Is Photography Dead?

It would seem to me that Plagens' argument somewhat resembles that of realist artists reacting against the school of impressionism. What does that mean exactly? Well, that in a century no one will care about the difference between mimesis and the more 'unreal' aspects of photography---it will all be photography anyway, right? I think that it is perhaps evident that he misses the point when he bemoans photographic art's move away from depicting reality. For instance, such great impressionistic art as Van Gogh's Starry Night was anything but realistic---but the essential fact remains that this is great art.