Photography Theory & Criticism Response Paper

In chapter one of the Wells text, the author states: “A number of differing approaches may be used to analyze photographs. Each model reflects its own particular concerns and priorities." For instance, any single photograph might be:

-viewed primarily as social or historical evidence

-investigated in relation to the intentions of the photographer and the particular context of its making

-related to politics and ideology

-assessed through reference to process and technique

-considered in terms of aesthetics and traditions of representation in art

-discussed in relation to class, race and gender

-analyzed through reference to psychoanalysis

-decoded as a semiotic text.

For your response paper, you are to select a photograph (Any image will do. The choice is entirely up to you.) and analyze that photo from one of the perspectives listed above. Begin your response with a detailed description of the image. Describe the image so that someone not actually viewing the photograph will be able to visualize it, then begin your analysis using one of the strategies above. The paper should be a minimum of four pages in length (double spaced, 12 pt font). When completed, upload the document and a jpg copy of the image to Canvas.