Art HistoryEssay · 1964
Against Interpretation
Susan Sontag
The essay appeared in Evergreen Review in December 1964. Sontag argues that interpretation tames art by translating it into content, and asks instead for attention to how a work looks, sounds and feels. The link goes to the 1966 collection named after it, which prints the essay alongside the rest of her early criticism.
Why you should read this
The title essay argues against reducing art to hidden meanings that must be decoded, calling instead for closer attention to form and sensory experience over interpretation. The collection also includes an early and widely cited critical treatment of camp as a sensibility rather than a genre.
- Field
- Art History
- Form
- Non-fiction
- Published
- 1964
- Themes
- AestheticsArt History
