". But then he saw how this could be a problem too. He said: "2-D Art of the Year sounds very crude, while some images could be text-based."

Comment7
An alternative to redefining "painting" is to rename the competition -- but both these suggestions also run into problems.

Comment8
Socrates was concerned with discovering the correct definitions of terms. Confucius was concerned with the rectification of names. Ambiguity is the source of much confusion and conflict in life. It behoves us to use language clearly and precisely.

Is this competition intended to be a search for excellence in a specific medium, or a search for artistic excellence in general? Once this is clearly understood, it will be a straightforward matter to give the competition its correct name.

What ought not happen is that this linguistic haze continue to linger.

END