CCO and Descriptive Titles of Photographs in Art Museums

Overview

My descriptive titles comparison focuses on collections of fine art photography in art museums. Because the J. Paul Getty Museum (the Getty) is the standard bearer in cataloging and access to works of art (GettyVocabularies, Categories for the Description of Works of Art, and the Open Content Program), I started my exploration by browsing the photo collections of that institution first.

The Getty, being one of the largest and wealthiest art institutions in the world, has resources that other, smaller museums do not have to apply toward cataloging their cultural objects. It seemed unfair to compare the Getty’s mostly clear and accurate descriptions to small museums with little funding, so I chose to limit my comparisons to photo collections from other prominent art institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met), the Los Angles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and others. Although not as well-funded as the Getty, these museums were comparable in their compliance / non-compliance of descriptive naming conventions.

CCO Compliant Example

I found some interesting examples from the Getty that were in compliance with the Object Naming guidelines from Cataloging Cultural Objects. I also found several titles that could have been more descriptive, but I’ll begin with the compliant example first – a photograph by Lauren Greenfield that the artist calls: Erin, 24, is blind-weighed at an eating-disorder clinic, Coconut Creek, Florida. She has asked to mount the scale backward so as not to see her weight gain. The Getty record (below) reflects the artist's preferred title offers an alternate title, Girl Culture, which is the series title.

According to the discussion section of CCO, the purpose of a title is to identify and refer to a work. The title should be accurate and descriptive enough to facilitate user identification. Greenfield’s title, while lengthy, is certainly descriptive enough for even sight-impaired users to gain a clear sense of the subject matter and content of the photograph.     

The naming of this photo also follows the CCO Rules for Titles 1.2.2.1 (below) by placing the artist created title in the “Title” field at the top of the record, thus distinguishing it as the unmistakable preferred title. The series title is then recorded in the “Alternate Title/s” field with an identifier signifying it as a group title: Girl Culture (Group Title).

1.2.2.1 Brief Rules for Title 

Recording at least one title, identifying phrase, or name for the work of art or architecture is required. If multiple Titles are recorded, one must be flagged as the preferred Title. 

Preferred Title 

For the preferred Title, use a concise descriptive title in the language of the catalog record (English in the United States). It should be a recent title provided by the owning institution, a concise inscribed title, or a title provided by the artist, if known and if it is sufficiently descriptive. […] If no appropriate authoritative descriptive title is known, the cataloger must create one. 

While Greenfield’s title would not be considered “concise” by most estimations and in comparison with other works or records, it is accurate in that it was derived by the artist herself, who, by CCO rules, should be an authority on naming her own work. Had Greenfield’s title not been sufficiently descriptive then another title could have been created by the cataloger. These guidelines suggest that the naming conventions of the artist, as long as they are appropriately descriptive, take precedence above a cataloger created title or an abbreviated version of the title. That being said, by the letter of the Constructed Title rule 1.2.2.2.2 (below), the Getty was within its rights to have shortened the name. The Getty’s choice to include the full title serves to increase access (including sight-impaired users), which is the ultimate goal for guidelines – increased access. Using the artist’s long title also reflects the documentary nature of Greenfield’s work, thus providing a clear description of the photograph.

1.2.2.2.2  CONSTRUCTED TITLE 

If no descriptive title is available in an authoritative source, construct a descriptive title. If an inscribed or repository title is overly long, in a foreign language, or does not describe the work, construct a concise descriptive title in the language of the catalog record. Constructed titles may refer to the subject, the materials, the form, or the function of the work. 

I include the Greenfield example because it demonstrates one of the challenges of creating metadata for artworks – how artists’ naming practices have potential to assist or to hinder user access. Greenfield describes, even over-describes her photos, while other artists offer too little description to make their titles useful. For example, Robert Kinmont’s photographs in the same Getty photo collection are difficult for users to distinguish from one another as most are titled with a single number. While theGetty offers short descriptions of Kinmont’s photos below the records, it might have been more helpful had the catalogers included these descriptions bracketed in the title field. 

CCO Non-compliant(ish) / We-Can-Do-Better Example

As mentioned in the overview, my comparisons and searches of major museum records revealed that most records are by-the-letter-of-the-law compliant with CCO guidelines. However, in the spirit of naming and user access, many records could be improved. As with the Robert Kinmont photos mentioned above, non-descript titles – even those given by the artist – can be expanded and improved upon to better describe and increase user access.  

Another challenge in catalog records for artwork is the ubiquitous “Untitled.” This dreaded non-title is often given by the artist him/herself, which in accordance with CCO rule 1.2.2.2.5. (below) is the appropriate title.

1.2.2.2.5 UNKNOWN TITLES AND UNTITLED WORKS 

For works for which a Title must be constructed, but where the Work Type and purpose are unknown, construct a descriptive Title using any generic information available. [...] Do not use the term untitled unless the creator has deliberately named the work Untitled. 

But is using “Untitled” without any further description the best practice / in the spirit of descriptive naming? Consider the Cindy Sherman record from the Met (below). I would argue that the title, Still from an Untitled Film, while technically in compliance with CCO rule 1.2.2.2.5. (above) and in keeping with the artist’s intentions, does not by itself adequately identify the photograph for users and is not accurate to how the photo is typically described within the larger art discipline.

Met title: Still from an Untitled Film

My revised title: Still from an Untitled Film  (Untitled Film Still #21, career girl)

This title is a tricky one in that it must balance conventional naming of Sherman’s works within the art discipline and publications (see below, the Title rule 1.1.2.1.2.), clear disambiguation of this work from all of Sherman’s other untitled pieces, the inscription on the photo and the artist’s intentions (see further below, the Inscribed Titles section of CCO rule 1.2.2.2.3 under Various Types of Works), and the naming conventions and database fields within the owning institution. Although the original title is CCO compliant, I would argue that it could be improved by following other CCO guidelines, particularly the Title rule 1.1.2.1.2. (below), which invites consulting other publications and standard art history textbooks.

1.1.2.1.2 TITLE 

Museums and other repositories should assign Titles for their own works based on local guidelines, which may include consulting published scholarship or culling title information from documents accompanying the works.... Visual resources collections should record Titles as found in authoritative sources when possible, which could include... [exhibition catalogs, inscriptions on the work, standard textbooks in art history, subscription art databases and art dictionaries (of which CCO lists several)]. 

 In my renaming process, I started with the title that the artist provides, as this should take precedence according to CCO guidelines. In looking at the Sherman record under “Object Information” (above), we can read that the inscription, “Still from an Untitled Film,” was underlined and presumed as the official title. The Inscribed Titles section of rule 1.2.2.2.3. states that if an inscription from the artist is intended to be a title, it should be applied as such. This underlined inscription, Still from an Untitled Film, is the one (and only title) the Met applied to the record.

1.2.2.2.3 VARIOUS TYPES OF WORKS 

Titles, names, and other identifying phrases will differ depending on the type of work, the history and content of the work, and the available documentation. 

Inscribed Titles 

If any work contains an inscription that was applied by the creator with the apparent purpose of giving it a title, record it as a title. For prints and books, record any title inscribed in the printing plate or on the title page. Punctuation and spelling should be preserved, if possible. The inscribed title may be repeated in fuller form in the Inscription element (see Chapter 3: Physical Characteristics). Inscriptions that are not titles should be recorded in the Inscription element. If the inscribed title does not describe the work concisely in the language of the catalog record, construct a descriptive title as indicated above. [...] 

The inscribed title need not be the preferred title. If the inscribed title is not well known and is in a foreign language, is too long, has abbreviations, or has obsolete or incorrect spelling, construct a preferred descriptive title. 

The rule above also states that the inscribed title need not be the preferred title. This exception, when combined with consulting “authoritative sources,” caused me to consider replicating what most sources have listed as the title for this photo: Untitled Film Still #21. Consulting Gardner’s Art Through the Ages and other standard textbooks in Art History, the film still number is usually included in Sherman’s untitled film stills. Without these identifying numbers, it’s difficult to know which work is being referenced. As well, other museums, such as the MoMA, who also owns a copy ofthe same photo, have applied the more common title: Untitled Film Still #21.  

I chose to include the more common title, but not to use it as the preferred title because this would conflict with the explicit intentions of  the artist indicated in the inscription. To change the title, however slight that change might seem, would change the meaning of the work. Untitled Film Still #21 has a different nuance than Sherman’s original title, Still from an Untitled Film, which is meant to invoke (as supporting art historical documentation describes) interchangeable feminine identities. The stills in this series are “stock characters.” They are not intended to be unique, which is why all the photos in this series were given the same title. They are meant to be read as one among many, none standing out, and all being equal. That being said, users (scholars, students, etc.) do need to be able to distinguish between the individual stills in order to discuss them, which is why most institutions and publications use the “#21” and often the description “career girl” to identify this particular photo. Even under the label information within the same Met record (above), the disambiguating phrase, “career girl,” is included. This description is also found in other art history textbooks and authoritative resources.

Although the original title is CCO compliant, I would argue that it could be improved by following the other CCO rules mentioned above. Again, the goal should be toward accuracy and increased user access, which is why I kept the Met title but included the more familiar alternate title, Untitled Film Still #21, and the disambiguating phrase, “career girl,” both of which are found in the Met and other institutional records and the larger disciple of art history publications. And, on that, I refer to rule 1.2.2.2.4. (below) regarding multiple titles.

My revised title, Still from an Untitled Film  (Untitled Film Still #21, career girl), keeps within the naming conventions already established by the Metropolitan Museum. The Met uses brackets for constructed titles but does not qualify preferred titles with the label “preferred title.” The Met also does not have an extra field for alternate titles, which is why I applied the last sentence of the Multiple Titles rule 1.2.2.2.4 (below). My revision keeps the record simple and clean, which is in keeping with the convention of other records in the Met’s photo collection.

 1.2.2.2.4  MULTIPLE TITLES 

Record multiple titles when a work is known by multiple titles or when a concise descriptive or other title must be constructed by the cataloger; use Title Type to flag one title as preferred. 

Examples 

Titles: Edgar J. Kaufman House (preferred) • Fallingwater 

Titles: Allegory with Venus and Cupid (preferred, repository title) • Venus, Cupid, Time, and Folly • Allegory of Lust and Love 

Titles: Selimiye Cami (preferred) • Mosque of Selim II 

Put each Title in a separate occurrence of the Title field. However, if a repository or creator’s title includes multiple titles in the same field, enclose the second title in parentheses for display. 

Bibliography

Baca, Murtha (2006). Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved from: http://cco.vrafoundation.org/index.php/toolkit/cco_pdf_version/ and http://cco.vrafoundation.org/downloads/PartTwo_1-ObjectNaming.pdf

Greenfield, Lauren (2002). Erin, 24, is blind-weighed at an eating-disorder clinic, Coconut Creek, Florida. She has asked to mount the scale backward so as not to see her weight gain. Retrieved from: http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/245233/lauren-greenfield-erin-24-is-blind-weighed-at-an-eating-disorder-clinic-coconut-creek-florida-she-has-asked-to-mount-the-scale-backward-so-as-not-to-see-her-weight-gain-american-negative-2001-print-2002/

Kinmont, Robert (1969). 3. Retrieved from: http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/268500/robert-kinmont-3-american-negative-1969-print-2008/

Kleiner, F. S. (2009) Gardner’s art through the ages: A concise global history. (2009). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 

Sherman, Cindy (1978). Untitled Film Still #21. Retrieved from: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/56618

Sherman, Cindy (1978). Still from an Untitled Film. Retrieved from: http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/266784?=&imgno=0&tabname=related-objects

Note: I've tried to fix the formatting here, but alas.