Chapter 1 Reading Response

Sturken and Cartwright introduce various perspectives on how art can be perceived in chapter one.  They bring the validity of photographs into question, observing that some people think any photograph is subject to the photographer's interpretation, while others believe a photograph is close enough to the actual event that it represents the event accurately.  I found the example they used of the "Trolley" photograph to be extremely engaging and accurate.  They say this to describe the photo: "The photograph here documents passengers on a segregated city trolley in New Orleans--a white matron looking suspicious, a white boy in his Sunday best, a black man looking mournful."  It makes me immediately makes me wonder "what were these people actually thinking when this was taken?"  You can look at each person in turn and guess what they ponder as they sit in their designated cubicles, but we can't really know for sure.  Maybe the suspicious lady actually had a mischievous sense of humor and frowned for the picture on purpose?  I know some people like that.  Indeed, the interesting expressions are a big part of what makes this piece work for me as art, and in addition, this photograph is definitely factual and historical as the authors point out.