Surviving the Critique

Our class is pretty big, so I thought it was a good idea to break the class up into smaller groups, in order to critique each person's work for a sufficient amount of time. Since this class is so open-ended, it is particularly important to have critiques.  There are absolutely no guidelines for senior studio and students are allowed to experiment as much as the time will allow.  Therefore, students will not be able to look at what others are doing and see what worked for them, considering the range of projects will be so diverse.  Critiques are also important because each artist spends a considerable amount of time looking and analyzing their work, so it is helpful to have a new person who has never seen the piece look at it for a fresh opinion.  

To get the most out of a critique, I think it is important to ask specific questions to the rest of the group.  Broad questions like "do you like this?" are not as helpful as questions such as "do you think the way I used thick brush strokes is successful?".  I will also listen to people's constructive criticism and take it into account, even if I do not agree with it.  I will also focus on not being offended by criticism, because it will help my work in the end if I keep an open mind.  

In order to help my group members, I will tell the artist specifically what I like and dislike about the piece.  I think it is completely unhelpful to just say "I like it" or "I don't like it".  There are strengths and weaknesses in every artwork, and I will focus on pointing both out.