This article describes six types of photographs: (1) descriptive; (2) explanatory; (3) interpretive; (4) ethically evaluative; (5) aesthetically evaluative; and (6) theoretical. Notes that these categories overlap and that a photograph will fit into several categories simultaneously. (JDH)

This article describes the importance of examining the internal, original, and external context of a photograph. The article concludes by showing how students can be helped to understand internal context. (JDH)

Past categorizations of photographs are critiqued, and a new category system is offered that asks viewers to consider photographs as if they were analogous to various types of language statements: descriptive, explanatory, interpretive, ethically evaluative, aesthetically evaluative, and theoretical. (Author/RM)

Techniques that teachers can use to involve art students in the critical examination of photographs are described. Given the opportunity and some guidance, students can and do engage in stimulating thought and talk about the art of persuasive photographs that confront them daily. (RM)

The first of a three-part series on teaching about photography, this article argues that photography is significantly different from drawing and painting and that the differences should be highlighted so that photography can be appreciated for what it uniquely offers. The concepts treated are selectivity, instantaneity, and credibility. (JDH)

Explores critical activities in the visual arts and how they can enhance art appreciation. Outlines sources of criticism, different types of criticism, the varied backgrounds of art critics, and the artist-critic relationship. Maintains that, by emphasizing interpretive aspects, school art criticism can come closer to professional art criticism.…

Presents a metacritical examination of published essays by three professional critics of Richard Avedon's photographic exhibition, "In the American West," to determine how critics describe art work. Concludes that more comparative research is needed to bridge the gap between professional art criticism and that taught in schools. (KM)