Its so important to remember that the goal of our criticism is to educate and encourage not hurt or demoralize other people.
With that in mind, let us see what art critique involves.
A universally accepted way of critique is the principle of DAIJ - Description, Analysis, Interpretation & Judgement. I remember reading a fun mnemonic "Dem Apples Is Juicy".
- Description Describe the work - without your giving opinions or using adjectives like 'beautiful' or 'bad'. What objects you see in the art - texture, shapes, colors in the art work - vividness of the colors etc. Also, give factual information like the artist's name, title of the artwork, size, and the year it was created.
- Analysis Now explain how the elements you have described above (ie objects, shapes, color etc) relate to each other. Do you see a visual harmony ? What do you observe about some of the basic principls of art like variety, proportion, textures, contrasts ?
- Interpretation How does the painting (or art work) affect your mood ? Do you sense any message from the artist coming through his (or her) work ?
- Judgment Now you get to state your opinion. Would you buy this art work? Does it make you suicidal and depressed or euphoric? Just remember that a candid opinion need not be stated unkindly!
Remember :
♣ Try to hook your reader with a creative, fun sentence - possible a short 2 line story.
♣ Be concise, don't ramble. Focus on the artwork at hand.
♣ Be sincere.
♣ Check for grammer and spelling
Reference :
♣ Wiki : Design Principles - Elements like unity, balance etc
♣ Writing Art Critiques
♣ Twisted Textiles - Art Critiques
