Preparing for Critiques

Evaluation in art school

The artwork is only one part of your evaluation.

What are you evaluated on in art school?

1. The artwork you make
2. Your presentation and documentation of it
3. Your self-awareness as an artist and ability to talk about your ideas with confidence and clarity
4. Your ability to ask relevant questions and provide constructive and meaningful feedback in critique

Different types of critique

How do you get feedback about your work?

Different types of feedback have varying purposes. Critique is usually formulated to be either developmental or evaluative. Developmental critiques, while still following formal etiquette, are meant for learning how to apply your critical thinking, give feedback, and talk about your work. The emphasis is on practicing these skills as a group, rather than making judgement and formulating individual evaluation by the instructor.

Evaluative critiques are significantly more formal and follow specific predetermined procedures. They are often reserved for end-of-program evaluations, thesis reviews, and graduate school.

Knowing which type of critique you are having gives you insight to the stakes and what aspect of feedback and development is being emphasized.

1. Traditional group crit - The artist presents the work with little to no explanation at first. Instructor and classmates respond in turn. The artist speaks at the end and answers questions when asked.
2. Cold / silent read - The artist presents the work without any explanation. The instructor and classmates discuss impressions of the work. The artist does not speak at all.
3. Artist-first - Opposite of a cold-read. The artist frames their intentions, influences, and questions up front so feedback can address what they are actually trying to do, rather than guessing.
4. Question-based - The artist leads, asking for specific feedback about aspects of the work
5. Sticky-note crit - Peers respond in writing, anonymously or signed, giving the artist something to read later.
6. Studio visits - one-on-one meetings with other artists, teachers, professional artists, critics, and curators. Good for getting outside perspectives and input on in progress work.
7. Formal review / jury - Typical for end-of-semester/program or thesis works, a panel of faculty and external reviewers evaluates the work.

Layers of Engagement

What factors play a role in how someone engages with your work?^[1]

• Experiential – how does one experience the work, including its spatial factors, physical location, situation and technology?
• Personal – how do personal, perceptual, physiological or psychological contexts shape how one interprets or "reads" an artwork?
• Critical – what are the aesthetic, conceptual, theoretical, philosophical, or phenomenological contexts surrounding the work?
• Intentional – how do compositional, aesthetic, conceptual, political, social, narrative or other specific intentions employed by the artist shape the work?

Thinking critically about an artwork

What are the steps to analyzing an artwork, in order to provide critical and effective feedback? ^[2]

1. Hear / Look / Sense - Begin by intuitively experiencing and sensing the work without trying to think about what it means, how the components work together, or how they were made. Just experience: sense, hear and look without applying judgement.

   • What stands out?
   • What are you attracted to?
   • How does it make you feel in your body?
   • What emotions or memories do you experience?

2. Listen / See / Review - Start to think more in detail about what you are seeing/listening to and consider how to apply meaning.

   • In the elements that stand out to you, how does the combination of sound and image construct meaning for you?
   • What colours, shapes, sounds, movements, gestures, motifs, tones, spaces do you notice? Do any of them contribute to the way you experienced the work?
   • Do you notice any specific themes or ideas the work is attempting to address?
   • What do the combination of the elements of audiovisual composition suggest?

3. Think / Engage - Consider what you know about the work, the artist, the broader contexts, the way in which it might be described.

   • What genre or kind of work is this?
   • What types of existing art does it remind you of? This can be a type of art, a specific artwork, or another artist.
   • How can this or does this contextual awareness shape how your experience the work?

4. Understand / Reflect - Combine layers of perceptual experience with contextual ones. How does this help to codify your experience of and response to the work?

   • How do perceptual and contextual layers of the work relate to one another? Or how do they shape one another?
   • Do you understand the point of view or what the artist is attempting to express with the work?
   • Was something missing from the work that would have enhanced the idea further?
   • Are there personal or sociopolitical factors that shape how you engage with the work?

Critique etiquette

In this course, we are focused on developing our critique skills together as a class. In that sense, your evaluation is based, not only on the merits of your work, but also on your depth of engagement with the critique process. It is therefore important for you show up and be engaged with your peers and their work.

Critique is a reciprocal process. You can't expect people to give you useful feedback if you aren't willing to engage in good faith in return. Here are are some useful things to keep in mind during the process:

For the artist

• Listen first. Resist the urge to explain or defend. Take notes throughout, and respond at the end.
• Don’t apologize for the work. Avoid “this isn’t my best” or “I ran out of time.” Work presented in critique is evaluated as is, regardless of how you feel about it.
• Ask for the feedback you want. Be curious about what people have to say, ask follow up questions if you don't understand someone's point of view.
• Separate yourself from the work. Feedback is about the piece, not your worth as a person or potential as an artist. Critiques are an opportunity to learn how your work is received and understood when you're not there to explain it.
• Don't aim for perfection. Just do your best. The goal is not to present a perfect artwork and have a perfect crit, and receive only praise about your work. There is always something we can learn and explore in well crafted work. A successful critique is one with lots of discussion, not praise. Be open to hearing that conversation and learn from the process.
• Take what’s useful, leave the rest. You don’t have to take everyone's advice, but give ideas their due consideration before entirely dismissing them. The useful comments are often the ones that stick with you over time.
• Say thank you. Even when the feedback is hard, acknowledge everyone's effort.

For the responders

• Look before speaking. Give the work your full attention before you say anything about first impressions.
• Respond to the work, not the person. Say “the composition feels crowded” rather than “you overcomplicate things.”
• Be specific. “I like it” or “it’s off” doesn’t help. If you like something or not, be prepared to say why. Personal preference or aesthetic taste is not valid critique.
• Be aware of your personal tastes. Understand the difference between “I don’t like this” and “this isn’t working.” One is about preference, the other can be backed up by a justification.
• Describe before you judge. Start with what you can actually observe in the piece, then move to interpretation and opinion based on what you see.
• Balance honesty with kindness. Be direct about major problems, but frame them constructively and with care.
• Offer questions to understand the artist's intentions. “What was the thinking behind the scale?” opens more doors for conversation than “the scale is wrong.”
• Critique the work on its own terms. Look at what the artist is trying to do, not what you would have done instead.
• Avoid prescribing fixes unless asked. Say what you experience, and let the artist decide how to solve it.

For everyone

• Show up on time and stay present. Phones away and on silent, no side conversations, no eating, no getting up and leaving mid presentation. Have your full attention on each presentation.
• Share the floor. Make room for quieter voices.
• Speak up. Get curious, ask questions, engage and think critically with your peers.
• Respect the format. Follow the structure the instructor or group has set.
• Be mindful of sensitive content. Handle work dealing with identity, trauma, or politics with care, and avoid assumptions about the artist’s and viewers experiences. Ask clarifying questions respectfully, to understand another's point of view before reacting.
• Keep it respectful. Disagreement is fine; dismissiveness, sarcasm, and put-downs aren’t.
• Come prepared. If work is shared in advance, look at it ahead of time. Bring materials like a notebook and pen. Be prepared to present your work at your scheduled time.
• Take care of yourself. Critiques are stressful for everyone. You work hard to make something you care about and you want to hear positive feedback. That's natural. Hydrate, eat something, and get good rest the night before so you can be present to hear what your classmates have to say, and so you can present your work to the best of your ability.