Art is commonly misused as it does not really relate to the technical skill of a person, but the perception of the piece. The whole concept of it can't be art because ... doesn't really exist. But it's the only word that we have, so it's used in ways that are really ludicrious.

CGTalk defines art as a community as doing it all yourself and showing what you can do to potential professional production houses. That is their culture, that is their art, so if you look at it that way, they can say Poser is not art, but what they are saying is that Poser is not their idea of art. They don't really care whether you have a high end app or a low end app, if you did the image yourself. Project DogWaffle is cheaper than Poser, but if you painted the image yourself, then you can get recognized on there. You can take the latest Lightwave wonder into a regular traditional gallery and in many ways get just as much ridicule and scorn. There will certainly be people who will say it's not art and in their particular discipline, it's not. Just as we can say that a model on a white background is not art. It's not the kind of art that we consider art, so it's not art. The pendulum does swing both ways.

Art is whatever the viewer and the artist thinks it is (and because Jim says so). But if you are going to clash cultures with a site that is known for it's narrow definition, then you can't expect to be treated as an equal to their way of thought. That is why I don't post on CGTalk. I don't do their kind of art, so there is no point to it. Just as I rarely post on WetCanvas, because they are more traditional artists than digital. If you think it's art, and you are happy, who cares what they think? If you do care what they think, than perhaps you should investigate their world and start the journey that they are on, rather than your own. You'll find that both are very difficult paths from different perspectives.

The choice is up to you...Sorry, I don't mean to sound crass, but there is a lot of room for all cultures of art and each one has their prejudices that are not going to be broken down. So you either fight them, join them, or just render on, have fun, and don't worry about it.