Chapter Six Questions

Chapter Six Questions

1.  What do you think the most important aspect is regarding to writing about art in either academic paper or professional settings?

2. How does one decide how long a writing about art should be? Is it always necessary to include descriptions of the art in a writing? When is it not appropriate?

3. When writing about art, do we find that is easier to write about a piece while standing in front of it, or having a memory of it?

Chapter Five Questions

Chapter Five Questions

1. How can we judge whether a work is good or not based off criteria, when art can literally be anything? And by anything, I mean anything as the history of art shows. It is possible for someone to not like a work, but tell an artist that their work is not adequate enough to be hung on the elite's walls or not good enough to be commercialized is not right. There is a market for almost everything in this world.

2. On page 149, the book talks about how there are rules and reasons that are means of judging art.  " ratings, rules, and reasons." How are there rules in the art world when art is in so many different forms?

3. On page 164, the book says Artworks, not artists, are the objects of judgement. Do you think this is always true, because some artists were in the spotlight more so then there are because of their behaviors and interactions with critics?

Chapter Four Questions

 Chapter Four Questions

1.  How can one person accurately interpret a painting from centuries ago, when it is a still life or a portrait?

2. On page 121, the book bring up the belief that 'feelings are guides to interpretation'. Should a single critics emotional reaction to an artist's work/one piece be influential for all others? Should not every single individual be allowed to freely experience an emotion from a work without any influences?

3. On page 122, The book bolded the line" interpretations are not so much absolutely right, but more or less... informative." If the book tells the readers that an interpretation is not necessarily right, but rather compelling and insightful, then why do art curriculum's make students read the interpretations from others in textbooks, and have the ability to tell students that they are wrong when they interpret the piece differently?

Chapter Two Questions

Chapter Two Questions

1. On page 31, the book describes the characteristics that define 'modernity'. Modernity is the progression of ideas and evolution of civilization/society in every facet. Yet, Postmodernists believe modernism is dead. How can we accurately proclaim modernism to be dead, when life is forever evolving in ideas and culture and the values we place on certain industries?

2. On page 44, Marxist criticism asserts the idea that artworks are not independent autonomous. Rather they are highly influenced by social norms, values, and culture. Do we subconsciously interpret artworks because of what is happening in the world today? Or do we interpret art because of fads and the shifts in urban trends?

3. After reading the "Queer Theory,"I would like to know if art really should be politically motivated, or if political motivation should come from organizations rather then artists? Is it an artist's duty to paint the perceptions of the world's communities?


*Chapter Three Questions were handed in on paper.

Chapter One Questions

Chapter One Questions

1. On page 9, the critics mentioned in this chapter are concerned with reaching out to their communities of interest. Some critics try to reach the middle-class, while others try to reach cultural groups to raise awareness. Is it the job of a critic to only reach out to certain interest groups? Shouldn't critics reach out to the general populous?

2. On page 14, the book talks about a critic's power in the art market. Do we think it is right/ a good idea that critics simply choose to not write about new artist's exhibits because they do not want to foster a reputation for the unknown artist? Is it not the job of a critic to express how they feel about the work they view even though the artist does not have a largely known name?

3. On page 17, Clement Greenberg is regarded as the father of art criticism. Yet, his fame came from one era in the world of art: expressionism. Should someone be so revered when they are known for associating with the word 'masterpiece' with the notion of stripping away any creative distinctions that set an artist a part from form of the painting?