Pedagogical Art Criticism
Read “A Structure For Pedagogical Art Criticism” Tom Anderson Links to an external site.. (below as pdf)
Choose a drawing, painting, print, or sculpture that you LOVE or HATE. Make sure that you know the name of the artist who created the artwork and that you are able to find biographical information on the artist. Complete the following essay. It is important that you read through the outline first and understand what each point is asking; you will need to have read the article to understand completely. Take time to reflect on each question and answer thoroughly, thoughtfully, and comprehensively. Your essay will be a minimum of three full double spaced pages. Use proper citations, it is required. Create a Works Cited page after your three page essay. Find 2-3 sources outside of our textbook.
Reaction:
What is my gut reaction to this work of art?
What is my emotional response?
Perceptual Analysis:
Why does it make me feel that way?
A. Representation
What are the most obvious thematic and formal qualities?
What is it of?
B. Formal Analysis
What elements and principles strike you as significant in the work and how do they contribute to the visual experience?
How does the work make visual sense?
C. Formal Characterization
What is the artwork’s style?
What expressive words define it?
What metaphors? What does it remind you of (mimesis)? Does it have human qualities (anthropomorphic)?
3. Personal Interpretation
What personal meaning do you find in this artwork?
4. Contextual Research
A. Research
What were the artist’s goals?
How can you look at this from an Expressivist point of view?
A Socioculturalist point of view?
5. Synthesis
A. Resolution- What is there about this work that is significant to me?
b. Evaluation- Does the work accomplish what the artist set
out to do?
