ART CRITICISM:

VALUING
CONTEMPORARY
ART
ART CRITICISM: VALUING
CONTEMPORARY ART

-Art criticism is the practice

of examining a work of art
critically in order to judge its
worth.
-is a critique
technique that is
frequently employed
in classrooms due to
the essential
application of ideas
of arts and design.
 Hello there!

Edmund Feldman
 A highly helpful,
straightforward four-step
method for examining a work
of art was developed by
Edmund Feldman, a professor
of art at the University of
Georgia. It can be applied to
Edmund any form of art, including
Feldman music and dance.
 Four-step
method
✓ Description
 Four-step
method
✓ Description
✓ Analysis
 Four-step
method
✓ Description
✓ Analysis
✓ Interpretation
 Four-step
method
✓ Description
✓ Analysis
✓ Interpretation

✓ Judgment
✓Description
• means what the student sees
in the work of art.
• It answers the question,
"What do you see?".
✓Description
-This stage is about gathering information
about the work of art, such as the artist's
name, title, date of creation, size and
medium. Make a list of all the things the
students can see and observe in the work of
art. Also, in the description stage, the
students must identify the elements of art
used;it is not analysis; it just states the facts.
 • means the way the work
of art has been organized.
Also, this step involves an
analysis of the principles
✓Analysis and the element of
design.
• It answers the question,
"How did the artist do
 • . The design elements
include line, shape, form,
space, colour, texture, and
value. The design principles
✓Analysis include emphasis, rhythm,
movement, pattern,
balance, proportion, and
unity.
What is the 3rd Method
in Art Criticism by
Feldman?
✓Interpretation
• establishing the
broader context
for this type of
art.
• It answers the
question, "Why
did the artist
create it and
what does it
mean?”
✓Judgment
• Judging a piece of work
means giving it rank in
relation to other works and
of course considering a
very important aspect of
the visual arts, its
originality.
• It answers the question,
“Is it a good artwork?”
 Terry Barrett’s
Principles of Interpretation:
What is the purpose of interpretation according to
Barrett's principle?

-Interpretation is ultimately a communal endeavor,

and the community is ultimately self- corrective.
18. Good interpretations invite us to see for
ourselves and to continue on our own.
Barrett, Terry.
 18 Good
interpretations
1. Artworks have "aboutness" and demand interpretation.
2. Interpretations are persuasive arguments.
3. Some interpretations are better than others.
4. Good interpretations of art tells more about the artwork than
they tell about the critic.
5. Feelings are guide to interpretations.
6. There can be different interpretations of the same artwork.
7. Interpretations are often based on a worldview.
8. Interpretations are not so much absolutely right, but more or less
reasonable, convincing, enlightening, and informative.
9. Interpretations can be judged by coherence, correspondence,
and inclusiveness.
10. An artwork is not necessarily about what the artist wanted it to
be about.
11. A critic ought not to be the spokesperson for the artist.
12. Interpretations ought to present the work in its best rather
than its weakest light.
13. The objects of interpretation are artworks, not artists.
14. All art is in part about the world in which it emerged.
15. All art is a part of other art.
16. No single interpretation is exhaustive of the meaning of an
artwork.
17. The meanings of an artwork may be different from its
significance to the viewer. Interpretation is ultimately a
communal endeavor, and the community is ultimately self-
corrective.
18. Good interpretations invite us to see for ourselves and to
continue on our own.
THANK YOU!!!
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