Exercise: An essay on reviewing photographs

Words and Pictures: On reviewing photographs by Liz Wells

This essay was in the course reader.

What is the basic argument of Wells’s essay?

I felt that the basic argument was about using words to describe pictures, as the title suggests, and how difficult this can be. It is about finding words to describe artworks, although she mentions that words cannot describe the affective impact of images. She reminds us that catalogues will survive longer than exhibitions. She describes the history of photography and how Britain overlooked it until the 1980’s unlike other countries who welcomed it in the 1920’s as a medium. It was not given equal status with other art forms. 

There was also a description of how even now people want written coverage of their artwork. She mentioned the impact of critics on artists, the impact of what they write and the motivation behind it. How does a critic perceive what an artist or gallery wants or needs? 

Is the title a fair indication of the essay itself?

As mentioned, the title does give an idea of the main topic, although it is a little simple. This is especially important considering some of the difficult words and concepts contained in the essay, phrases such as ‘tacitly resisting the hegemony of the metropolitan.’ This was not easy and there were many parts of the essay that I had to re-read and try to make sense of. The title does not reflect all the key aspects of the essay, such as reviews written by dedicated critics. 

To what extent does the writer rely on Postmodernist doctrine? 

The essay begins with a description of why criticism is important, and how words are balanced with pictures. She mentions the remark from Magritte, ‘a painting of a pipe is not a pipe!’ 

We live in a  climate of postmodern thinking, and are moving away from the modernist era where a more uniform value system was applied. Current criticism is not neutral, and comes more from the writer’s viewpoint. The digital era has played a part in this. 

Towards the end, Wells mentions the restrictions of modernism and the fluidity of postmodernism. I feel that she has relied mainly on postmodernist doctrine throughout the essay. 

How important do you believe it is for a critic of photography to have deep knowledge of the practice of photography? 

I believe it is extremely important, so that they fully understand the challenges faced by the artist and how they may have been overcome to create the works. If they are aware of the whole process of image creation, from taking the image to processing it, I feel they are in a better position to pass judgement on the work of others. I am aware that there are critics around who do not practice photography, but I feel that I would be more likely to accept the view of another practitioner judging my work rather than a total outsider.  They may not need to be an actual working practitioner, rather someone who has studied the history and some practical aspects of the art being critiqued.