Barrett Reading Response 1

Mackenzie Gibson 

Barrett Reading Response 1 

1. 1. I believe Barrett’s thesis is the idea of learning the descriptive process of criticism within in art and sorting and highlighting descriptive data in the writing of critics.  

2. 2. Barrett uses critic examples of Richard Avedon’s photographs, “In the American West” to prove his thesis of using the descriptive process.  

3. 3. In your own words, how does Barrett define:  

1. a. Barrett describes Description as a way of understanding the facts behind something such as a photo. A description can be the answers to questions unknown. These answers are sometimes obvious and not so obvious.                                                             

2. b. Barrett describes subject as being the implicit meaning or theme in a photograph. This can be interpretive and different for everyone. Subject Matter is described as the actual events or people that are being taken place in the photo. 

3. c. Form according to Barrett is how the events or people in the photograph are presented.  

4. d. Medium according to Barrett is what a piece of art is made from. Medium is important in understanding a piece to its full potential.  

5. e. Style according to Barrett is said to be recognizable in art, artists, or time period through characteristics of subject matter and formal elements.  

4. 4. In your own words, summarize what Barrett means when he refers to: 

6. f. Comparing and Contrasting according to Barrett is a way of critically analyzing and artist and his or hers work to other artists. This method shows how certain artists are similar and how they differ. This is very common among art critics.  

7. g. Barrett describes Internal Sources of Information as what the photograph displays such as the style, form, or medium. This is information you can pick up just by observing the photograph. External Sources of Information are things you must research further than just looking at the photo to get the information you are looking for.  

5. 5. In your own words, summarize Barrett’s position on the relationship between: 

8. h. Description and Interpretation are very important to each other. In interpreting any work of art, you must understand what you are observing first. Within describing, you are already making assumptions on you are seeing.  

1. i. Description and Evaluation are important to each other because anytime you judge a work of art critically, you must use descriptive language to back up your argument. Whether speaking either positively or negatively, descriptions are still accurate to the work of art and your judgment comes from those.  

6. 6. One point I believe Barrett was questioning was the idea of critics debating the importance and desirability of external sources of information and the means of gathering it. The question arises of whether the critic should have some sort of personal connection to the artist in any way. Barrett argues that the use of external sources is a matter of relevancy according to the critic. Another point Barrett brings up is that when engaging in criticism, you shouldn’t substitute the artists biography or life for criticism. This could make you lose sight of the actual art work for interesting facts about the artist. I learned from Barrett that labeling photographs in a more interpretive way is less controversial than a straight forward and descriptive way. I also learned about formal elements that photographers identify with such as black and white tonal range, subject contrast and point of view. I believe Barrett’s conclusion is that description is criticism. Carefully constructed critical language used by critics offer informed discourse about photographs to increase our understanding and appreciation. I really enjoyed this reading. It is very informative to people who enjoy photography and wish to further their passion for it. Being critical of art is important to your understanding of it and this reading showed us how to do that.