Blog #10

Barrett stresses the importance of description in criticizing works, because it lays a foundation on which a person can base her critical positions. 

-Descriptions are facts; they are true and can be tested by observation. 

-Subject matter is what is actually in the photo, whereas the subject of the photo is a theme or meaning of a photo. Discussing the subject tends to be more of an interpretive conversation than a descriptive one, because different people can find different themes in a photo.  

-Describing the form of a photo, or how the subject matter is displayed, is also important. The composition and arrangement of the subject matter in the photo, as well as the contrast, color ranges, grain, depth of field, angle of the shot, and the lens used are important to describe, because these elements greatly impact the photo.

-Descriptions including the medium are important as well. The camera, film, and paper used, as well as whether the image is in color or black and white can be included in descriptions.

-Noting the style of the piece, as well as comparing and contrasting the work to other photographs and works of art is often used by critics as well. 

-These descriptions can be obtained in two ways: from either internal or external sources. Many times, external sources of information that helps give context to the photograph. 

Criticizing Photographs [Blog Post 10]

In “Describing Photographs,” Barrett dissects the art of photographic criticism by describing interconnected pieces of the critical process in isolation with examples. She explains that photographic criticism is composed of description, interpretation, and evaluation. While she suggests no particular order for presenting these different components of criticism, she claims that judgement without description should be avoided. While writing a photographic criticism, Barrett notes that describing the photographs is crucial for enabling readers in the present and the future to imagine aspects of an exhibition’s photos that cannot be replicated in a book, for example. 

There are five main elements of describing a photo according to Barrett. The subject matter is the part of the image to which the photographer directs our attention, such as a mountain in an Ansel Adams photo. The subject is the broader message or topic, which might be the vastness of nature for the Ansel Adams exhibition we viewed. The form includes formal design elements like color, scale, and shape, and it is where I think one might mention principles like the rule of thirds. The medium, which one might consider especially important in analog photography, includes details of the physical material of the photograph. Style, Barrett writes, includes several elements of interpretation. For example, she writes that “contemporary American” and “realistic” are both styles of photography, although the former might be a less controversial label than the latter.

Barrett writes that in photography criticisms, the distinct components are interconnected, and several of these components are present in the same paragraph. A good technique for authors of criticisms to convey their messages to their audiences is to juxtapose the work they are critiquing with other work by the same author and similar works by other authors.

Blog Post 10

The main points of Barrett’s “Criticizing Photographs” can be outlined as follows:

• Description: Descriptions are factual information about the work. They are the basis of criticism and provide evidence for judgments.
  • Subject Matter: What appears in the image. This is not the same as the subject (theme), but it is not always obvious, because it may be abstract or involve parody.
  • Form: Presentation of the subject matter (“shape of content”). Includes formal elements of composition, such as shape, light, tonal range, and many others.
  • Medium: Medium includes what the art is made of, how it is made, and the tools used. It also includes how these impact the work and its interpretation.
  • Style: The similarity in handling of subject matter and form between different works. Can be between works of same artist, a different artist, or a different medium.
• Comparing and Contrasting: Comparing and contrasting a work with other works (same artist, different artist, or different medium), involves describing the other work as well.
• Internal and External Information: Additional information can be included to add context, but it must be relevant for the critique.
• Interpretation: Circularly depends on descriptions: must describe the work to interpret it, but must interpret it to know what to describe.
• Evaluation: Descriptions are not necessarily value-neutral, and so descriptions influence evaluation, but evaluation also feeds descriptions.

Matthew Cameron

Blog Post 9

Hearing the story of Vera Lutter’s work and seeing the referenced pieces in “The Room and the I: The Work of Vera Lutter” by Stephan Schmidtt-Wulffen, helped the pieces come alive. I enjoyed being able to read descriptions of the works, how they were made, and the meaning behind them, as I was looking at them. The additional information added to the works and helped me more fully appreciate the art. For instance, without the text, I probably would have failed to realize the significance of how the camera obscura allowed Vera Lutter to observe the outside from the privacy of the inside.

Much of Vera Lutter’s work deals with perspective, images within images, and the separation of the inside and outside. The way Vera Lutter put images of the same place in a different image taken from the same spot was interesting because it created a positive image of the scene, while adding complexity to the perspectives in the image. Vera Lutter commonly featured mirrors and other images in her work, that create “different degrees of reality.” I did not expect the use of images within images, because it changed the perspective of the piece. To me, seeing an image of an earlier image taken in the same place, was almost like seeing a painting of a painter at work. I found these images akin to a self portrait, even though Vera Lutter was not depicted in them. The exposure times of these images made it so that Vera Lutter could not be in her own images.

I was surprised that exposures took days, but this aided in Vera Lutter’s desire for privacy. With such long exposures, she cold move around within the shot and not leave a perceptible trace. This allowed her to be invisibly part of her work. Vera Lutter’s use of the camera obscura also aided in her invisibility, because it allowed her to “participate in a public event in her own private space, without being part of it.” I think this shows in her work, because it is about observing and perspective, and not about being observed. Vera Lutter does not appear in her own work, but we can “see” her through the ways she perceived things in her images.

Matthew Cameron

Jesse G. :Blog Post #8

Photography Extraodinary, by Lewis Carroll, was hard for me to decipher, and even now I’m not exactly sure what it means. I do know that what I envisioned while reading the poem was a man going to different women asking them of something that each of them rejected. These women were the different schools referenced in the poem, each of them representing their own school of thought. The “Milk-and-Water” school was more religious, the “Strong Minded or Matter-of-Fact” school was more scientific and factual, and the “Spasmodic or German” school was more violent or war-oriented. Initially I thought the something that the speaker offered was a romantic gesture, like a proposal, but the speaker’s interaction with the “Spasmodic or German school” makes me question that.

Invitation to the Voyage, by Charles Baudelaire, was easier to grasp in both meaning and visualization. As I read the poem, I thought of a serene countryside landscape with views of distant mountains, a bright sky with fluffy clouds, and an ocean on the other side: my ideal retirement home. This image shifted to the home that Baudelaire describes in the second stanza of the poem. I envisioned it as a giant mansion with everything I could ever want. The last stanza conjured a scene of a huge metropolis farther down the coast of my imagined ocean, where ships were constantly coming and going.

Correspondences, by Baudelaire again, wasn’t as extravagant as Invitation to the Voyage, but it was still nice to envision. As I read this poem, I thought of a dark, cool forest that never seemed to end. The darkness made it seem almost mystical, away from the lights of civilization, but that also made it terrifying in a way.

As for The Stranger, also by Baudelaire, I simply envisioned my home in California (where I happen to be right now). I imagined myself just looking up at the clouds above as time passed. Watching the clouds drift over an otherwise clear sky in sunny California is probably one of the few reasons why I sometimes regret going to school in Boston. I wish there was more sun in Boston. Otherwise, I love this place.

Post #9, Kenny Yang, Criticizing Photographs and Vera Lutter

I had never realized the extent of which a photograph could be analyzed broken down and absorbed. It has always been the case for me that I look at a photograph understand it and move on. I question however the purpose of such breaking down and interpreting of the photo. It may be necessary to understand the photo itself better but why not just ask the photographer himself on the purpose and meaning of the photo. Even if you dont agree with it you can still come to an understanding. What is the purpose of breaking down something and trying to find all the nuances some of which is all just conjured in your own head.

Vera Lutters work with pinhole cameras on the scale of human beings is very impressive. I would like to know what was the motivation for such pictures and what led her to them especially since they take much more time and effort. Additionally how did she interact with the Picture after it was taken given that the camera is so large?

Post #10, Kenny Yang, Barrets Text

Barrets Text

Describing the Photo Internally and Externally, ie what the photo looks like and has vs what things where done to take the photo. When describing the photo the idea is to notice different aspects and characteristics.

The subject is what the intent of the photo is and the subject matter is the actual things being taken a picture of.

Form, shape of the content, how the photograph is composed arranged, and constructed. dot line shape light value color texture mass space volume. black and white tonal range subject contrast film contrast negative contrast paper contrast film format POV. angle lens frame edge depth of field sharpness of grain and degree of focus. scale proportion unity within variety, repetition rhythm balance directional forces emphasis and subordination.

Medium what the object is made out of. Medium inflects meaning and expresses meaning itself.

Style, a resembalance among diverse art objects from an artist, movement, time period or geographic location.

Compare and Contrast the work to the author itself or to others.

Describe and Interpret, Evaluate. To form your own opinions on the work and to determine whether they are good or bad.

Blog Post #8

The poem by Lewis Carroll evokes different feelings and images of a man being rejected by a woman. The Milk-and-Water school seems to say the woman was unwise and couldn’t see what she was missing out on. The Matter-of-Fact school depicts a man that thinks a woman is a fool to say no to him, but he acknowledges that there are other women out there, so his ego isn’t bruised too badly. These two schools are very different from the German School, which evokes anger and images of fire and daggers due to her saying no.

Invitation to the Voyage depicts beautiful, serene images of misty sunlight shining through clouds, gleaming, polished furniture, and beautifully smelling flowers. The words and phrases used convey a sleepy, warm, soft, peaceful world.  Correspondences brings images of nature as a vast and dark temple, filled with perfumes, some of which are sweet, and others that are corrupt and rich. The Stranger also gives an image of a person who doesn’t have friends or family, but who loves the clouds. I like these later poems, because they paint nature as a beautiful, serene place. 

Blog Post #7, From Pigment to Light and The Age of Light

I thought Laszlo Moholy-Nagu’s piece was interesting. He said that the commonality between all of the “isms” in art was that each artist was destroying the old representational image to create new experiences.  Artists’ experiments point towards the future, but they are unable to fully present all possibilities. In fact, he says artists are frequently afraid of applying their experimental results to their practical work, because they “share the universal fear that mechanization may lead to a petrification of art.” However, he goes on to say that this fear is baseless, because it’s impossible to consciously evoke all creative possibilities. I thought this was interesting, because it’s awesome to think that even in the future, after thousands and thousands of years of art, people will still be able to create and explore new art forms. He continues by saying that the mastery of tools/machines used to make art is extremely important, not just the talent of the artist. This makes me wonder what new machines/tools will be invented that will help create new art forms. I also thought it was interesting that he mentioned that a long time usually passes before new techniques can be applied to art, because many artists are held back by older art forms. 

I thought what Man Ray said was interesting as well. He says that images can “survive an experience,” but that this object is not completely representative of the experience it is trying to capture. He compares it to a painter, who can deform something so much so that she hides the identity of the original thing she is trying to paint, and instead creates a totally new thing.

Blog Post #8, Kenny Yang, On poems

I have no idea as to what Photography extraordinary is trying to say. By vague interpretation I am understanding that photography is hard. It is hard to get the camera to cooperate and take pictures as you envision them. At some point you just give up and accept that the camera will do as it pleases and you just live with that.

The stranger, I am imagining a man who loves nothing that is concrete. He is not fascinated by the world but rather his own imagination. I would say that he is a romantic and enjoys that which he can dream not that which he can see. I would say this is a sophisticated man.

Correspondences, It begs us to look at and explore the forest for all its smells scents and flavors. I imagine myself standing in a forest and noticing all the different flavors the world has to offer. The grass, the flowers, the fruits, the vegetables. All the faints smells come pouring into my nose combining and fusing to form new smells and connections. This leads to the development and happiness of the soul and spirit relaxing in the essence of nature.