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Criticizing Photographs: An Introduction to Understanding Images | 
 enlarge | Author: Terry Barrett
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
Category: Book
Buy New: $34.42
New (32) Used (38) from $28.68
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 17031
Media: Paperback
Edition: 4
Pages: 312
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 0072977434
Dewey Decimal Number: 770.1
EAN: 9780072977431
ASIN: 0072977434
Publication Date: July 21, 2005
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Product Description
This brief text is designed to help both beginning and advanced students of photography better develop and articulate thoughtful criticism. Organized around the major activities of criticism (describing, interpreting, evaluating, and theorizing), Criticizing Photographs provides a clear framework and vocabulary for students' critical skill development. The fourth edition includes new black and white and color images, updated commentary, a completely revised chapter on theory that offers a broad discussion of digital images, and an expanded chapter eight on studio critiques and writing about photographs, plus examples of student writing and critique. .
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Criticisng Criticism June 11, 2002
Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA)
112 out of 123 found this review helpful
NOTE: This is a review of the third edition of this book, which Amazon is also posting under the fourth edition, which is a substantially better book. For people interested in the fourth edition, please read my review which appears under the title of "Getting Better."
A look at the subtitle to this book, "An Introduction to Understanding Images", might lead one to believe that it is about photographs and what makes them good or bad (or if there are such things as "good" and "bad" photographs). But instead it is about photographic criticism, primarily written. And even then it really doesn't tell you very much about how to write criticism yourself, or how to interpret what you read, or how to develop patterns of thought that would enable you to criticize in a useful fashion. Instead most of the book is concerned with the pigeon holes into which different kinds of photographic criticism can be put.
An unstated thesis of this book seems to be that the criticism of photographs is an art form itself. Certainly anyone who has read something like Walter Benjamin's "the Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" might agree. But if it is an art, then it has both form and content, and any book claiming to teach one about the art (I almost said craft) had better address those points. To know that there are theoretical schools like Postmodernism or Feminist Theory is useful to those trying to organize photographic criticism and may be helpful to the photographic critic who is trying to decide what his own approach is, but knowing that these schools exist does not help a critic as much as a knowledge of how to look at a picture and organize a written commentary.
Fortunately, the book has a number of examples of written criticism, including several examples of different critics addressing the same picture. Unfortunately most of the criticism addresses the content of the photograph without considering how the form relates to the content or how, as Mark Schorer has said, technique leads to discovery. For example, Ansel Adams' photographs rely upon the range of light from the whitest whites to the blackest blacks to make their statements about the grandeur of the American wilderness. Unfortunately, nothing in this book considers photographic technique for the critic, although there are plenty of opportunities. For example, there is an ambiguous picture by Robert Doisneau taken in a Paris Café showing a younger women and an older man. The picture is grainy and the depth of field shows the women more sharply then the man. Both of these techniques should contribute to the possible interpretation of this photograph, and yet they are not mentioned.
I think the photo critic who wants to improve his art would be far better served by learning something about photography, and then reading actual criticism, like John Szarkowski's "Looking at Photographs". "Criticizing Photographs" should only be considered as a supplement to such studies.
 Important Book August 23, 2005
Mr. Photo Dude (Oshkosh, Wisconsin United States)
33 out of 38 found this review helpful
Criticizing Photographs remains one of the most important books in the field, and Barrett has updated the text with new photos to discuss. His new editions include worthy changes and are not ploys to sell new copies. I have used his books for years in an advanced photography college class.
A treasure trove of definitions, examples, and ideas... March 25, 1999
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
A diversity of critical voices and photographic approaches is explored, giving the reader access to a rich world of creative thought Barrett defines criticism as "informed discourse about art to increase understanding and appreciation of art." He organizes his treatment of the four major activities of criticism describing, interpreting, evaluation, and theorizing which in turn address four basic questions: What is here? What is it about? How good is it? Is it art? The book provides in two short appendixes, practical advice on writing about photographs and on conducting casual and directed discussion of photographs Monterey Peninsula College, Anne Canright
 Yecch! May 20, 2007
Richard Burt (Palo Alto, California)
12 out of 22 found this review helpful
I am sorry I bought this book. It was written by a college professor for students, readers that have no choice but to buy the book, and it reads that way. The author does not use his own vision and voice to criticize and to explain criticism but instead relies on a survey of methods used by critics. The writing was wooden, and the book had an overwhelming emphasis on staged, "arty" photographs. I could not bring myself to finish this book and have given it to my local library for their book sale.
A framework which can be used with any visual medium... March 25, 1999
10 out of 17 found this review helpful
The book is itself an excellent introduction to that process of questioning which constitutes the acquisition of meaning in modern contexts. It discusses issues such as feminism, postmodernism, and the disputes surrounding artistic controversy and censorship. It bristles with penetrating accounts by critical writers One of the brilliant strengths of this book is that the reader actively participates in the critical process by witnessing it in action through the minds of contemporary writers and photographers Canadian Review of Art Education, Donald Berglund
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