1. Art Criticism- An organized approach for studying a work of art.
Introduction to Art
Art Criticism-
An organized approach for studying a work of art.

2. Description
Make a list of all the things you see in the work including:
The size of the work, the medium used and the process used.
The subject, object, and details.
The elements of art used in the work.
Look at the credit line.
BE OBJECTIVE-be general, do not use personal feelings or meanings-just list what you see (A person, not a mother. People, not men.)

3. Analysis Collect facts about the elements and principles of art:
How are the principles used to organize the elements (line, color, value, shape, form, space, and texture).
How has the artist used the elements and principles to create the content (the theme or meaning).

4. Interpretation What message does this artwork communicate to me?
Explain or tell the meaning or the mood of the work.
Use your intelligence, imagination and courage to determine the message.
You must back up your opinion with facts and clues you collected during Description and Analysis.

5. Judgment Determine the degree of artistic merit.
FIRST LEVEL IS PERSONAL-do you like the work? Don’t forget you have to support your opinion using art terms.
SECOND LEVEL-you use aesthetics to help you decide whether the work is successful.
A work can be very successful aesthetically, but you might not want to live with it!

6. Aesthetic Theories and the Quality of Art
Literal qualities
Formal qualities
Expressive qualities

7. Imitationalism-Literal Qualities
Andrew Wyeth
Christina’s World. 1948
Realistic
Imitates reality
Focuses on realistic representation
Imitates life
Duane Hanson
Sculptor
Richard Estes-Holland Hotel,1984
Queenie II, 1988

8. Formalism-formal qualities
Composition
Emphasis on the formal qualities-the arrangement of the elements of art using the principles of design.
Frank Stella
Flin Flon XIII
Victor Vasarely
Wassily Kandinsky

9. Emotionalism-Expressive qualities
Content of the work of art
Emotional response from the viewer
Work must arouse a response of feelings, moods, or emotions
Francisco de Goya, The Third of May, 1808
Edward Munch, The Scream
Vincent Van Gogh, Self Portrait

10. The Four Steps of Art Criticism
Description- What do I see?
Analysis- How is the work organized?
Interpretation-What message does this artwork communicate to you?
Judgment-Is this a successful work of art?

11. Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Monkey, 1938. Oil on Masonite.
Formalism?
Imitationalism?
Emotionalism?
Frida's life began and ended in Mexico City, in her home known as the Blue House. She gave her birth dates as July 7, 1910, but her birth certificate shows July 6, Frida was born an imaginative storyteller and this was one of many ways she rearranged the truth. Although she was spunky and courageous, Frida Kahlo lived a life of pain and suffering, mostly in the artistic shadow of her famous husband, Diego Rivera.
Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Monkey, Oil on Masonite.

12. Fish Vase, Oil on canvas, Janet Fish
Emotionalism?
Imitationalism?
Formalism?
Fish received her BA from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts and her MFA from Yale University School of Art & Architecture, New Haven, Connecticut. She is well known for her brilliantly hued, light filled still lifes and landscapes with figures, and an exciting body of prints in a variety of media. Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Dallas Museum of Art, Texas; The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; Powers Institute, Sydney, Australia; and others.
Fish Vase, Oil on canvas, Janet Fish

13. Imitationalism? Formalism? Emotionalism?
Elizabeth Murray was born in Chicago in A high school teacher recognized her talent and created a scholarship for her at the Art Institute of Chicago. She developed a style that combines painting with sculpture. Murray is now considered a master of the shaped canvas.
Elizabeth Murray, “Bowtie”, 2000, Oil on canvas, 85 x 77 1/2 inches