Articulating the Artistic

Experience

What is a critique?
Why do we critique?

What is a
Critique?
A critique is a written record of a persons experience
with an art work.

Why do we
Its primary purpose is to help the reader deal
critique?
with the work in a more informed, intelligent
way. Ultimately, it intensifies the enjoyment of
the work by both the reader and author.

Four Phases of

The Critique Format

Using a standardized format
insures a thorough treatment and
better understanding by the
reader.
The format used in Huma 1315 has four parts:

Descripti
ve

Analytical

Interpretative

Evaluative

Upon encountering the unfamiliar, humans

generally ask What is it?

Scenario: there is an item on the

buffet table that you do not recognize.
You are usually skeptical of food
covered with green sauces. While
talking with a friend by cell phone, you
attempt to describe the experience for
your friend.

Describing the object in terms of whether it

is pretty is not particularly informative, nor
is it helpful toward enabling the reader to
create an impression of your experience.
Providing the reader with information about
the color, shape, texture, quantity and form
of the green sauce is more beneficial
because it establishes a stronger
foundation from which a visual image can
emerge.

Through our analytical process, we ask What is it

made of?
We attempt to deconstruct for the purpose of
reconstructing the image, and in so doing, we
receive information that better enables us to
understand the experience, and to access it more
fully.
Once we are either told of, or able to otherwise discern
the presence of crushed basil, pine nuts, salt, garlic
and virgin olive oil, then we understand the green
sauce as pesto.
At this point, we are much more informed than before,
recognizing the green sauce as something other
than unidentified goo.

Having gained insight into

the composition of the
foodstuff, we are able to
respond to the experience
from an expanded
perspective, one that is
more informed.
How does pesto stimulate
my senses?
If I typically have a
visually negative response
to green sauces, does the
knowledge I have
acquired abate that
sensation, or magnify it?

What does all of this mean to me?

Now that I have described the foodstuff, analyzed it to the extent
possible, and allowed myself to respond to it, what is my evaluation
of the experience? This is not the same question as what is my
evaluation of the work.
Having completed the critical process, one is less likely to have the
following type of dialogue:
Question: Do you like turtle soup?
Answer: No. Yccky!
Question: Have you ever tasted turtle soup?
Answer: No.
Question: Then how do you know whether you like it?
Answer: I dont know. I just dont like it.

As scholars, our goal is to arm ourselves with

information sufficient to engaging in meaningful
discourse, and making informed decisions.

This is critical thinking, and it is a process that

takes time more than a few glances, or a few
seconds of listening. Strong critical thinking is part
of the measure of human intelligence.

Daumiers The Uprising

The Uprising, 1885, by Honre Daumier is a 36 x 45 oil

on canvas. It is currently exhibited at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. The work pictures a crowd of people
obviously revolting in the streets.

Analysis of
The Uprising
On the next slide, see how this works focal point seems
to fall on the white of the shoulder of the central figure.
The line created by his upraised arm is repeated often
throughout the work.
The lines that define the top of the buildings, the line of
the figure to the right of the central form, and the line
formed by the tops of the heads of the trio of figures
repeat the diagonal upward line.

The colors are dull and monochromatic

shades of tan and brown. The textures are
rough and rather messy.
Overall, the painting is dominated by a series
of repeated diagonal lines that move from
lower right to upper left.

Interpretation
The use of repeated diagonal lines
throughout the composition creates a feeling
of an upsurgent crowd in revolt.
The absence of strong color and the use of
heavy textures gives the work a feeling of
gritty realism akin to a life of poverty.

Evaluation
Honre Daumier achieved well a feeling
of a poverty class of citizens who were
revolting against the aristocracy.

Tips and Format for

 NO CONTRACTIONS ARE APPROPRIATE IN

FORMAL WRITING! Do not use dont, use do
not. College-level grammar is expected.
This paper must be prepared in MLA format.
Handwritten assignments are not acceptable.
This paper must be typed and turned in (hard
copy, MLA format) no later [insert date].
Papers will not be accepted late. You may
turn in by email if necessary.
[insert date] is PEER REVIEW day, so you
must bring your typed essay to class.

 A well-constructed paragraph must be at least

5 sentences long.
All material related to the topic of the
paragraph stays in that paragraph.
You may refer back to that information in
other places in your essay,
but introduce the information in its
appropriate place.