Critical Thinking
How to Look At a Work Of Art
The Art Critiquing Process is defined as:
“A method of organizing the facts and your thoughts about a work of art.” Critiquing art is not saying “I LIKE it!” or “I HATE it!” It is very important that you are familiar with the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. You need to know and understand the art vocabulary necessary to critique art intelligently. Please remember that not all people are going to agree with what you say. Your opinion matters, but it’s not the only one. People bring in their own ideas and experiences that are unique to them.
STEP 1: DESCRIBE
Describe the picture. Tell what you SEE, NOT what you THINK.
Talk about the SUBJECT, the ELEMENTS OF ART, the MEDIUM and any information you have gotten from the ARTIST. This is NOT the step where you give your opinions!
Here are some examples:
• The photographer took a picture of a cactus.
• A tree is the subject of this photograph.
• The vase is black with a large red dot on one side.
• The photograph is of a mountain scene.
STEP 2: ANALYSIS
Analyze how the work is organized.
How do the media, subject matter, and the Elements and the Principles relate to each other …break it down.
Here are some examples:
• The low angle of the image emphasizes the subject.
• The colors of the kayaks create a pattern.
• The columns place emphasis on the center of the image.
• The texture of the bark cast shadows that create movement.
The Art Critiquing Process is defined as:
“A method of organizing the facts and your thoughts about a work of art.” Critiquing art is not saying “I LIKE it!” or “I HATE it!” It is very important that you are familiar with the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. You need to know and understand the art vocabulary necessary to critique art intelligently. Please remember that not all people are going to agree with what you say. Your opinion matters, but it’s not the only one. People bring in their own ideas and experiences that are unique to them.
STEP 1: DESCRIBE
Describe the picture. Tell what you SEE, NOT what you THINK.
Talk about the SUBJECT, the ELEMENTS OF ART, the MEDIUM and any information you have gotten from the ARTIST. This is NOT the step where you give your opinions!
Here are some examples:
• The photographer took a picture of a cactus.
• A tree is the subject of this photograph.
• The vase is black with a large red dot on one side.
• The photograph is of a mountain scene.
STEP 2: ANALYSIS
Analyze how the work is organized.
How do the media, subject matter, and the Elements and the Principles relate to each other …break it down.
Here are some examples:
• The low angle of the image emphasizes the subject.
• The colors of the kayaks create a pattern.
• The columns place emphasis on the center of the image.
• The texture of the bark cast shadows that create movement.
Sandy Skoglund Revenge of the Goldfish
In the late 1970s Sandy Skoglund began arranging scenes of familiar domestic spaces painted in a monochromatic palette. For this work she created a dreamlike atmosphere by filling the set with handmade, larger-than-life sculptures of goldfish and casting a woman and a boy whose relationship is unclear. The use of grotesque animal caricatures creates tension in an ambiguous narrative that is at once playful and disturbing.
Andy Warhol Campbell's Soup Cans
EXAMPLE
ARTIST: Andy Warhol
WORK: 100 Cans
Campbell’s Soup Cans 1962
STEP 1: Description
What do you see? (LIST)
Cans, Campbell’s Soup, Red, white, yellow, screen print, black lines, lots of positive space, not much negative space.
STEP 2: Analysis
How is the work organized? (STATEMENTS)
Many Campbell’s Beef Noodle soup cans repeated with a regular rhythm. Entire canvas covered with cans. Cans are almost all the same. Formally balanced; almost symmetrical.
STEP 3: Interpretation
Why did the artist make this work? (STATEMENTS)
Warhol made this work to make us question what art can be.
Warhol created this piece to make fun of mass production.
Warhol created this piece to say “you produce like machines and eat like machines”.
STEP 4: Judgment
Did the artist achieve his/her purpose?
Do you like this work?
What movement/period/artist does this work come from? (STATEMENTS)
I think the artist was successful because it did make me wonder if cans should be art. I don’t like the work because I already see cans in my pantry, why do I need to see them in a painting? Because this work shows an everyday object as art, I would consider it Pop Art.
ARTIST: Andy Warhol
WORK: 100 Cans
Campbell’s Soup Cans 1962
STEP 1: Description
What do you see? (LIST)
Cans, Campbell’s Soup, Red, white, yellow, screen print, black lines, lots of positive space, not much negative space.
STEP 2: Analysis
How is the work organized? (STATEMENTS)
Many Campbell’s Beef Noodle soup cans repeated with a regular rhythm. Entire canvas covered with cans. Cans are almost all the same. Formally balanced; almost symmetrical.
STEP 3: Interpretation
Why did the artist make this work? (STATEMENTS)
Warhol made this work to make us question what art can be.
Warhol created this piece to make fun of mass production.
Warhol created this piece to say “you produce like machines and eat like machines”.
STEP 4: Judgment
Did the artist achieve his/her purpose?
Do you like this work?
What movement/period/artist does this work come from? (STATEMENTS)
I think the artist was successful because it did make me wonder if cans should be art. I don’t like the work because I already see cans in my pantry, why do I need to see them in a painting? Because this work shows an everyday object as art, I would consider it Pop Art.