[ART]_CONnected

Les Rencontres d'Arles 2013

WHAT IS "CONTEMPORARY" PHOTOGRAPHY?

Today at the portfolio review at the Arles Photo Festival I got some strange (at least for me strange) "feedback": It is not contemporary photography...

So after some time - and after some very positive feedback by other reviewers - I started to think: Actually what is "contemporary photography"? 

Well, there is an easy definition: The word itself comes from the Latin "con" (=with) and "temporarius " (=of the time, from "tempus", time) and has the same meaning as modern. But this couldn‘t have been the meaning of his remark. I mean, I am not the youngest one anymore, but I am still living, so i consider my pictures as „done in this time“...

After some hours of thinking and chewing over this question I  found in an internet forum an answer:

Contemporary photography is whatever the critics are telling us to pay attention to this week. They come up with something new every week because, if they didn't, they'd be out of a job.

From one of the exhibitions at Les Rencontres d'Arles 2013
Is this "contemporary photography"?

Maybe you can help me out and post your suggestions what is the meaning of contemporary photography...