The Critique

Art Creative Practice U2AOS3

Key Skills:

· critically reflect on the use of the Creative Practice to develop and make visual responses that communicate personal ideas related to social and cultural contexts

· identify, document and reflect on collaboration using the Creative Practice

· apply the Cultural Lens, and the other Interpretive Lenses as appropriate, to support reflective annotations

· evaluate the use of the Creative Practice using visual and written documentation

· explore ideas related to social and cultural contexts through the use of the Creative Practice

· document and evaluate the use of the Creative Practice to develop and make visual responses

· document and evaluate how visual responses effectively communicate social and cultural meaning

· present a critique of the use of the Creative Practice

· reflect on and use feedback from a critique to resolve artworks

· use art terminology to document, annotate and present a critique of the use of the Creative Practice

What will you do…?

For this criteria, you must present a critique of your Creative Practice, along with your final artwork.

You should provide visual evidence of your creative practice, collaboration, critically reflect and explain to the audience your intentions, your visual language and your creative directions including experimentations and explorations.

You must gather feedback from the audience to then reflect on in your visual diary. Therefore, you must formulate some questions to ask your audience, and have them write down or record their responses.

What makes a good critique?

• The critique should be viewed as a DISCUSSION about your work with others.
• Both the artist, and the audience have a key role to play.
• The artist should introduce the work, and their creative practice, as well as other artists they have explored or been inspired by, and the collaboration undertaken.
• Application of the Cultural Lens needs to be identified
• They should ask questions of the audience with a view to look forward to the next AOS (developing a body of work).
• The audience must provide meaningful feedback. Eg. avoid making superficial comments such as (“I love it, It’s pretty etc, I don’t get it” etc etc)

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Structure of the critique:

The critique should contain…

• Starting points/Intention
• Collaboration
• Exploration
• Experimentation.

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You should be able to articulate what you did in relation to your intention and state what skills you employed. You should also identify and discuss how you collaborated with your peers, then how you explored and experimented. ��The class can then take notes about the work in relation to the artist’s intent. Before engaging in discussion/feedback.

Guiding questions for the artist’s presentation

• How do artists reflect upon and critique their collaborative practice?
• How do artists communicate cultural and social meaning in artworks?
• How do I develop visual responses to communicate personal ideas relating to social and cultural context in collaborative practice?
• What are the relationships between the artist, artwork and viewer that are established by the presentation of artworks in a particular context? How does the context where the artwork is presented differ from the context in which it was created?
• What components of the Creative Practice do I use to develop visual responses to artworks that I view and respond to?
• What aspects of the Cultural and other Interpretive Lenses will I use to annotate my use of the Creative Practice in personal visual responses?
• What aspects of the Cultural and other Interpretive Lenses will I use to annotate my collaborative practice with others?

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Guiding questions for the Critique

For the critique:

• Who did you collaborate with? Why?
• How did you collaborate?
• Which artforms were explored?
• Which artists were studied?
• What needs to be developed further: techniques / processes / visual language, personal ideas?
• What expected / unexpected directions has the work taken?
• What explorations have been completed? What needs to be completed?
• Is there evidence of visual language development? How?
• Is there development of technical skills?
• How do the visual responses communicate social and cultural meaning?
• Where to now?
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Guiding questions for the artist’s presentation

Cultural Lens

• How have the time periods in which the artist worked influenced them? How is this evident? Was it an influence on the way you used the inspiration?
• How would an audience contemporary to you interpret the work differently to a previous audience? Why?
• Is your response linked to social, ethical or political issues / views? If so, how?
• Does the artist subscribe to a spiritual or philosophical ethos? Did you explore this in your work? If so, how?
• Have economics or environmental concerns influenced your work? Did you have access to materials, or have you used found or repurposed materials?
• Does your or the artist’s ethnic background bring art practices and visual elements to the work? If so, how?
• Is gender reflected in the work? If so, how?
• Does the artwork provoke an emotional response? If so, why?
• How do these factors contribute to engagement and communication of meaning?

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Questions that you could ask the audience during the critique:

• I have used x materials but thought of using y materials. What do you think? What would make the work interesting?
• Does the location of the work suit it?
• My work is related to x artist, I like their work because…Do you think I have reflected this in my work?
• What is your immediate response to the work? What do you notice first? What stands out? How does it affect you?
• Describe the artwork to someone who cannot see it.
• Does the work tell a story? What is it? Name the work with one word followed by a phrase.
• Write a letter about the artwork, including a description of the techniques, story and emotions expressed. The letter could be written to someone who has to make the work, using a series of steps.
• Does the work show progress? What are the essential elements of the art form? Has the student pushed the art form?
• Where the work is shown is central to its reading. Consider the size and shape of the artwork. How is it presented on the wall? What is its relationship to other artworks? What is the relationship to the context where the work is presented? Does the narrative create or refute the identify, history and cultural references in its parts?
• What techniques have been used? How have the materials been applied to the surface of the work? How does the use of techniques contribute to the use of art elements and principles? critiques can focus on the use of techniques. Therefore, students can focus on their use of materials and processes that are removed from ideas. However, the technique can also create the meaning for the work or how much it is valued by viewers or audiences.

The reflection

After the critique, you must write a reflection on your creative practice, artwork and feedback gathered. Your reflection should be in your visual diary and include:�

• Evaluation of your creative practice (similar to your critique introduction)
• Evaluation on your finished artwork (Apply the lenses)
• Discussion of the feedback you received.
• Further ideas and directions to resolve your artworks.