OBJECTIVE / BALANCED REVIEW OR CRITIQUE OF A WORK OF

ART, AN EVENT, OR A PROGRAM

WHAT IS A BALANCED / OBJECTIVE REVIEW OR CRITICISM?
- It is a system of interpreting, judging, assessing a person, thing, or
any work of art that is not influenced by feelings or opinions in
considering and presenting facts.
- - It is a systematic way of considering the truthfulness of a piece
of work.

4 FACTORS TO CONSIDER:
1. DESCRIPTION 3. INTERPRETATION
2. ANALYSIS 4. JUDGEMENT

DESCRIPTION
- pure description of the object, piece of work, art, event and
program
- It answers the question “What do you see?”
Artwork: description constitutes form of art, medium, size and
scale, elements or general shapes, color, texture of surface and
context of object.
Piece of writing: form, structure, choice of words, length, genre,
etc.

ANALYSIS
- determining what the features suggest and deciding why the
artist or writers used such features to convey specific ideas.
- It answers the question:
ARTWORK: “How did the artist do it?”
PIECE OF WRITING: “How did the writer write it?”

THE ANALYSIS CONSTITUTES TO THE FOLOWING:

 Determination of the subject matter
 Analysis of the principles or design or composition
 Use of symbols and other elements.
 Portrayal of the movement and how it is achieved
 Effect of particular medium
 Relationships of each part of the composition to the whole and to
each other part
 Reaction to object
INTERPRETATION
- establishing the broader context for this type of art.
- It answers the question:
ARTWORK: "Why did the artist create and what does it mean?"
PIECE OF WRITING: "Why did the writer create it and what does it
mean?"

REMEMBER:
You shouldn't make your interpretation too arbitrary! Provide evidence
and point out what exactly influenced your understanding of the
artwork.

HERE ARE THE ELEMENTS THAT YOU CAN INCLUDE IN YOUR

INTERPRETATION:
 How does this art object make you feel?
 What do you think of when you're looking at the artwork?
 What did the artist want to tell you as a viewer?
 What do you think about the title of the work?
 Does it influence your interpretation?
 If you can't understand a painting or a sculpture, don't hurry to
give a negative response to it. Think of other critics who have
provided a positive evaluation of the examined artwork. It doesn't
mean you shouldn't have your opinion! All you need is to find a
good way to express it

INTERPRETATION
The interpretation constitutes:

 Main Idea - Overall meaning of the work

 Interpretive Statement - Can I express what I think the artwork is
about in one sentence?
 Evidence - What evidence inside or outside the artwork supports
my interpretation?

JUDGEMENT
- 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:
ARTWORK: "Is it a good artwork?"
 PIECE OF WRITING: "Is it a good composition?"

HERE ARE SOME POINTS THAT CAN HELP YOU WRITE YOUR JUDGEMENT:
- How do you think is the work successful or not?
- Does this art object seem original or not?
- What do you feel when looking at this piece of artwork?
- Go back to your first impression. Has anything changed? What did
you learn?
- If nothing changed, explain your first reaction to the work.
- What have you learned from this work that you might apply to
your own artwork or your thinking?

JUDGEMENT IN JUDGING THERE MUST BE:

 Criteria - What criteria do I think are most appropriate for judging
the artwork or writing?
 Evidence - What evidence inside or outside the artwork or piece of
writing relate to each criterion?
 Judgement - Based on the criteria and evidence, what is my
judgment about the quality of the artwork or piece of writing?

HOW TO CRITIQUE DIFFERENT ART FORMS?

PAINTING CRITIQUE
- Painting is a medium that emphasizes light, colors, and space.

Questions that can help in critiquing a painting:

 What school of painting does it belong to?
 is it typical or unusual for this particular school?
 Describe the way the artist applies paint. Are there broad paint
strokes, small points of color, or just a smooth surface? What
effect does it help to achieve?
 Describe how the light is depicted. Where does the light come
from? is there a strong value contrast in what way does the
shadow function?
 Speak about the handling of space in the picture. Does it look flat
or three-dimensional? What kind of perspective is used?

SCULPTURE CRITIQUE
- similarly, many specific factors influence the overall impression of
a sculpture.
Here are some things to pay attention to:
 Say if the material gives a particular texture to the statue. Is the
surface smooth, or is it uneven?
 The surrounding space is just as important as the sculpture itself.
Describe the place (in the museum, in a park, in front of a building)
where it is situated. What does it add to the sculpture?
 Speak about the color of the sculpture. Is it painted? Does it rely
on natural lights and shadows?
 Describe the composition of the sculpture. What does it look like
when you approach it? Did the sculptor provide any instructions
on how to position it?

ARCHITECTURE CRITIQUE
- you can write art critiques in architecture too

Bear in mind the following points:

 What architectural style does it belong to?
 Was it built with a purpose?
 Did a specific person request it?
 Did one architect complete the building, or were there any
alterations? Why they were made?
 What do the exterior and the interior look like? What effect do
they produce? Is there a contrast between them?
 Are these statues or paintings on the walls? Discuss them well!

PHOTOGRAPHY CRITIQUE
- analyzing a photograph is a lot like critiquing a painting.

Still there are some unique features to consider:

 How does the photographer use focus? Is any part of the image
blurry? What effect does it produce?
 Is the picture monochrome? Is yes, describe its tone, contrast and
shadows. If no describe the use of color.
 If it's a photo of a face, pay extra attention to the emotion it
expresses. If it's dynamic, discuss the sense of motion.
SUMMARY
Review or criticism - a genre of academic writing that summarizes and
critically evaluates a work, concept or event.
The four factors to consider in having an objective or balanced review or
critique are:

 DESCRIPTION  INTERPRETATION
 ANALYSIS  JUDGEMENT

The interpretation constitutes:

 MAIN IDEA  EVIDENCE
 INTERPRETIVE
STATEMENT

In judging a piece of work, there must be:

 CRITERIA  JUDGEMENT
 EVIDENCE

Different criticisms in forms of arts:

 PAINTING CRITIQUE  PHOTOGRAPHY
 SCULPTURE CRITIQUE CRITIQUE
 ARCHITECTURE
CRITIQUE