Residual Reality Needs to Get Back to Reality

I came into this photograph exhibit expecting to find things that confused me, but what I found was even more puzzling. I found works of "art" that could only be described as ridiculous. I found photographs that looked like something a small child had taken. Joyce Neimanas' "photos" were especially disappointing to me. It didn't make sense to me that a woman who had gotten here masters in photography and art was taking photos of things a toddler who got a hold of their parents camera might accidentally have snapped a shot of. Art and photography to me is much more than what I saw coming out of this show. It didn't seem that really any of the artists in the show had put their all into the exhibit. Scoot Rankin's video collage especially perturbed me. It may have had some deeper meaning that wasn't made apparent to me, but it didn't seem to require a lot of effort on his part. I could make something like that by looking up vidoes on Youtube and playing them at the same time.
Although I was appalled by much of the "artwork" at the exhibit, I did find some pieces that I enjoyed and found to be pleasing to both mind and eye. The works of Patrick Nagatani were both imspiring and worthwhile. In reading his description of the arduous process put into these pieces it is clear to me that he may be one of the only artists at the exhibit that truly poured their heart and soul into his work. He did not cut corners. He did something unique, but not over the top. He spent a great deal of time and effort on his work. He created a brilliant masterpiece that gives off both an aura of calmness and of passion. His work truly deserves to be given the title of Art.