The following steps are the components of our written in-class exercises (WTL, WTC). We will break down the steps for the different phases of the writing requirements. I will provide an image of an object, to which you will be required to respond in writing.

To criticize a work of art does not mean to say that you like or dislike it, rather, that you are judging its relative success on a number of aesthetic and technical points. Your personal response is important, and will be uniquely your own. What you see in the work and what you think will be different from what anyone else sees and thinks. The experience of the world which you bring to the task will differ from that of anyone else. Your response may be something entirely outside the range of reactions which the artist anticipated when the work was created. This will be true for any work of art, and will most certainly be the case when the artist lived in a previous time and place. One of the standards by which art is judged to be great, or by which a work is considered to be a masterpiece, is its ongoing power to stimulate the responses of viewers over time, and across cultures. The response, though, will not necessarily be that it is pleasing or "beautiful," rather that it is evocative in some way, striking deeper chords than mere physical/visual pleasure. When you learn to criticize art, whether you like it or not, you will gain skills in organizing your thought processes, and will become more objective and accountable for your likes and dislikes in visual experiences. You will also be able to go beyond those likes and dislikes to have an appreciation for a wider variety of works. This can make your aesthetic experiences more meaningful and more memorable, and will carry over to your understanding of your thoughts and reactions to all visual objects.

You will need to be a bit of a detective in the process of learning art criticism. Approach the task of viewing the work of art with the idea that the artist has put some hidden messages into the work, as well as its more obvious effects, to which you might first respond. You need to start on a systematic program to analyze the work thoroughly and well. There are four steps to this approach: DESCRIPTION, ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, JUDGMENT. They need to be taken in order, and broken down into useful components.

                           B. Note the size of the work, the medium (media) in which it was created. (Height, width, depth (if applicable) in inches, feet, centimeters.)

                           C. State the artist’s name, the title of the work, the date, the country.

II. ANALYSIS: "How is the work organized and achieved?"

A. How has the artist used the formal elements at his disposal? What has been done with line, color, shape/form, value? Has the artist created an illusion of space? How? Is there an emphasis on texture? Is it implied or actual? Etc., etc., etc.

B. How are the elements of design used? How is the composition laid out? Is there a sense of rhythm or movement? Balance? Proportion? Variety or unity? Emphasis or focus? How were these effects achieved, in specific terms?

***** At this point you are still collecting facts – not ready to make your judgment yet.

A. Try to explain what the artist seems to have meant to say in the work. Is it narrative – telling a story? Does there seem to be a viewpoint taken? Does the artist seem to endorse the activity or make a statement in opposition? If it is non-narrative, is the work about observation of the material world or perhaps about the formal elements of art? Obviously, you must make some guesses here.

B. Do not be afraid to make an interpretation which might differ from that of someone else. Your response can only come from you. Your interpretation will be affected by what you have seen and done and thought and learned in your life. However, you should be sure that your interpretation is based on the facts and clues you gathered in the first two steps of the exercise. Back up your statement with what you have gleaned from careful observation. This helps you to learn what particular aspects of the work of art led to your own responses and feelings about the work.

IV. JUDGMENT: "What do I think of the work?" "How do I respond to it, personally?"

A. To formulate a credible judgment, you will need to be honest with yourself, and to critically evaluate your own feelings and the reasons why they emerge in response to the work of art. For example, if the work is of the Nativity of Christ, whether or not you endorse Christianity will color your response.

B. Evaluate these three theories for judgment which are used by art critics:

1. Imitationalism: It may be important that the work of art imitates what we see in real life, in some manner. This is not necessarily a slavish copying of an exterior visual appearance, but may, rather, include the responses which one might have to a given visual experience. For example, the reddish glow of a sunset cast over a landscape may not seem entirely naturalistic, but may have a strong emotional appeal to you, or not.

2. Formalism: The work might seem successful because of careful or innovative use of formal elements or design principles – in ways which elicit your strong response. Such treatment by the artist may or may not be made in relationship to a narrative basis for the work. For example, the exaggeration and change of compositional emphasis which Giotto used in the rendition of The Lamentation seen in ill. #464 in your text.

3. Emotionalism: The work may derive its impact primarily from the visceral, emotional, reaction of the viewer, in what may be a communication of narrative content, or may rely entirely upon the effects of more or less pure formal elements. See  The Crucifixion, by Matthias Grünewald versus Current by Bridget Riley.

C. You might apply one or two of these theories of judgment to a greater extent than the others, but it is necessary to consider the work in light of all three, even though you do not necessarily respond in writing to all three. Then you will be able to discover the most possible information about the work and your responses to it.