Barrett, Chapter 5 - Photographs and Contexts
Response to Reading
In Chapter 5 of Terry Barrett's Criticizing Photographs Barrett addresses the context to photograph relationship. In order to really understand and classify a photograph, it's necessary to understand first the question of who, what, when/where and for what purpose to which it was created–or it's context. As Barrett claims, "knowledge of context can help to enrich the meaning of the photograph." (108) Terry breaks down 'context' in photography in three separate categories: Internal, Original and External. A single photograph can be analyzed through these three contexts. Internal context, as Barrett explains, is considering what is shown in the photograph. In Edward Preston's Pepper No. 30, we are shown the forms, curves, textures and color of the pepper. Drawing upon our own knowledge of basic elements of design, we are able to understand the photograph's main intent--its aesthetics. Original context becomes relevant when a viewer couldn't simple rely on what they observe to grasp a photograph's intent/meaning; they would need "some information beyond that which can be gathered through observation." (107) The example of Sherrie Levine's "After Walker Evans" photograph goes to show that without having a context to Levine's artistic style in her copies of Walker Evans' photos, a viewer wouldn't grasp that they were in fact copies. By not knowing Levine's art, a viewer may be perplexed by why copies of Evan's photographs are displayed as art. Knowledge of this kind wouldn't possibly be attainable without further investigating Sherrie Levine as an artist. A key aspect in understanding the original context is understanding what was psychologically present in the photographer's mind upon creating this photograph. Along with that, it is necessary to know who the photographer was and the social status in which they were relevant. The External context refers to how and where the photograph is presented. The power of external context is such that its outside surrounding can radically affect its overall meaning or the vision which is to be implied by the artist. An example of the misuse of external context can be seen in the example of Pat Ward Williams' "What You Lookin At?" mural; What is meant to question the media representations of African American males, became an offensive take on a hostile statement given by African American males. What radicalizes its meaning was its surroundings, since the mural was carelessly displayed facing the outside window, open to the people of New York City passing by. Photos which are camouflaged into the piece are sympathetic to the plite of African American males and are noticeable at a closer distance, but become unnoticeable from far away, therefore misconstruing its intended meaning.
