I think that the purpose of a critique is to have your own work critically observed and evaluated by others with different opinions and points of view. Once that is done, the artist should reflect on how their work was perceived in order to better accomplish their goals and improve their work. For me, the most helpful conversation that I have had about my work so far was during my second critique with the class. At that point I still had a very rough idea about what my work was going to be, and I was extremely uninterested in everything that I was making. During the critique the conversation started moving so far away from anything that I was interested in doing, so it was at this point that I realized I needed to step back from all the big, far-fetched ideas that I had been concerned about, and just go back to the basics and make the art that I was actually interested in.
I think that my second class critique was also the most challenging. It was difficult for me to see the work that I had made and to hear people critically responding to it because I was so unhappy with how the piece turned out. It was also hard for me at this point to figure out whether or not I wanted to continue with where the work was going and try to improve what I already had, or if I wanted to scrap everything and go in a completely new direction. I chose the latter which ended up being very helpful.
The role of the artist during a critique is to be completely open and receptive to what the viewer has to say. They do not have to apply or try every suggestion, but it is important for them to listen to and engage with the viewer. Likewise, the viewer’s role during a critique is to be completely open and honest about how they are responding to the work. They should take the time to seriously consider and form opinions on what they are seeing. That way they will be able to address any questions or concerns that they have for the artist. I feel fairly comfortable in these roles. I would probably prefer the role of the artist more than the viewer because I feel that I rarely have anything helpful to add to the conversation as a viewer.
I probably would not say that I was generous to my classmates in the critiques. I was thoughtful and attentive, but generally everything that I would have said was mentioned by someone else. I think that having smaller critiques would help me to be more involved in the conversation.
Making art in a community means that there is the ability for a constant exchange of ideas, and mutual support. I think that artwork made by other artists provides motivation to work harder and reflect on your own art practice. I can take better advantage of the built in art community at Biola simply by engaging in more conversations with others about my work and the work being made by others.
