Bank of Questions

Questions on ............................. FORM | CONTENT | CONTEXT | FRAME | GAZE

Questions on CONTEXT

  1. What is the medium of the image you are examining?
    1. Is the image a painting? Drawing? Digital image?
    2. In what environment/platform is the image located?   Is it on paper?   In a book? On cloth? On a computer monitor or movie screen?
    3. Is this an original image or a reproduction?   How can you tell?  
    4. If reproduced, what was the original medium of the image?   What was its original size?
    5. If reproduced, what details may have been lost or diminished when this image was reproduced?
  2. What is the history of this image?
    1. Have you ever seen this image before?   If so, when and where?
    2. Are there any written sources that give you background information on this image?   If yes, what is that background?
    3. Are there any "stories" you know or have heard about this image?
    4. Does this image remind you of any other images?   If yes, what are those images and when and where did you see them?
    5. Does this image remind you of anything you've read or experienced?   If yes, what are the details of those texts and/or memories?
  3. Who created this image? 
    1. Was this image created by an individual?   A group?   A machine?
    2. Was the image created by an artist? An advertising firm?   A child? A corporation?
    3. Can you tell if this image was produced over time by one or more people?   If so, can you tell how many drafts or preliminary stages the image went through?
    4. Did the creator have formal artistic training?   Were they self-taught?  
  4. What audience was this image created for and where did the image first appear?
    1. Was there an intended audience for this image?   Was there a secondary intended audience?   Has the image had an unintended audience?
    2. Did it circulate when it was first made?   If so, how did it circulate (e.g., on the internet, in books, on bootleg video tapes, on postcards)?   Was the image designed/intended for circulation?
    3. Was it displayed in an exhibition?   If so, who attended the exhibition?  
    4. Was it published in a periodical?   A newspaper, a magazine? A 'zine?   What were the subscription and circulation figures of the periodical?
    5. Was it published electronically?  
    6. How did audiences respond to the image? Was there a response by the general public?
    7. Has the image been criticized?   By professional critics? By other artists/journalists?   By the general public or specific audiences (e.g., specific racial/ethnic audiences)?
  5. What is the social, political, and/or cultural context of this image?
    1. Can this image located within any social institutions?   Does it belong to a family?   Was it produced by a government?   Is it owned by the media?
    2. Is this image used in any social practices or rituals?   Might it be given as a gift?   Used in a ceremony?   Displayed at social functions?
    3. Does this image express any politics?   If so, what are those politics?
    4. Are there any politics surrounding the image?   Any groups that have protested the image?   Any groups that have fought for this image?
    5. Does this image have any cultural meaning?   Does the meaning vary for members of different cultures?
    6. Does this image do any social, political, or cultural work?   Does it explain any aspect of society?   Does it win you over to any political position?   Does it teach you anything about another culture, or your own?
Questions on ............................. FORM | CONTENT | CONTEXT | FRAME | GAZE


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