How do the viewpoints of art critics and art historians shape the way we think about artists and

their practices?

Through both the writings of art critics and art historians we are able to gain a broader understanding of the meaning behind an artists work and insights into their practices. Critics and historians are more influential in shaping our views or opinions in art than any other medium, and more often than not they are opinionated and give us biased views which are based on their own personal interpretations. But an evaluation of an artwork varies from person to person, country to country and from age to age. Documentaries, articles, magazines, the mass media and newspapers have all been used by Historians and Critics to influence and shape our view of the art world. Art Historian Giorgio Vasari, on talking about Titian and art critic, Clement Greenberg on writing about Jackson Pollock as well as Australian Robert Hughes, who is both Art Critic and Historian, have all influenced the opinions of the audience as well as in some cases, the artists career. Giorgio Vasari is most likely to be the very first art historian that the world has seen. As an art historian it was his role to place artworks in a historical and cultural context. Vasari, born in the 16th century, was a Mannerist architect and painter and worked for the Medici family. But his architecture and painting was outdone by his writings. His major work, The Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, is the earliest full account of Renaissance art. In 1550, in his book Lives of the Artists he wrote about Proto-Renaissance and Renaissance artists and their strengths as practitioners. Although his accounts were subjective he offered a personal insight into many artists of his time. He also portrayed a historical window into the activities of artists, critics and society. Vasari claimed that art was in a constant state of development and that arts resemble nature as shown in our human bodies, and their birth, growth, age and death. Vasari also took particular interest in a young artist, Titian, and wrote in his writings in his book Lives in 1568, that at a young age he showed fine wit and a lively mind and had been gifted by Nature. In his writings of Titian, he comments how studying culture and ancient works was important and until Titian and other painters of this time did, their style would be dry, harsh and laboured. This opinionated viewpoint of Vasari, although not everybody would agree, may have influenced the way in which the audience viewed Titians artwork at the time. Vasari also goes on to explain that once Titian had grown up and had gained greater experiences and developed good judgement as well as establishing the methods and styles of the well known Giorgione, Vasari began to praise Titian for his very beautiful works. He claimed that if the 18 year old hadnt put his name on the on the bottom of his works, they might have been mistaken for a work by Giorgione himself. The shifting views of Vasari may have influenced the perspectives of the public viewing Titians artworks. For people who liked the work

of Giorgione, after hearing positive comparisons from Vasari, may have taken a strong liking to Titians work as well. Although Vasaris facts were not always entirely accurate, he was a major source of information about art and artists in the 14th to 16th century. One of the most known and important art critics of the 20th century and is most notable for his promotion and defence of Abstract Expressionism during the 1950s is Clement Greenberg. According to him, paintings should be abstract, impersonal and have totally flat pictorial space. His book Art and Culture, written in 1961 was the most influential book to do with art in 25 years. Greenberg was also the first American critic to look at art as a succession of movements or styles and was convinced that there was a mainstream of art. At the peak of his power in the art world, it was believed that the number of paintings sold by an artist was a coefficient of the number of paragraphs Greenberg had written about the artists work. This portrays the influence that not only Greenberg, but also other art critics, have on their audiences and the power they have to inflict certain opinions of an artwork along with the artist and their practices to the general public and art world. Greenberg was also among the first critics to support the works of Jackson Pollock and was largely responsible for the growing reputation of Pollock over the years. Pollock was an abstract artist whose style was unique and passionate. Although in some writings, Greenberg seems to offer Pollock advice on how to make his paintings better, he also praises his work, commenting that his work is among the strongest abstract paintings I have yet seen by an amercian. We also have to remember the courage it must have taken for Greenberg as a beginning critic to commend such a radical and fairly unknown artist. Greenberg became such an influence over peoples opinions about Pollocks work, that even after Pollock had passed away, his artworks are still widely accepted today. So with the help of Greenbergs critical analyse of his works, Pollock was able to determine the reaction that his work would have on the audience. Born in Australia, Robert Hughes is not only an art critic, writing for the New York Times, but also an art historian, who has commented on and paved the careers of many artists. Hughes believes that his role as an art critic is to open up the discussion and to challenge us to make up our own minds about an artist and their artwork after we have read his opinion. But our view of an artist and their work may be shifted due to the response and influence that a critic or historian offers us. Their response allows you a deeper insight into the artwork which may in some cases shift your perspectives completely. Jean-Michel Basquiat is an American abstract artist who paints from the cultural frame and comments on social and racial issues while challenging art traditions, codes and conventions. When Robert Hughes reviewed his work he claimed that it look like, a song of a funeral for a feather weight, stating Basquiats works were very repetitious and havent gone anywhere. He continues on to say that his works should not have been elevated to the popularity status that they had. Although Basquiats unique artworks have

become well like over time, Hughes harsh opinion may have changed other peoples views of his artwork The words of an art critic can either make or break an artists career. The most well known art critics and historians, like Clement Greenberg, Giorgio Vasari and Robert Hughes, have the power and influence to shift peoples perspectives on certain artworks. Through documentaries, the mass media, articles and newspapers, critics and historians are able to shape the way the world views artists and their artworks.