Critique of the Critic

“Critique of the Critic”

Due: July 13

1-2 printed pages, plus a copy of the original review/essay you used to complete the assignment.

The project “Critique of the Critic” will be due next class (July 13th).  You are to identify one (1) essay or  one (1)  review of a body of work/exhibition and  write a response addressing the stylistic,  as well as critical,  approach of the author .     Be clear to explain what was successful and what was less-than-successful.

Please select an essay/review of work that you have an interest in or that complements the work you are interested in producing.  As image-makers, we dedicate a majority of our time to the review and analysis of the visual arts.  The more work we look  at other people's work critically,  the more critical we become  of our own  work.   As the consumption of imagery and artwork dictates the product we manufacture,  and all influences are interconnected,  this analytical approach subsequently influences what we produce.  The same holds true with writing and comprehension.  The more perspectives we are exposed to,  the greater our arsenal of meaning becomes as we rationalize, present, articulate our views and ultimately market our own work (be it fundamental to commercial clients or congenital to a fine art endeavor – the art of communication is paramount).

Though this assignment is not discipline - centric, I do prefer that you select work that remains within the visual arts.  If you feel that a critical review of literature,  sonic art, or theater best complements the work you produce,  please pursue those ventures,  but please notify me in advance.

Nota bene:  This is a critical review you are selecting vs. a mere statement of facts/summary .  Consider aspects of the text we have discussed in class as well as the discussions at the galleries  to further support your analytic perspective.


Some starting points:


Art in America:

http://www.artinamericamagazine.com


October:

http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/octo/-/136


ArtForum:

http://artforum.com/


Art Journal:

http://artjournal.collegeart.org/


NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/design/index.html


ICA Boston:

http://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/onview/


PS1:

http://ps1.org/exhibitions/


Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

June 29

Class will meet during our normal time (12:30) at Gallery Kayafas (www.gallerykayafas.com) to view and discuss the work by:

Susan Paulsen and Benedict Lassalle

Please conduct the research necessary to support a critical discussion about the work.

If you have any questions please contact me.

READINGS

Readings for June 22nd 

The Crisis of the Real by Andy Grundberg


Appearance and Reality by Bertrand Russell (1912)




Andy Grundberg
http://journalism.nyu.edu/publishing/archives/portfolio/books/book400.html
Bertrand Russell
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/russell/


More to come.

Class03 Readings

Class 03 Readings:

A Democracy of the Image: Photographic Portraiture and Commodity Production by John Tagg

Ideology and Criticism from The Limits of Representation by Michel Foucault

NOTE:  You are to identify and bring to class three to five images that represent/support/contradict/illustrate the selected theories presented by Tagg and Foucault.

Next class please have your identified peer review DRAFT.  This is a ruff outline of the work you will be providing a critical review on due class 05.  If you have any questions please contact me.

For more information on John Tagg and Michel Foucault please visit:

John Tagg

http://www2.binghamton.edu/art-history/faculty/jtagg/index.html

Michel Foucault

http://www.michel-foucault.com/index.html

Class02 Readings

Class 02 Readings:

Selections from Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes


Benjamin and the Political Economy of the Photograph by W. J. T. Mitchell


In Our Image by Wright Morris

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Additional information regarding the authors:

Roland Barthes:
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rbarthes.htm

W.J.T. Mitchell
 http://humanities.uchicago.edu/faculty/mitchell/
Good video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9-c1vfykhw

Wright Morris
http://www.unl.edu/plains/publications/resource/morris.shtml

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Note: MFA or Gallery papers will be due next class.  Please be prepared to turn in and discuss your paper in class.

Class01 Readings

Reading: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin (1935)

Reading: Ways of Seeing by John Berger (1972)  

VIEW:

Conversations: Photography from the Bank of America Collection (MFA)

Identify and research one author featured in the exhibition and prepare a brief one page review of the work (note: your review is not to be a description of the work on display but a thoughtful analysis of the exhibition) due class three (3)    

Prepare and post response notes (a minimum of two paragraphs per essay) to the class forum