Critiques

"It's better to be looked over than overlooked!" ~Mae West

Class and A-Team critiques

Critiques (AKA crits) are the best way to articulate your ideas to others and get immediate feedback. During the crit, the professor and your classmates analyze and suggest ways to increase the aural, visual, and conceptual impact of your gathering(s).

At its core a critique is simple:

• What is working?

• What is not working?

• How can the project be improved?

Why are critiques important and useful? They help students to:

• improve and move their projects forward.

• get unstuck.

• get exposed to other ideas and possibilities from others.

Rules of the critique (four are taken from The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz):

• Be present and engaged.

• Give feedback to your classmates.

• Do your best.

• Do not make assumptions. Ask questions.

• Critique the work, not the creator.

• Do NOT take feedback personally. Remember critiques are about your work, not you. They are about making your work better.

• Be impeccable with your word. Don’t just give a value judgment like “good” or “bad.” Give constructive feedback. Be specific and say why.

Think about the utility of your feedback. Positive feedback isn’t helpful or useful to the creator if it's only one descriptive word. What does "good" or "bad" actually mean? How can you use either to move your gathering forward? You can't. Specificity is key.

Have notes taken during the critique:

Have at least a member(s) of your accountability group or another classmate take notes for you when your gathering(s) is being critiqued and do not edit the responses, whether you agree with them or not.

Review your crit notes and reflect upon what was said. Ask yourself how you could combine, transform, or expand the ideas that show the most promise. However, resist the temptation to incorporate all suggestions and comments. Only utilize the ones that work for you and your gathering.

Review your crit notes and reflect upon what was said.

• Ask yourself how you could combine, transform, or expand the ideas that show the most promise.

• However, resist the temptation to incorporate all suggestions and comments. Only utilize the ones that work for you and your project.

There are several models of critique. Here are a few.

Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process (Modified)

Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process (Modified)

Role 1: Creator (Student Presenting)

Offers a work-in-progress for review and feels prepared to question that work in a dialogue with other people.

Role 2: Critic (Students who are providing feedback to the student presenting.)

Engages in dialogue with the creator with a commitment to the creator’s intent to make impactful gathering(s).

Role 3: Facilitator (Professor)

Initiates each step, keeps the process on track, and works to help the creator and critics use the process to frame useful questions and responses.

Step 1. Statements of Meaning

Critics state what was meaningful, evocative, interesting, exciting, and/or striking in the work they have just experienced.

• What is the first thing you noticed about the gathering(s)? What stands out to you? What appears to be the epicenter?

• What is working about the gathering(s)?

Step 2. Creator as Questioner

The creator asks questions about the gathering(s). In answering, critics stay on topic with the question and may express opinions in direct response to the creator’s questions.

Step 3. Neutral Questions

Critics ask neutral questions about the gathering(s), and the creator responds. Questions are neutral when they do not have an opinion couched in them.

This step is one of the most fundamental, challenging, and misunderstood steps of the Critical Response Process.

• What is confusing or needs more clarification about the gathering(s)?

• Ask the creator about their philosophy or creative process.

• Ask why the creator made a particular choice (tool, material, color, etc.)

• Ask the creator how they did something.

Step 4. Feedback Time

Critics give feedback. (This deviates substantially from Liz Lerman's process.)

• What are ways that the gathering(s) can be improved?

• What additional references, resources, projects, and/or links would be useful for the gathering(s)?

• How does the work make you feel?

• Find something that personally resonates with you.

Critique Sandwich (Encourage / Critique / Encourage)

• 1 piece of encouraging feedback

• 1 critical comment

• 1 more encouraging piece of feedback

For more Info (How to CRITIQUE Art: RISD Art Professor Explains YouTube Video)

TAG (Tell / Ask / Give)

• T – Tell the artist something you like.

• A – Ask the artist a question.

• G – Give the artist a suggestion.

For More Info (The Art of Education Website Article)

How to CRITIQUE Art: RISD Art Professor Explains YouTube Video