How To Write An Art Review?

In an arts and performance review, you analyze a special piece of art—a song, dance, play, poem, musical, painting, or photograph. This type of review analyzes the sights and sounds of the performance, the themes expressed, or what the work reveals about the creator or performer.

1. The review also expresses your feelings about the work.
2. Click to read one student’s review of a rock band from the 1990s.
3. Your Turn Imagine you are an entertainment critic for The New York Times during the Harlem Renaissance, an era during the 1920s and 30s that is known for being a golden age for African-American art, music, dance, and literature.

Your editor has assigned you to write a review of a special piece of art from the period. Follow these instructions to complete your assignment. And meet your deadline!

1. Watch this video for background information about the Harlem Renaissance.
2. Choose one of the following pieces of art or entertainment for your review. (Or research another from the era.)
   • Song: “It Don’t Mean a Thing” by Duke Ellington
   • Song: “Nobody Knows When You’re Down and Out” by Bessie Smith
   • Painting: Jeunesse by Palmer Hayden
   • Poem: “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes
   • Dance: The Lindy Hop
3. Complete background research on the artist, writer, musician, or performance.
4. Write a 250-500 word review in which you complete the following tasks (in no particular order):
   • Give your opinion of the art or performance.
   • Give examples from the art or performance to support your view.
   • Use sensory details to describe something special about the sights, sounds, colors, or words.
   • Provide background information about the artist, writer, performer, or genre.
   • Describe how the piece fits within the larger culture of the Harlem Renaissance.

What are the 4 steps of art analysis?

What are the components of an Art Critique? An Art Critique consists of four categories. Describe, Analyze, Interpret and Judge (or Evaluate). By breaking a critique down into these four categories, students can organize their thoughts and thoroughly state their opinion as well as discuss with their peers.

File:Be An Art Critic.pdf

Four Categories of Art Critique Describe This category is the first of four. The viewer first names everything they see when they initially look at the artwork. This introductory process may be vague because as the viewer goes through the next categories of the critique, their observations will become more specific. Some questions to ask are: 1. What do you see? 2. What is the subject matter?

Video of an elementary student describing artwork ]

Analyze This category is the second of four. Analyzing is similar to describing in that the viewer is naming what they see, however, focusing on elements and principles they see. Elements are line, shape, color, value, texture, form, and space. Principles are pattern, movement, balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm and unity.

• This step is the final one to naming what the viewer sees in the artwork.
• Some questions to ask are: 1.
• What elements are being used? 2.
• What principles are being created? Interpret This category is the third of four.
• This is where the viewer engages in deeper level thinking and questioning.
• Interpreting an artwork refers to the mood, meaning, symbolism or theme the artist is showing.

The viewer at this point must use what they have described and analyzed in order to interpret a deeper meaning (if there is one) Some questions to ask are: 1. What is the mood? 2. What is the meaning? 3. Is there a theme? 4. Is there any symbolism? 5. How is the color showing a somber mood?

Video example of connecting what is seen to possible meaning and deeper level questioning. ]

Judge/Evaluate This category is the final of four. The viewer takes all of the prior knowledge and information and puts it all together into a cohesive opinion. This is where the viewer finally states whether they like or do not like the artwork and why. For whatever answer or opinion they have, they must be able to support their response. Some questions to ask are:

Each of these questions must have a follow up question- why or how

1. Do you like this work? Why? 2. Why do you not like this work? Why? 3. Is this a successful piece of art? Why? 4. Do you think the artist communicated their message? Why and How?

The Incredible Art Department is a great resource on Art lessons. Check out this source for Art Critique questioning!

]

What are the three C’s of art?

The Three C’s in Art: Concept, Content and Context (2) Personal stories as the source of strong art concepts Peter Doig, White Canoe, oil on canvas, 1990-1991 Creativity implies the existence of a basic concept behind the work of art. A concept is simply an idea.

1. As artists, we aim to come up with an innovative idea that fosters our creation.
2. Good art clearly manifests the new and, of course, the self.
3. Nevertheless, old concepts are there to be shared; they may be borrowed from the past to be re-polished, re-analyzed, and re-conveyed.
4. Yes, you may paint canoes on lakes! In 2007, Peter Doig’s White Canoe sold at auction for nearly $12 million, making it the most expensive work by a living Scottish-Canadian painter.

When looking for a new subject in a painting, your own personal stories may give you the key to a strong concept. Stories are threads that unite us. We all have stories: some to keep, some to share, at the table or on a painting. Some people are talkative, expansive and loquacious; others are reserved and cautious with their words and stories.

1. Some talk exclusively about their children and dogs, others about a vast array of topics.
2. Some feel comfortable talking about their sex life at the table or depicting it in a painting, some would not even think about doing so.
3. Not saying the truth might be a lie for one person, yet be a wise, diplomatic choice of the moment for another person.

Stories shared among work colleagues might be less interesting than the licentious anecdotes shared among dearest friends. We all have stories—interesting stories, happy stories, strange stories, sad stories, bawdy stories, but when the story ends what remains alive are the emotions that have been awakened in us.

• When painting a personal story, we need to find a compelling idea or concept that allows us to awaken these same emotions in our spectators.
• Our approaches to the subject, our style, our technique and our use of colours to tap into emotions are our chosen mechanisms for expressing our concept or idea in a work of art.

As Alberti wrote in his Della Pittura, in a painting there is shape and content; the latter translated by istoria, the “story.” For us, the istoria is most important. By manipulating and painting your own stories you will learn how to master the technique—something that may have helped many self-taught artists.

1. Your story may resemble my story, but since everyone is different, our choices of technique, colours, stroke, etc.
2. Will differ.
3. Make an inventory of the most engaging, true stories of your life; it will help you to know yourself better and produce more personal works.
4. Take the advantage of being unique to differentiate your paintings from the thousands others.

We shall always remember that stories link us all. This post is a follow-up of: : The Three C’s in Art: Concept, Content and Context (2)

How do I analyze an artwork?

What Do You See in Terms of the Visual Elements? – The first thing you should do when analyzing an artwork is to break it down in terms of the visual elements, What do you see in terms of lines, shapes, colors and textures ? By doing this, you will be able to objectively analyze what you are seeing.

Clusters of circular shapes for the plants and flowers;Rigid shapes for the chair; Suggestive lines on the ground to move you around the painting;Lines on the dress to give a sense of form;Varied colors and lines to create the illusion of plants and vines; andRepetitive dashes of color in the clouds and ocean.

Childe Hassam, The Sea, 1892

What makes a good art analysis?

Art analysis tips Personal opinions must be supported with explanation, evidence or justification. ‘Analysis of artwork’ does not mean ‘description of artwork’. To gain high marks, students must move beyond stating the obvious and add perceptive, personal insight.

What is the first step when critiquing art?

The first step of an art critique is to evaluate the artwork. Art critiques are of no help to someone improving their own artwork. You cannot do an art critique on your own art. All art critiques have to follow the same pattern and ask the same questions.

What is the basic art criticism?

art criticism, the analysis and evaluation of works of art. More subtly, art criticism is often tied to theory; it is interpretive, involving the effort to understand a particular work of art from a theoretical perspective and to establish its significance in the history of art.

Many cultures have strong traditions of art evaluation. For example, African cultures have evaluative traditions—often verbal—of esteeming a work of art for its beauty, order, and form or for its utilitarian qualities and the role it plays in communal and spiritual activities. Islamic cultures have long traditions of historiographical writing about art.

Works such as Mustafa Ali’s Manāqib-i hunarvarān (1587; “Wonderful Deeds of the Artists”) often focus on the decorative traditions, such as calligraphy, woodwork, glassware, metalwork, and textiles, that define Islamic art. China also has a strong tradition of art evaluation, dating back to writers such as Xie He (active mid-6th century), who offered the ” Six Principles ” for great art—a major principle being the qi yun sheng dong (“spirit resonance, life-motion”)—and to literati, who wrote biographies of great artists.

For these and other regional approaches to art evaluation and historiography, see art, African ; arts, Central Asian ; arts, East Asian ; arts, Islamic ; arts, Native American ; art and architecture, Oceanic ; arts, South Asian ; and arts, Southeast Asian, Like all these examples, the Western tradition has a set of evaluative criteria—sometimes shared with other cultures, sometimes unique—as well as elements of historiography.

Within the history of Western art writing, however, is a distinct critical tradition characterized by the use of theory; theoretical analyses of art in the West—made either to oppose or to defend contemporary approaches to art making—led to what is generally understood as the discipline of “art criticism.” Art criticism developed parallel to Western aesthetic theory, beginning with antecedents in ancient Greece and fully taking form in the 18th and 19th centuries.

1. This article explores this trajectory, also charting the divergent trend, beginning in the 20th and continuing into the 21st century, of the use of social and linguistic, rather than aesthetic, theoretical models by some critics.
2. For the history of this tradition, see painting, Western, and sculpture, Western,

See also Sidebar: Art Appreciation, Critical approaches vary and depend upon the kind of art engaged—it makes a certain critical difference whether critics deal with painting, sculpture, photography, video, or other media. This article does not single out critics in terms of their engagement with a particular medium but rather presents the essentials of what appear to be coherent critical positions, often influential beyond the period of their formation.

What is a good artist statement?

The last word – Your artist statement should communicate the deeper meaning of your work with clarity and precision. It should draw in the viewer and make them want to learn more. With a well-crafted statement, you can give insights into your work through your personal history, material choices and themes you address.

What makes a good artist?

We are all gifted with the skills to do something unique, talents that distinguish us from others. However, what we do with those skill sets is all that makes a difference and makes us stand out from the crowd of common people. You may have known some artists all your life but never knew their true potential.

Maybe you possess these qualities but have no idea that these qualities are what most great artists share in common. Let’s look at some of the qualities that all great artists share- They See Beyond What Others See: Beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder. And artists are the medium that portrays this beauty to others through their perspective.

What others see as a bicycle standing beside a shop is a piece of art for artists that they can play around with and adorn further. All artists are highly imaginative and see beyond what everyone else does. They Are Single-Minded: Artists often find a hard time choosing something to do.

• However, once they like something, no one can influence their minds.
• They are focused and usually forget the world around them until that work is completed.
• They Are Passionate: When artists discover what they want to do, they give all of themselves to that task.
• It definitely extends to the field of artistry but doesn’t end there.

If artists are passionate about something, they make sure that they are doing their best to give justice to their connection. They Are Disciplined: Patience and discipline are two vital qualities all artists share. These characters are also interdependent.

• Artists need to be patient with their art.
• Rushing art will only spoil it.
• And to be calm while waiting, an artist requires discipline.
• Moreover, discipline is also needed to stick to their task and not get distracted by others.
• They Have An Adventurous Spirit: Artists are easily bored if something does not connect with them.

They frequently leave their comfort zones in search of something that adds thrill and gives some meaning to their lives. They Don’t Want to Stop: For artists, every art piece is like writing a story. The ending of such a beautiful adventure is sad. However, the end is just the beginning of another story for artists. Their dictionaries don’t have the word stop, and the world is an infinite source of inspiration for great artists.

They Are Their Own Critics: Artists welcome others’ opinions to improve their art. They want it to connect to others like it does to them. However, they are worse critics of themselves and often do not promote their work thinking it’s not worth sharing. They Don’t Give-Up: Artists don’t give up on what they start and revert with more enthusiasm than ever before.

They may pause, take a breather, but they always return to their art. They Persevere: Even though they isolate themselves from the world and are criticized a lot, artists always persevere. They have the energy not to give up and bring something new into existence even if they fail multiple times.

What is a good example of an artist statement?

short artist statement: Sam durant – My artwork takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues. Often referencing American history, my work explores the varying relationships between popular culture and fine art. Having engaged subjects as diverse as the civil rights movement, southern rock music and modernist architecture, my work reproduces familiar visual and aural signs, arranging them into new conceptually layered installations.

While I use a variety of materials and processes in each project my methodology is consistent. Although there may not always be material similarities between the different projects they are linked by recurring formal concerns and through the subject matter. The subject matter of each body of work determines the materials and the forms of the work.

Each project often consists of multiple works, often in a range of different media, grouped around specific themes and meanings. During research and production new areas of interest arise and lead to the next body of work.

What are the 4 criteria of art?

There are 4 main theories for judging whether a piece of art is successful: Imitationalism, Formalism, Instrumentalism, and Emotionalism.

What are the elements of art analysis?

ELEMENTS OF ART: The visual components of color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value. may be two-or three-dimensional, descriptive, implied, or abstract. Shape An element of art that is two-dimensional, flat, or limited to height and width.