Barrett Reading Response 2

Mackenzie Gibson 

Barrett Reading Response 2 

1. 1. In Barrett’s thesis, he argues that all photographs require interpretation to be fully understood and respected. He also suggests that as a culture, we are more influenced to interpret paintings or poems instead of photographs. Even simple or all nature photographs demand to be interpreted maybe even more so than abstract and bizarre photographs.  
   
   

2. 2. Barrett uses the example of Joel-Peter Witkin’s photographs. These photos are bizarre and interesting with themes of death and mystery. Barrett claims that because these photos aren’t normal to common experiences, they attract a lot of interpretive questions. He also battles the claim that photos of a natural scene don’t turn any heads because they are familiar to us. Because of people’s cultures and background, these are sometimes themes that can pop into an average everyday-scene photo and therefor deserve interpretation.  
   
   

3. 3. Barrett defines interpretation as a matter of understanding the meaning of photographs. To interpret is to take the described aspects of a photo and bring meaning to them.  
   
   

4. 4. According to Barrett, interpretation is important in criticism of photographs because as a critic, when you interpret a photograph, you are setting the tone, sense or mood of the photo to the audience. Critics are seeking out the photograph’s most important parts and sharing this. They offer a “language” about an image to create a new meaning to the photograph.  
   
   

5. 5. The Feminist Interpretation of Harry Callahan’s pictures of his Eleanor stood out to me because it wasn’t what I would have originally thought about while looking at these beautiful images. The interpretation comes from Diane Neumaier, who developed this thinking regarding women, particularly the wives of some photographers, as subject matters. She speaks on the double standard that men have when it comes to photographing their wives as opposed to women photographing their husbands in the same manner. Neumaier claims that the photos of Eleanor are oppressive and demeaning. They fit the bill of women being possessions to men. She claims that when the artists make their wife wives strip nude and getting famous off the images he’s exposed of her, he’s using this as a way of dominating her. I found this interesting because to me, these were just beautiful images out of adoration for his wife. I saw these images of being act of appreciation and art.  
   
   

6. 6. In “Right’ Interpretations”, Barrett makes some good points. The first one being that better (and worse) interpretations exist and are possible. Barrett explains that if someone was to understand a photo better than him, it would be desirable for him to want to know more about that photo. Not all interpretations are equal, some are better than others and good interpretations are convincing whereas weak ones are not. Barrett also talks about correspondence and coherence. To correspond, one must account for all aspects and facts about a photograph or else the criteria is flawed. Coherence is ought to make sense in and of itself apart of the actual photograph.  
   
   

7. 7. One of Barrett’s main points in “Interpretations and the Artist’s Intent” is if the photographer has achieved his or hers intent within the photo, then the photo is good. If they haven’t then the image in unsuccessful, which leads to the photographer being their number one critic. Barrett also argues against intentionalism as a critical method because you don’t always know the photographer’s original intent of the photograph. He also mentions that some photographers aren’t even aware of their intent while capturing images. His final point in the section is that, we shouldn't consider an interpretation more privileged just because it came from the artist.  
   
   

8. 8. One other key point I learned in this reading was that feelings are just as important to understanding and interpreting an image as facts are. Feelings provide a way of showing us clues to learn more about the image. If feelings are evoked, we can acknowledge them and break down what in the image is making us feel that way, thus understanding it better. Another key point I learned in this reading was that there’s a difference between meaning and personal significance in the photograph. Significance can refer to the way we are affected by a photograph. Whereas the meaning is referred to as what the photograph is about in and of itself.  
   
   

9. 9. Barrett’s conclusion is that interpretation among the community won’t be accepted unless it is sensible and contributes to knowledge. He also concludes that over time our interpretations of art will change, subtly but sometimes dramatically.