Reading Assessment 2

1. The authors thesis is that all photos demand interpretation to be fully understood and appreciated. He uses the chapter to explain exactly how and why people interpret images. He also makes it clear that judgement and interpretation are mutually influential on one's thinking about an image.

2. Barrett uses many examples to support this thesis, such as Susan Sontang's interpretation of a photograph recreating a war, or comparing 3 different interpretations of Eleanor by Henry Callahan. In all of his examples, he gives a segment of the critic's interpretation, and then goes into detail analyzing what they said, and explaining why they said it. One example that stood out to me was the picture that was an advertisement for Italian food. I thought it was interesting because I didn't think pictures like that needed to be interpreted, but after reading the interpretation I had a clear image in my mind of what the picture looked like without even seeing it, and I fully understood its purpose. This supports Barrett's claim that all photos demand interpretation.

3. Barrett states that interpreting an image is to make sense of it. An interpretation explains what the picture represents, what it expresses, what its about, or what it is response to. He also states that an interpretation is a retelling of the story in the picture, and should parallel the passion of the photograph.

4. Interpretation is very crucial in criticism of photographs because understandings of photos will forever continue to shift, and our interpretations contribute to that dialogue. Also, since everyone's interpretations can be different, knowing other people's interpretations can help increase your own understanding. Additionally, he states that all artwork deserves a reasonable response.

5. One interpretive perspective that stood out to me was marxist interpretation. This is because I believe that many photos have the ability to say something about society as a whole, and furthermore, the inequality of classes. I think this is because photography captures moments in time throughout history, and knowing the history of a picture can capture the larger essence of shifts in a social context. The critic also pointed out that the public has a hunger for photos of the rich, which I thought was interesting.

6. In the section "right" interpretations, Barrett explains that there aren't necessarily any right or wrong interpretations, since it is up to the viewer. However, can be good vs. weak interpretations. He states that good interpretations are convincing, whereas weak ones are not. He states that if an interpretation is too removed from what is shown, or if any items in the picture are not accounted for, the interpretation is flawed. He explains that the interpretation of a photo should not change it into a completely different work of art, and it should be consistent as well as coherent.

7.  In this section, Barrett explains that the responsibility of interpretation is up to the viewer, not the photographer. Although some artists may have their own interpretation of a photo they took, we should value that interpretation on the same grounds as any other viewer. He also explains that some photographers are unaware of their intents when they take a picture, and they don't necessarily always have an agenda. The critic attempts to describe what the photographer is communicating.

8. One point the author made was that feelings and emotions can be important to interpretation. He explained that the gut feeling you get from looking at a picture can contain important clues about it's subject. When interpreting a picture, you should ask yourself why it makes you feel that way. He also states that your feelings about a picture may change after you have done a critical analysis. Another point he made was that photos can have some personal significance for us, but that shouldn't always be a part of your interpretation. He writes that although personal significance is valuable to each of us, it may be too personal to be valued by others.

9. In conclusion, Barret summarizes the chapter by explaining that there is a whole community of different kinds of interpreters, such as critics, artists, historians, dealers, collectors, and viewers. Every person in this community will have a different perspective when interpreting a photo, and all of these different takes will end up contributing to everyone's understanding of the picture as a whole.