The Thrill of Description
when information and interpretation collide
Our readings this week characterize description as an interested action that guides the interpretation of the
object being described. Baxandall claims that selecting a characteristic to describe forms a commentary
upon the object, an explanation of why the object has interest for the describer. For example, assigning a
genre term such as Mannerism to a painting has multiple implications: it confirms the painting’s status as
art; it situates the painting within an approved scholarly tradition; it emphasizes the similarities of the
painting to others of the same period, location, and style.
While certain forms of description may seem natural for particular objects and situations, such as authors,
titles, and subjects for books, these conventions are, as White and Clifford note, specific to a historical
moment, as well as bound with cultural and social judgments on what makes any particular object
significant. The structures that guide description by specifying, either through tradition or through
explicitly defined forms, important object characteristics, serve to constrain, for good and ill, the stories
that our objects tell. For example, the minimalist descriptive practices used in art museums, as Clifford
relates, focus attention on any particular object as a form of art, as opposed to an object of continued use
in a cultural tradition.
Your mission
In this game, you will examine, in a small group, the library catalog record for a sound recording. You
will discuss the story of the sound recording that is enabled by the record structure and propose an
alternate structure that enables a different story to emerge.
Step 1. In a group of 4 or so people, discuss the interpretation of the object that is generated through the
following catalog record.
Author
Jackson, Michael, 1958-2009.
Title
Thriller [sound recording] / Michael Jackson.
Publication Information
Los Angeles : Epic, p1982.
Description
1 sound disc (43 min.) : analog, 33 1/3 rpm,
stereo. ; 12 in.
Note
Songs.
Performers
Michael Jackson, with Paul McCartney (3rd work)
and Vincent Price (4th work) ; background vocals and instrumental
accompaniment.
Note
Lyrics on sleeve.
Contents
Wanna be startin' something / M. Jackson (6:02)
-- Baby be mine / R. Temperton (4:20) -- The girl is mine / M.
Jackson (3:42) -- Thriller / R. Temperton (5:57) -- Beat it / M.
Jackson (4:17) -- Billie Jean / M. Jackson (4:57) -- Human nature
/ S. Porcaro, J. Bettis (4:05) -- P.Y.T. (Pretty young thing) /
J. Ingram, Q. Jones (3:58) -- The lady in my life / R. Temperton
(4:57).
Subject
Popular music -- 1981-1990.
Rock music -- 1981-1990.
Added author
McCartney, Paul.
Price, Vincent, 1911-1993.
Music issue number
QE 38112 Epic
OCLC number
9049444
You might discuss questions such as:
 What kind of story does this record tell? What is important about the object being described?
INF 384C
Fall 2010
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What actions does this description facilitate, and for whom does it do this? How well does the
description facilitate these actions?
What are any disadvantages of this mode of description for this type of object?
Step 2. Propose an alternate descriptive structure that would convey a different story for the item.
Your structure could be similar to the catalog record or totally different. It could be loosely defined or it
could enforce the inclusion of particular characteristics (such as the record producer) or certain means of
expressing values (such as one to five stars for a quality rating).
You could also think about who would be responsible for determining the content of the description and
the level of flexibility that person would have in providing the content, or if responsibility would be
shared between multiple people (or even between other types of agents, such as operations upon certain
data sets).
Be prepared to explain your alternate structure, the story it enables, and how the structure’s elements
facilitate the story.
INF 384C
Fall 2010