Seems to me that much confusion and ill-will arises from whatís become a sort of contemporary disease of the altered meaning of words.
As a result, I have decided to return to the (another!) golden era where words mean what they had pretty much always meant, at least within living memory.
In this new/old lexicon, and for those too young to recognize present corruption and semantic confusion Ė this is how it works.
Photographer: one who earns his living from the practice of photography.
Amateur photographer: one who enjoys the making of photographs as hobby, relaxation or self-expression.
Shamateur photographer: one who would like to earn his living from photography but lacks the courage to take the risk of putting his money and future where his pretences lie. He also likes to devalue the living of certain genres of professional photographer by doing weddings and supplying images for stock, working on the basis that it isnít the money (really?) but the imagined Ďgloryí. That it isnít the money makes the inevitable careless collateral damage the more reprehensible, especially as it is far from unrealised.
Artist: One who earns his living from the painting of pictures.
Commercial artist: one who earns his living from the production of commissioned illustrations and drawings.
Amateur artist: one who enjoys the pleasures of putting paint on paper or canvas, and also drawing and sketching, financial reward not playing the least part in the motivation.
Painter: sometimes artist or amateur artist, but more often a person who paints buildings, bridges and other existing structures without having any responsibility for their creation.
Sculptor: one who creates three-dimensional works from solid lumps of rock; from welding things together so that they represent something other than their rude parts; one who makes decorative artistic constructs with no visible purpose other than to fill a void. This can sometimes be art, but often itís gravestones.
Musician: sometimes considered artist, I have doubts about the suitability of the appellation. An undoubted talent, I think that it reaches beyond the more normal limits of art; I believe it to reside on a higher plane. Few images or written words have the power to reduce me to tears, but music certainly can, repeatedly. Like a certain beverage, it can reach parts that the others canít.
Artwork: a piece of work that has its basic meaning as simple illlustration in various media. A draughtsmanís drawing of a building would not be considered artwork; however complex it might inevitably be, it would remain a draughtsmanís drawing. A common, if broader word within the advertising industry to denote parts of a project that can be photographs, drawings, etc.
Art: a somewhat nebulous word often used to describe anything thatís beyond the ability of the average person to produce within the same, broadly graphic medium, usually a medium such as painting. Some forms of photography can fairly be termed art, but, more often, the word simply doesnít fit the facts. Some cars from bygone eras were certainly works of art, their designers industrial artists.
Talent: an unusual, inborn ability to perform exceptionally well within a given genre, whether one considered artistic or otherwise. Some blessed souls have this ablity across several disciplines.
Guru: no longer exclusively an Indian teacher or guide in matters spiritual, but a term commonly applied to almost anyone with the chutzpah to self-proclaim himself teacher or expert in any (or many Ė helps to broaden the sucker base) of a variety of different disciplines, but very often in the world of contemporary art. It currently carries subliminal connotations of fraud.
Curator: from simple keeper or custodian within a gallery or museum, the job appears to have grown into that of creating a new Ďartí langage offering fresh meanings and values to a variety of works that might or might not really have any intrinsic value whatsoever if seen without benefit of curatorial input. A large part of this new language consists of the putting together of ideas that would previously have been considered unrelated and even incompatible; the sprinkling of uncommon words plays a very marked rŰle in this new form of expression, possibly developing it into an art form of its own, more interesting and amusing than some of the associated art for which, essentially, it provides crutch.
Creativity: the talent for taking disparate elements and reorganizing them into a new thing that would not have otherwise existed. Examples of this can range from the work of an interior designer through that of some forms of photography, art and certainly music. Writers, film-makers; people who produce interesting product out of nothing, some engineers with great imaginations; even some curators - many have the creative element within them.
Statement: even in the world of art, it used to mean a monthly reminder sent to a client or patron to show how much the artist was still owed. Currently, it appears to be a statement of political/artistic intent, often written by the artist in an embarrassing attempt to give the impression that the statement has been written by another person. This seems to fool some of the people some of the time. Generally, itís a motivational sentiment expressed in a harmless form of written, low-key curatorial-speak.
Now I feel so much lighter of spirit. Any further misunderstandings are not upon my head.