Critiquing the Critique - Off the Wall Friday

by Sarah Anderson

The moment I hear the word Critique, my mind immediately jumps to the word Criticism.  Is that a girl thing, an artist thing, or is it just human nature?  What it is . . . .its a big, fat lie.    Actually critique is more about analysis rather than criticism.



With that in mind, I've been trying to learn to critique my own work as well as others.  Not only is this a good skill to have in your artist toolbox, but it also is a great way to way to combat those nasty gremlins that keep
popping up in your mind telling you how much your art work sucks!

When I do a final self critique on a project some of the questions I ask are:

• What is the main idea of the piece and is it being conveyed
• Did the final design decisions flow with or against the conveyance of that main idea
• Are the design elements being followed or where rules broken without reason
• Is any element obviously bothersome and in obviously in discordance with the rest of the piece
• Is there movement in the piece
• Is my craftsmanship acceptable and craft methods not distracting to the overall main idea

 What's harder yet, is how do you give a decent critique of the work of others.

Things to remember in giving a critique:

• Honest feedback doesn't mean bluntness
• Don't use personal pronouns  - ie. "Your use of so many colors is distracting" rather say "Using a limited palette will solidify the piece"
•  Offer compliments without the qualifiers - "But" & "However" 
• Never use the phrase "No Offense" because its always offensive

Remember the goal of a critique is to provide additional information to
the artist for their own edification rather than tearing down what they have already built!

I started a list of words that would help me in critiquing my own work as well as others.  Hope they help!!


So What have you been doing creatively?