Photography = art, or bragging about cameras?

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It often happens that the most frequent discussions among photographers don't concern composition styles, tricks for better images or elements of art critique, but their sole topic is gear. And when I mean gear, I mean investing and over-investing in the fanciest cameras and lenses, up to the extent labelled as "gear acquisition syndrome" - a psychological condition in which you cannot help buying more and more lenses, upgrading cameras, all in the hope of getting that perfect shot. Or sometimes the shots you take matter less, what matters more is that at the next photo club meeting, you'll have a newer, fancier toy to brag about. I admit I almost lost it to the Gear Acquisition Syndrome for some long years... I only stopped when realizing that actually for travel and urban photography having more gear actually slows you down and makes you miss some good shots, instead of helping you. How about you? What do you think matters most, the camera or the photographer behind it?