Je suis un artiste?

Ok.... Discussion time!!! Let's talk a bit about this 'artist' stuff! I have this assignment for school to write a so-called 'artist-statement'... This does not sit very well with me as I really don't see myself as an artist... Maybe it is just once again one of these cultural differences that we didn't think existed... In my world you can not just proclaim; "I am an artist!" - In my believe it is something you have to be recognized as - and it is not a mainstream title such as teacher, policeman, baker... Yes! You get the point! If anybody can just say "Je suis un artiste!" doesn't the concept get washed out then? Doesn't it become mainstream and everything else that artists are normally so scared of! Oh yeah... and what IF you do documentary photography, travel photography or photo-journalism??? Is that art? Are journalists artists too then? And what about the news reader on TV - is he an artist? Are super models artists - and is what my 5 year old niece produce in kinder garden art? I have a hard time seeing the photographers doing war photography as artists... I hope they just document fair and square... If they put an artistic spin on that - I think we have a problem! I am not saying that these types of photographers can't do artsy things... But let's keep it real and not wash out the concept completely! My artist statement will probably be: "Je ne suis pas un artiste!" Oh! And by the way... You should really look at this art I made the other day :) PS: Montana is Awesome!