WIP Critique #1

• What was/is the initial idea, how is it evolving?
• The initial idea concerns the desire to examine and express the cultural and linguistic differences that characterize any and all societies and how said differences affect our thought processes, our ways of interpreting the world, and our relationships to each other. This idea seems to be evolving in a way that permits me to portray the differences I wish to convey through the portrayal of a very common item - a book - in varying levels of respect and regard. In its current form, this project seems to be drawing closer to the cultural rather than linguistic aspect of my initial concept, since it focuses on the historical meaning of the book and on its prevalence in factions of daily, religious, educational, and leisurely life. 

• Why do you feel the images you selected to print for this critique are your strongest, from among the group of new images? (i.e., what was your criteria for selection)
• I believe the images I selected to print for this first critique are my strongest because they were more cohesive and more aesthetically pleasing than my other photographs. Additionally, the exclusive concentration on a book rather than various items better assists in conveying the concept of disparaging meanings for one singular object. At first, I planned to include images featuring money, shoes, phones, projectors, and laptops in order to emphasize the varying interpretations others may have for items we consider to be normal and ordinary. However, after examining the prints as one project, I decided that the better decision would be to maintain focus on one very familiar, very historically rich item that would not be as unnecessarily laborious to interpret. 

• What specific questions do you have about the work in terms of how someone other than yourself might interpret the imagery?
• In the project's initial stages, my main intention is for any viewer to question their perception of what is presented in the image, and whether or not there are other ways of describing or understanding that experience. As such, I would like to know if the images I make provide an engaging experience that simultaneously challenge the viewer to search for their own answers and provide a clear enough vessel for what I am attempting to communicate. Do you think it would be better to include different types of objects, or focus on one? Should I focus on a specific, meaningful object for each critique? Do you think there is anything in the images that can be connected to the power of language across continents?