Tonight we will be working on printing 6 of your Aaron Siskand-ish images and matting two of the six prints. Wednesday is critique.
On Wednesday, please be ready to first critique your own work orally. The first item of business in tonight's class will be writing a critique of one of your classmate's work.
How to Critique and Write about Photography as a work of Art
The following steps—description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation— are the steps in a formal critique. It is called the Feldman method.
Describe
This stage is like taking inventory. You want to come up with a list of everything you see in the work. Stick to the facts. Imagine that you are describing the artwork to someone over the telephone.
LIST
Name of artist, title of work, and gallery or location of artwork.
If this is an in-class critique of your own or another student’s work, simply list your own or their name. For example, “This is a critique of my self-portrait” or “This is a critique of Art See’s self-portrait.”
NOTE FIRST IMPRESSION
Make a note of your first spontaneous reaction to the photograph. By the end of the process you may understand your first impression better or you may even change you mind. There are no wrong answers.
Analyze
Try to figure out what the photographer has done to achieve certain effects. You should refer to your first impressions and try to explain how the photograph achieves that reaction.
Q. Use the vocabulary you learned in class. For example, talk about the compositional element used in the image.
Q. How are the elements of art and photography (color, shape, line, texture, space, form, value) and the principles of design (balance, contrast, emphasis, movement/rhythm, unity, variety) used in this artwork?
Q. What do you notice about the photographer's choice of subject matter, quality of printing, quality of matting?
Q. What grabs your attention in the work? Refer to your first impression.
Q. Do you see any relationship to the things you listed during the description stage?
Interpret
Try to figure out what the photograph is about. Your own perspectives, associations and experiences meet with "the evidence" found in the image. All art works are about something. Some art works are about color, their subject matter, and social or cultural issues. Some art works are very accessible — that is, relatively easy for the viewer to understand what the artist was doing. Other works are highly intellectual, and might not be as easy for us to readily know what the artist was thinking about.
Q. What is the theme or subject of the work? What mood or emotions does the photograph communicate?
Q. What is the work about; what so you think it means?
Q. Why do you think the photographer created this work?
Q. What do you think the photographer's view of the world is?
Evaluate
This is a culminating and reflecting activity. You need to come to some conclusions about the photographic work based on all the information you have gathered and on your interpretations.
Q. Have your thoughts or feelings about the photograph changed since your first impression? If so, how? What made you change your mind?
Q. If not, can you now explain your first reaction to the work?
Q. What suggestions do you have to perhaps improve the work?
Q. What have you seen or learned from this work that you might apply to your own art work or your own thinking?
Summarize your overall critique.
You might want to print this method of critiquing so that you use it tonight and on Wednesday for the oral and written critiques. I can not wait to see what images you have for this assignment!
