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I think it is an art.  Just not with the same emotional impact that other art types might have.

Well yeah, you can incorporate photorealism into a render and still have an artistic effect, but I stil wouldn't call it an art, really. Maybe more like a skill, or an art form.

Most of the really truly photorealistic CG renders I've seen though have not been trying to "make art", but rather for product or architectural visualizations, where "art" was secondary to simply trying to show a product off well.