>>3302518listen. whether you like it or not, you make art (somewhat seriously/consistently) therefore you are an artist. it's not your career nor pays the bills, but say your day job is as an electrician: you are as much of an electrician as you are an artist. and if you have a cat, you are also a cat-owner.
whether your 'stories' trigger emotion in others or not, shouldn't be the prime focus UNLESS you mean to make a career out of it (terrible example by the way, because if "all art is the skill of storytelling" then your previous example of someone shitting on a pavement could be brilliant storytelling, and you bet it'd trigger emotion in people. who cares if some find it inappropriate or vulgar, there will be someone who will attribute deeper meaning and social commentary or whateverthefuck to that piece of "performance art" therefore providing validation).
and if you allow me to come full circle here, i really enjoy fashion photography because as i said, you are able to combine multiple elements in a way that not only tells a story and triggers emotion, but have the freedom to construct an idea from scratch as opposed to just photographing objects or landscapes that already exist and most likely have been photographed many times before. albeit from a different perspective.
>>3302526i also make art but never truly expected it to pay the bills. if someday it does, then great. i am spending no money by doing so, and enjoy it. but considering i spend most of my time thinking about/creating art, is it that nonsensical for me to define myself as an artist (amongst other things)?
>>3302518>concepts i don't care to understand are a meme>animals behave according to stimulustaking a photograph you find appealing is stimulus regardless of if you'll ever share it or not
this is going to sound super cliche, but honestly, if you need validation to consider your art worthy: you've entirely missed the point.
