Interpreting Art: Barrett’s Methods of Interpretation
1. What is the importance of multiple interpretations of a work of art over a single interpretation? In his book “Interpreting Art: Reflecting, Wondering, and Responding” Terry Barrett declare the principles for interpreting art focusing on multiplicity and reasonableness. Hi pointed in the beginning of book, “Anyone can engage in meaningful interpretive thought and in meaningful interpretive talk about works of art and that multiple interpretations are better than single interpretations” (1). This assertion introduces a high opinion of multiplicity such as a main Barrett’s approach to art criticism and his emphasis on interpreting art as a way in which anyone can engage with discerning
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There is a range of interpretations any artwork will allow
3. Interpretations are not so much right, but are more or less reasonable, convincing, informative, and enlightening
4. Good interpretations tell more about the artwork than they tell about the interpreter
5. Some interpretations are better than others (198).
These principles encourage multiple interpretations and defend that it is not desirable to develop only one “correct” interpretation. According to Barrett, “Differing interpretations of the same work of art stand alongside each other and can attract our attention to different features of same work” (206).
2. How can politics affect the interpretation of art? Please provide an example. In chapter three author explores interpretations of controversial art, emphasizing how interpretation and judgment are interdependent. He states that politics affect the interpretation of art and gives the example such as in October of 1999, Sensation opened at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, where it was Chris Ofili’s iconic painting, The Holy Virgin Mary that incited the most heated debate. Mayor Rudy Giuliani threatened to close the city-funded institution on the grounds that this artwork was offensive to religious
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“Old: What is new to me might be old to you. Foreign: Foreign to whom? What is foreign to me is common to many millions of people. Old and foreign also frequently come laden with values” (Barrett 111). He propose to ask next questions when we are studying old and foreign art, "About historical art, we generally wonder, what did it mean to them, then? What can it mean to us, now?
About culturally different art, of the past and present we generally wonder,
What does or did it mean to them, there? What can it mean to us, here?
When asking these questions, who them refers to constantly shifts, depending on the context We need to rely on the material evidence and use a different kinds of understanding that can be available to us when interpreting art that is old, art that is foreign.
We can use books, lectures, and informational texts in museums because their information comes from "close study of available physical evidence as well as from knowledge of the culture gained through sources other than art itself" (Barrett 137).
5. Describe the three criteria used to give merit to an