Upper Art Critique Paper Gallery Visit of Professional Artwork

Project Criteria Critique as many pieces as the art level you are in (art 2, 2 pieces; art 3, 3 pieces; art 4, 4 pieces) Name of the artist/s The venue location The dates the show is open What date and time you visited the show Content of the work on exhibit Media of exhibited work Photographs of the work you critiqued

Steps of Art Criticism Describe – What you see (artist name, title, date, media, content, elements of design) Analyze – The way it is organized (space, depth, balance, principles of design) Interpret – What it is saying (communicated message or idea of story) – List what type of aesthetician is present in the work (imitationalist, formalist, emotionalist) Evaluate – Discuss quality of the work (what you like and dislike, compare to other artworks you have seen)

Good Examples Students give detailed descriptions Writes one paragraph per step Use at least 3 sentences per step Include all the gallery criteria on previous slide Include images of the critiqued work

Student Sample Bob Timberlake Somewhere in Time, 1983 Describe - A quilt lays under a rather large tree. You can only see the lower part of the tree, but it is obviously a very large tree. On the quilt and close to the tree, a bouquet of daffodils is inside a white watering can. The can is used as a vase for the flowers. There is also a covered picnic basket on the quilt. The scene appears to take place in a grass field, or maybe a pasture, judging by the fact that a wooden fence can clearly be seen not too far from the tree.

Analyze – This is a very realistic-looking image. Everything in the picture shows texture. For example, the tree seems as though it would feel like real tree bark if you touched it. The quilt looks exactly like a real quilt because of how it lays on the ground, and the pattern on the quilt is perfect. Interpret – I believe this picture expresses a happy mood. A nice relaxing picnic in spring time. The picture looks very welcoming as if it should have a sign under it saying “ wish you were here.” I have days and times where sitting under a tree on a picnic blanket does seem like a very inviting idea. Just to get away from the world for a while. Evaluate – Due to the fine detail and realism of this piece, I believe that “Somewhere in Time” is an excellent imitationalist work of art. I greatly admire Bob Timberlake and his work. I’ve even met him before.