Susie Linfield

8/14/2019 Susie Linfield

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A Little History of Photography Criticism; or, Why Do Photography Critics Hate

Photography?

In 184, Charles !a"#elaire $rote a short essay calle# %What Is the &oo# of Criticism?'

(his is something that )irt"ally e)ery critic as*s herself at some point, an# that many

ha)e ha# tro"+le ans$ering; it has +een *no$n to e)o*e hopelessness, #espair, e)en selfloathing- !a"#elaire #i#n.t thin* that criticism $o"l# sa)e the $orl#, +"t he #i#n.t thin*

it $as a $orthless p"rs"it, either- /or !a"#elaire, criticism $as the synthesis of tho"ght

an# feeling0 in criticism, he $rote, %passion raises reason to ne$ heights,' an# he"rge# his fello$ critics to esche$ antiseptic $riting that %#eli+erately ri#s itself of any

trace of feeling-' A fe$ years later he ret"rne# to the s"+2ect, e3plaining that thro"gh

criticism he so"ght %to transform my pleas"re into *no$le#ge'0 a pithy, e3cellent

#escription of $hat criticism sho"l# +e- !a"#elaire.s American contemporary, argaret/"ller, hel# similar )ie$s0 she "rge# her colleag"es to re2ect #ogma5%e3ternal

consistency,' she calle# it5in fa)or of %gen"ine emotion-' (he critic, she $rote, sho"l#

create an Itho" relationship +et$een herself an# her rea#ers an# g"i#e them %to lo)e

$isely $hat $e +efore lo)e# $ell-'

!y %pleas"re' an# %lo)e' !a"#elaire an# /"ller #i#n.t mean that critics sho"l# $rite onlya+o"t things that ma*e them happy or that they can praise- What they meant is that the

critic.s emotional connection to an artist, or to a $or* of art, or to a genre, is the sine 6"a

non, the gro"n# 7ero, of criticism- Who can #o"+t that #m"n# Wilson lo)e# literat"re5 an# that, to him, it simply mattere# more than most other things in life? Who can #o"+t

that Pa"line 9ael fo"n# the $orl# most challenging, most meaningf"l, most )i)i# $hen

she sat in a #ar* mo)ie theater, or that 9enneth (ynan felt the same $ay at a play? (his

same sort of int"iti)e connection $as at the heart of :ames Agee.s approach to $ritinga+o"t the mo)ies- Intro#"cing himself to the rea#ers of the ation in 1<4=, he $rote that

he ha# +een lo)ingly immerse# in mo)ies since chil#hoo# an# yet52"st li*e his rea#ers 5$as %an amate"r' $ho *ne$ little a+o"t them; he m"st, therefore, %sim"ltaneo"slyrecogni7e my o$n ignorance an# feel no apology for $hat my eyes tell me as I $atch any

gi)en screen-' A similar emotional affinity le# a yo"ng $oman name# Arlene Croce,

$ho *ne$ nothing a+o"t #ance, to +egin $riting criticism after a lifechanging e)ening atthe e$ >or* City !allet in 1<@; that performance, she sai#, %ma#e an a##ict o"t of

me-' Croce, $ho #e)elope# an "ncannily ast"te "n#erstan#ing of !alanchine.s

mo#ernism, $o"l# go on to +ecome the +est #ance critic of the t$entieth cent"ry- %All I

can tell yo" is, #ance is the thing that hit me the har#est,' she e3plaine#-

/or these critics an# others5those I $o"l# consi#er at the center of the mo#ern tra#ition

5c"lti)ating this sense of li)e# e3perience $as at the heart of $riting goo# criticism-(heir starting point $as, al$ays, their s"+2ecti)e, imme#iate e3perience, $hich meant

that they ha# to +e honest $ith themsel)es- an#all :arrell $rote that %criticism #eman#s

of the critic a terri+le na*e#ness All he has to go +y, finally, is his o$n response, theself that ma*es an# is ma#e "p of s"ch responses-' Alfre# 9a7in agree#; the critic.s s*ill,

he arg"e#, %+egins +y noticing his int"iti)e reactions an# +"il#ing "p from them; he

respon#s to the matter in han# $ith perception at the pitch of passion-' /or s"ch critics,

emotional reactions an# critical fac"lties $eren.t synonomo"s, +"t they $eren.t



Contin"ing this tra#ition of photography criticism is :ohn !erger, the most morally

cogent an# emotionally percepti)e critic that photography has pro#"ce#- %y firstinterest in photography $as passionate,' !erger has $ritten; an# $hen yo" rea# his $or*,

yo" *no$ this is so- FAs a yo"ng man, !erger #reame# of composing a +oo* of lo)e

poems ill"strate# $ith photographs-G !erger has fre6"ently incl"#e# photographs in his +oo*s- ore important, he has arg"e# that photographs represent an %opposition to

history' +y $hich or#inary people affirm the s"+2ecti)e e3periences that mo#ernity,

science, an# in#"strial capitalism ha)e #one so m"ch to cr"sh0 %An# so, h"n#re#s ofmillions of photographs, fragile images, often carrie# ne3t to the heart or place# +y the

si#e of the +e#, are "se# to refer to that $hich historical time has no right to #estroy-'

Li*e Bontag, !erger is ac"tely a$are of the central place that photography occ"pies in

mo#ern life; "nli*e Bontag, he respects the prosaic yet meaningf"l $ays in $hich peoplethro"gho"t the $orl# "se photographs-

>et in !erger.s canonical essays he, too, too* a #eci#e#ly #ar* )ie$ of photography, an#

he $as especially critical of photographs that #oc"ment political )iolence- B"ch images,he insiste#, $ere at +est "seless an# at $orst narcissistic, lea#ing the )ie$er to a sense of

selfconscio"s helplessness rather than to enlightenment, o"trage, or action- (hin*inga+o"t photographs +y Don cC"llin of the thenongoing ietnam War, !erger o+ser)e#

that %cC"llin.s most typical photographs recor# s"##en moments of agony5a terror, a

$o"n#ing, a #eath, a cry of grief-' He contin"e#0(hese moments are in reality "tterly #iscontin"o"s $ith normal time- !"t the rea#er

$ho has +een arreste# +y the photograph may ten# to feel this #iscontin"ity as his o$n

personal moral ina#e6"acy- An# as soon as this happens e)en his sense of shoc* is

#isperse#0 his o$n moral ina#e6"acy may no$ shoc* him as m"ch as the crimes +eingcommitte# in the $ar- (he iss"e of the $ar $hich has ca"se# that moment is

effecti)ely #epoliticise#-

ore generally, #ra$ing on a metaphor clearly #eri)e# from the atomic +om+, !erger

#escri+e# the photograph5all photographs5as a %fission $here+y appearances are

separate# +y the camera from their f"nction-' >et the partic"lar instance of the ietnamWar that !erger cite# "n#ermines rather than s"pports his thesis- Photographs of that

conflict5s"ch as the one ta*en +y ##ie A#ams of a streetsi#e e3ec"tion or +y ic* t

of a na*e#, napalme# girl5#i#n.t foster feelings of moral ina#e6"acy- Feither #i#

cC"llin.s-G n the contrary, they mo+ili7e# political opposition to the $ar-

!arthes, too, hel# no +rief for photographs of )iolence- Writing a+o"t an e3hi+it of

%Bhoc*Photos' in Paris, !arthes arg"e# that %most of the photographs e3hi+ite# to shoc*"s ha)e no effect at all-' B"ch images are too finishe#, too complete5%o)erconstr"cte#'

is !arthes.s $or#- As s"ch, they #epri)e "s of o"r free#om of response0 %We are in each

case #ispossesse# of o"r 2"#gment0 someone has sh"##ere# for "s, reflecte# for "s, 2"#ge# for "s; the photographer has left "s nothing-' FWalter !en2amin, as $e.ll see, also

feare# that photography impairs in#epen#ent 2"#gment-G



eiselas Fin icarag"aG, Da)i# &ol#+latt Fin Bo"th AfricaG, "gene ichar#s Fin the

-B-G, an# Don cC"llin Fe)ery$hereG- ne co"l# react in )ario"s $ays to their #iffic"lt,

"nsettling photographs, +"t it is #o"+tf"l that their images relie)e# any itches or pro)o*e# a proliferation of smac*e# lips-

It is no acci#ent that many of the postmo#ern critics $ere $omen0 the fear ofsentimentality is partic"larly potent for female intellect"als, especially those $ho a##ress

a primarily left$ing a"#ience an# $ho $rite a+o"t pop"lar rather than high c"lt"re-

FPa"line 9ael $as an in)igorating e3ception0 she co"l# $rite a+o"t mo)ies $ith girlishenth"siasm $itho"t losing her e#ge or seeming too girlish-G Along $ith this an3iety5this

fear of fri)olity5comes the mista*en i#ea that chronic negati)ity e6"als fearless

intelligence- ary cCarthy, loo*ing +ac* on her #ays as the theater critic for Partisan

e)ie$, a##resse# the pro+lem0Aesthetic p"ritanism has, li*e all p"ritanism, a ten#ency to hypocrisy5+ase# on a

#enial of one.s o$n nat"ral tastes an# instincts- I remem+er ho$ "neasy I felt $hen I

fo"n# myself li*ing (hornton Wil#er.s "r (o$n; I $as almost afrai# to praise it in the

maga7ine, lest the +oys concl"#e that I $as starting to sell o"t-

/ar $orse than the postmo#erns. rigi# negati)ity, tho"gh, $as their "tter #enial offree#om- (hey insiste# that e)en a scintilla of a"tonomy, for either photographer or

)ie$er, $as impossi+le; insiste#, that is, that the photographer co"l# ne)er offer, an# the

)ie$er co"l# ne)er fin#, a moment of s"rprise, originality, or insight $hen loo*ing at a photograph- (o in)est a photograph $ith meaning is al$ays a sa# #el"sion0 %(he

$holeness, coherence, i#entity, $hich $e attri+"te to the #epicte# scene is a pro2ection, a

ref"sal of an impo)erishe# reality in fa)o"r of an imaginary plenit"#e,' ictor !"rgin

$rote- In the )ie$ of these critics, it is impossi+le to see the $orl# ane$, for $e are allhelpless, +rain$ashe# spi#ers ca"ght in capitalism.s i#eological $e+, $hich is sp"n,

apparently, of "n+rea*a+le iron- In#ee#, !"rgin con#emne# the acti)ity of loo*ing itself

5an o## stance, one $o"l# thin*, for a photography critic0 %"r con)iction that $e arefree to choose $hat $e ma*e of a photograph hi#es the complicity to $hich $e are

recr"ite# in the )ery act of loo*ing-' Photography, he claime#, can offer only a grim

Bophie.s choice +et$een %narcissistic i#entification' an# %)oye"rism-' In short, the postmo#ern critics )ie$e# photography as a generally nasty +"siness5the photograph is

a prison, the act of loo*ing, a crime5$hich may +e $hy rea#ing their $or* often feels

li*e tr"#ging thro"gh m"#-

(here are fine contemporary photography critics $ho ha)e re2ecte# the congenital anim"s

of the postmo#erns5I thin* partic"larly of a3 9o7loff, $ho +egan $riting reg"larly in

the early 1<Ks, an# of yo"nger critics li*e e+ecca Bolnit, Da)i# Le)i Btra"ss, an#&eoff Dyer, $ho ha)e respon#e# to the postmo#ern criti6"e $itho"t s"cc"m+ing to it-

In#ee#, it may seem as tho"gh the %corrosi)e, hermene"tic irony a+o"t pict"res' fostere#

+y postmo#ernism is no longer in fashion- !"t if fe$er essays li*e Be*"la.s an# osler.sare $ritten no$, it is in part +eca"se their i#eas ha)e +een a+sor+e# an# accepte# +y so

many in the aca#emy, the art 2o"rnals, the m"se"ms, an# the galleries; as theorist W- :- (-

itchell has $ritten, %refle3i)e critical iconoclasm go)erns intellect"al #isco"rse

to#ay-' (h"s, in more recent p"+lications, one +"mps "p against cas"al phrases li*e %the



no$#iscre#ite# a"thenticity once attri+"te# to photography,' as if the 6"estion of

photography.s tr"th)al"e has +een tosse# $itho"t regret into the #"st+in of history- )en

$orse are the $ays that these i#eas ha)e seepe# into the general p"+lic, enco"raging acareless contempt to$ar# #oc"mentary photographs- Bince s"ch images are cesspools of

manip"lation an# e3ploitation0 $hy loo*? It has +ecome all too easy to a)ert one.s eyes;

in#ee#, to #o so is consi#ere# a )irt"e-

It is interesting to compare all this5the postmo#erns. o+session $ith )ictimi7ation, their

ref"sal of free#om, their congenital cra++iness5to the opening pages of Pa"line 9ael.s

essay %(rash, Art, an# the o)ies,' $ritten in 1<<- 9ael, too, set a certain tone, +oth for

her rea#ers an# other critics- Here it is0A goo# mo)ie can ta*e yo" o"t of yo"r #"ll f"n* an# the hopelessness that so often goes

$ith slipping into a theatre; a goo# mo)ie can ma*e yo" feel ali)e again ma*e yo"

care, ma*e yo" +elie)e in possi+ilities again- (he mo)ie #oesn.t ha)e to +e great; it

can +e st"pi# an# empty an# yo" can still ha)e the 2oy of a goo# performance, or the 2oyin 2"st a goo# line- An actor.s sco$l, a small s"+)ersi)e gest"re, a #irty remar* that

someone tosses off $ith a moc*innocent face, an# the $orl# ma*es a little +it of sense-

If n Photography $as $ritten +y a +rilliant s*eptic, %(rash, Art, an# the o)ies' is the

$or* of a smitten lo)er- An# $hat 9ael sho$e# is that the lo)er can see 2"st as clearly,an# +e 2"st as smart, as the s*eptic-

9ael ha# t$o great insights in %(rash, Art, an# the o)ies-' ne $as that trash, far from

contaminating 2"#gment, can help the )ie$er #e)elop an a"tonomo"s aesthetic that $illlea# her to art- Becon#, she arg"e# that the only tr"ly capacio"s, tr"ly mat"re $ay to

e3perience mo)ies is to com+ine o"r #eepest emotional reactions, $hich sho"l# ne)er +e

#iso$ne#, $ith a pro+ing analysis of them- Bhe #i# not, as some ha)e mista*enlytho"ght, champion "na#"lterate# emotion or "ne3amine# fan#om; on the contrary, she

insiste# that the )ie$er $ho approaches mo)ies in s"ch "nthin*ing $ays %#oes not

respon# more freely +"t less freely an# less f"lly than the person $ho "ses all hissenses in reacting, not 2"st his emotional )"lnera+ilities-' 9ael "rge# her rea#ers to

reclaim their emotions as a *ey part of their aesthetic, intellect"al, an# moral li)es0

feeling co"l# enhance rather than "n#ermine critical thin*ing-

>et this, after all, is the same insight that !a"#elaire ha# $hen he $rote of see*ing %the$hy of his pleas"re'; it $as the )ie$ of an#all :arrell $hen he e3plaine# that the goo#

critic com+ines the %sense of fact' $ith the %personal tr"th'; it $as $hat Alfre# 9a7in

meant $hen he claime# that %the "nity of thin*ing an# feeling act"ally e3ists in the passionate operation of the critic.s intelligence-' (his 6"est for the synthesis of tho"ght

an# feeling5an# the essentially comra#ely, or at least open, approach to art that it

s"ggests5$as the central pro2ect for generations of critics, especially American critics inthe t$entieth cent"ry- >et it is 2"st this pro2ect that photography critics re2ect- (he

6"estion is0 $hy?

Susie Linfield

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