Pursuing art critique

The term art critique can have negative connotations, especially for artists who endured demeaning experiences as part of their post secondary art training. I would argue that critique is an invaluable part of creation, and that its success depends on the knowledge of the viewer and the viewer's ability to present feedback in an objective and supportive manner.

In this post, I am referring to any situation artists initiate to gain feedback about their work, not what happens when your work is complete and presented for public consumption. I guess you could refer to it as " in process" critique. Art blogs are a wonderful vehicle for in process critique, but interestingly enough, most of the comments readers give are very positive and supportive. While that makes us feel good, it does not move us along in our thinking about what we create. I think most people don't get into the discussion because of fear of offending the artist, or because they don't quite know how best to express what they truly think about an art work. There are other opportunities for "in process"critique that artists can pursue:

• posting your work on an online critique site,
• organizing a studio visit with a curator, gallery owner or visiting artist;
  
• joining a critique group;
  
• calling upon a trusted artist friend to discuss your work.

Sometimes we are blind to aspects of our work and it takes a conversation with someone else to bring forward things we never thought about. There are certain points to remember if you are going to actively pursue critique of your work and not be crushed by the process. Remember that:

• Artists put themselves in a strong position when they engage in self critique of their work before bringing it to a more public forum for discussion.
  
• Viewers look at art from their life experiences, education, likes and dislikes, emotional state and personal tastes.
• All responses to an artwork are the l opinions of the viewer and should not be taken as a personal criticism of the artist. (that's the most difficult to remember)
  
• There can be great disparity in interpretation between the views of the artist and the intended audience.
  
• Artists do not have to act on or agree with the information gained from a critique.

Over the years as a teacher, curriculum specialist and workshop leader, I've had reason to research formats for art criticism. While there are different formats in use, I was interested in one that allows the viewer time to develop an informed opinion that can be supported with specific references to an art work. One very established method was put forward in 1972 by Edmund Feldman in Varieties of Visual Experiences. This is a much used format for art critique in education today. In my next post I will explore the four elements of this process - Description, Analysis, Interpretation and Judgment and how we can use the sequence to lead to more informed discussion of art work.