This week I have done a lot of reflecting upon art critiques that I have both participated in and have led. When I was in middle school and high school I remember critiques ALWAYS being handled the same. First the teacher would have the student being critiqued come to the front of the room. The student would talk about what they had intended to express in their artwork and then the teacher would ask the students to talk about what they thought the artwork meant and then the critique was over. In my past teaching experiences I have blindly followed this model. It wasn't until recently, when I read the first chapter of the book, "Talking About Student Art," by Jerry Barrett. Barrett talks about studio arts as they are and as they could be, that my views of critiques changed. He says that its important to put the responsibility of talking on the viewers themselves and not on the artist or the teacher. This is a technique that I have recently used with my students at Fossil Ridge. When I stepped back and let the viewers lead the conversations about the artwork it seemed like students interpretations of the art were all very honest. I believe by not letting the artist talk about what they are trying to represent, the viewers interpretations about the artwork doesn't get tainted by what they think they are suppose to be seeing. When the artist receives honest feedback from the viewers it allows the artist a better idea of what their artwork needs in order to get the message they want to send across. This new way of conducting critiques I believe will benefit me as well as my future students.
The artwork I created above demonstrates the relationship between an artists intentions and the viewers thoughts. The artist in this image is the figure their intentions pouring from their head. The viewer is the flower and as the viewer takes in these intentions they also lose some of their own ideas or thoughts about the artwork. The loss of ideas is represented by the fallen flower petal. The more the artist unveils their intentions the more interpretations/petals the viewer will discard as "wrong" simply because it doesn't align with the artists thoughts. This drawing overall represents why it is so crucial for the artist to contain their thoughts about what they are expressing at least until after all the viewers have discussed their interpretations.
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