How to Participate in an Art Class Critique

If you are a college student who enrolled in a studio art class hoping it would be a stress-relieving way to express your creative energy, you may soon discover that studio art is not exactly the cake walk you expected. Not only do many professors demand hours of outside classtime spent sketching, researching and developing ideas, they also expect that you will make informed and interesting comments during in class critiques. When you are not an extremely talented artist, these critiques can be your saving grace, provided that you are able to articulately express your observations.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Look carefully at the work. Think about the details, craftsmanship and overall compositional components that characterize it.

2. Listen carefully as the artist describes his or her process and ideas behind the work. Do they mention specific artistic influences or reference current events that personally affected them?

3. Now observe the work again, taking in the artist’s statements about their work. How has your opinion changed of the work? Do their efforts come to fruition or does the work fail? What are some good points and what criticisms do you have?

4. When the professor opens up the discussion to the class, do not be afraid to dive right in with your critique, but take time to carefully support your opinions and be considerate of your classmates’ feelings. Remember that an art critique does not give you license to launch a personal attack on another member of the class.

5. When it is your turn to have the class discuss your work, make sure to listen closely to their observations and be courteous to the professor and students.

Tips & Warnings

• Never get too personal with an art critique as you may hurt a classmate's feelings.