Arttalk Review for Chapter 2

1
ArttalkReview for Chapter 2

• Art Criticism and Aesthetic Judgment

2
Lesson 1 Art Criticism Learning from a Work of
Art?

• Art critics use different criteria, or standards
  of judgment, to assess works of art.
• The process of interpretation will improve your
  aesthetic experience, or your personal
  interaction with a work of art.
• Aesthetics is the philosophy or study of the
  nature and value of art.

3

• Art criticism is an organized approach for
  studying a work of art. It is made up of four
  steps that must be taken in order.

4
(1) Description

• Ask yourself, what do I see? Make a list of all
  the things you see in the work, including the
  works subject and the elements of art that are
  used. Include information from the credit line
  about the size of the work and its medium
• This is the most objective step in critiquing a
  work of art.
• Art Historians look for information about the
  art, not in the art.

5
(2) Analysis

• Ask, how is the work organized? Look at how the
  principles of art are used to organize the art
  elements of line, space, color, form, and texture
• Art Historians consider the artists individual
  style.

6
(3) Interpretation

• Ask, what is the artist trying to communicate?
  Try to explain the meaning or mood of the work,
  based on your clues from the first two steps. You
  can make guesses about the artwork as long as
  they are supported by what you see in the work.
• Requires Research

7
(4) Judgment

• Now ask, is this a successful work of art? You
  determine the degree of artistic merit. You can
  decide whether you like or dislike the work and
  whether the work is successful aesthetically.
• So when you are considering how well an object
  works you you would being using your judgment.
• Also requires research
• You use personal and aesthetic levels of
  Judgments.

8
Key Terms

• When looking at literal qualities, they judge the
  realistic qualities that appear in the subject of
  the work.
• When looking at formal qualities, they study how
  well a work is organized.
• To judge expressive qualities, critics consider
  those qualities that convey ideas and moods.

9
Key Terms

• The theories that rate these different qualities
  most highly are called Imitationalism, Formalism,
  and Emotionalism.
• Imitationalism focuses on realistic
  representation
• Formalism places emphasis on the design
  qualities and
• Emotionalism requires that a work arouse a
  response of feelings, moods, or emotions in the
  viewer.

10
When criticizing functional objects, when should
you consider how well the object works?

• during the judgment step
• during the interpretive step
• during the descriptive step
• during the analysis step
•  
•  
•