Project 12: An Essay on Reviewing Photographs.

Liz Wells, Words and Pictures: On Reviewing Photography

In order to help with this exercise I followed the suggested method of working through and writing about an essay.  I read it through once to absorb it and then again this time taking notes on the salient points of each section.  I then used these notes to inform my answers to the exercise.

Introduction

Liz Wells tell us that this essay is a follow-up to a 1992 one which she was invited to write on reviewing photography for the newsletter Light Reading.  The newsletter was part of a national initiative to stress regional networks, thereby resting the dominance of the city.

Words and Pictures

We are told that it is difficult to adequately find words to describe photographic or other art works, but after an exhibition finishes, all that remains may be the exhibition catalogue and  the words of the critic.  The critic, therefore, has a responsibility to both the artist and the audience.

Contexts

In Britain photography did not figure within the modernist agenda, although in Europe it played a central role.  In Britain it remained overlooked until the 1980s.  Just as photography had acquired acceptance as art in the UK and the US the modernist agenda was hijacked by post-modern misgivings and the onslaught of digital. One response to this within museums and universities was a new academic interest in photographic history and culture.  Collections of photographs were enhanced and exhibition programmes increased.  MOMA's increased interest led to greater circulation of ideas and debates about photography, which, in turn, informed the critics.

Reviewing Photography Now

Critical feedback acts as publicity for work but the relationship between photographer and critic is not always easy.  There may be a tension between the needs of the gallery for immediate publicity and the photographer's hopes of a more considered response.  Modernist critics searched for a uniform value system and a knowledge hierarchy.  Post-modern critics place images in the context of the 'artist's culture', which is intended to counter the modernist status quo, whilst feminist criticism proposed a constructive role for the critic.

Taste

Now, as always, criticism involves taste, judgement and a degree of independence of opinion.  Writing which is well-informed, purposeful and engaging, involves critics in knowing what they value and why they value it.  Audiences are now wider through global communication.  Websites in association with exhibitions are no substitute for actually seeing the work.  Artists still seek responses which may be more varied and interesting in the post-modern era now that critics are not constrained by a hierarchical intellectual order.  The digital era should support the dismantling of these attitudes and should give space for more open, creative criticism.

The exercise now poses four questions:-

What is the basic argument of Wells's essay?

It is not easy to describe photographs or other works of art in words.  In Britain photography was not considered as art in the modernist era and it was not until the 1980s in the post-modern years that it was able to be discussed creatively and openly.  A response to post-modernism was increased academic interest and more exhibitions including the establishment of photography at MOMA.  This led to greater circulation of ideas and debate about photography which, in turn, informed the critics.  In the digital age audiences are wider and this should support the dismantling of hierarchical, status quo attitudes.

Is the essay's title a fair indication of the essay itself?

The essay details the history of photographic acceptance and criticism.  If criticism equals review than the title is suitable.  According to the dictionary a review is a critical article or report.  Another meaning is a general survey of something, especially in words; a report or account of something.  In view of these meanings I feel that it is a suitable title on both counts, although it could suggest that it is instructional i.e. how to review photographs, so could, perhaps, be more specific.

To what extent does the writer rely on Post-modernist doctrine?

I am not sure that she relies on it, but she  fully embraces and approves of Post-modernism and certainly feels that it does photography justice, whereas it was the ugly duckling of modernism.  She stresses the fact that in the post-modern age world wide communication and the digital era have helped to break down the hierarchical power bases of the past.  

The essay raises the issue of the qualifications and duties of a critic.  How important do you believe it is for a critic to have deep knowledge of the practice of photography?

Liz Wells refers to the duties of a critic on more than one occasion.  In the second section 'Words and pictures' she says, "...critics take responsibility for feedback to artists and for mediation with audiences." (Wells, 2003, p 429)  She also says "For critics to be constructive, they need also to be self-analytical, paying attention to the implications of what they are saying and consciously working in ways designed not simply to reproduce established assumptions and hierarchies." (Wells, 2003, p 432).  Also in the section on Taste, "First as always, criticism involves taste, judgement and a degree of independence of opinion.  Good writing, by which I mean work which is well-informed, purposeful and engaging, involves critics knowing what they value and why they value it." (Wells, 2003, p 432)

So Wells, herself feels that a critic should be eminently qualified.  I am not sure that a photography critic should, necessarily be a practicing photographer with a deep technical knowledge, but I do feel that they should have a deep knowledge of the historical context of photography and its different genres and styles and where it sits in today's culture and the rest of the art world.  It goes without saying that they should have a deep knowledge of what makes a'good' photograph (although this is subjective) such as composition, tone colour balance etc.  It may be very difficult to be totally neutral but if the critic has a bias it should be noted.  It goes with saying that a photography critic should have a love of photography as well as other branches of art.
David Ward, in an article in Outdoor Photography Magazine, Take a Wider View, touches on this.  He tells us that there has been an explosion of photographic imagery  in the last decade which can only be positive for the art of photography but he feels that there is something missing: reference to any wider artistic context.  His concern is mainly the lack of reference to the history of the medium.  He argues that many photographers new to the discipline are bounded by the work they see on Flickr, ephotozine and other forums and believe that nothing happened prior to the digital age.  His main question is "...how do they know what constitutes a 'good' photograph?" (Ward, Outdoor Photography, 2014, p 57)  The same can be said for the photography critic and this knowledge of the wider context is crucial to their 'deep knowledge of the practice of photography'.

References

Wells, L. (2003) Words and Pictures: On reviewing photography. Abingdon: Routledge
Ward, D. (2014) Take a Wider View. Outdoor Photography. 1(181), p 57