CRIT-ETIQUETTE
The group critique offers an opportunity to show completed work in a friendly environment, mediated by a tutor who’s main objective is to steer the discussion away from unfair criticism. The crit provides essential rehearsal at that performance which all artists must eventually face up to: WE MUST TALK ABOUT OUR WORK!
Why then, does the group critique seem to strike fear and self-loathing into the hearts of even the most committed of art-students? You know the ones: always busy; exhibiting SINCE FIRST YEAR; done a bit of curating on the side, ‘just to keep their hand in’. Even those guys, the super-students, are a little intimidated by the thought of standing up in front of the group and justifying their work. They, like the rest of us, understand that when we make a thing and call it art, it represents the maker of the thing; the artist. Even if you bodged it together last night, after you got that text from your pal, asking if you were looking forward to the crit in the morning, you’re going to have to really think about why you did it, or you’re going to have to make something up on the spot, and not have it look like you made it up on the spot.
Your work
Preparation, the topic of my first post, may be the key. All crits at BathSpa ask students to present a piece of work as if it were in a gallery. So dig out the old pot of studio paint, chip off the skin from where the last person to use it forgot how to put lids on things, and give your studio space a lick of the white stuff. Remove all superfluous materials – even if it means piling them up in someone else’s space for a couple of hours. Don’t show your new film on your laptop; hire a projector, book the dark-space.
To avoid misleading the viewer you must pay attention to detail. I once presented three vinyl text-pieces for a crit, the fact I’d used different fonts and stuck them on different walls was rendered meaningless by my placing them all at the same height, which encouraged my fellow students to read them as one piece. The first fifteen minutes of the session was wasted discussing the narrative that ran through the ‘entire piece’. Not wasted though, as I learned from my mistake.
Other student’s work
I was struck dumb when invited to initiate the crit proceedings just a few months ago. Yet when someone else is asked to begin, I find my mind overflowing with crucial insights into the nature of the work being discussed. The best and easiest way to approach the opening gambit is to go for the tried and trusted formal breakdown of the work; what are its basic elements? Is it situated on the wall or on a plinth, or is it hanging from the ceiling?Why is it framed/not framed? If it’s a film, why is it on a portable tv set and not projected? ‘That’s all very well,’ I hear you thinking, ‘but what do you analyse if the artist fancies himself as one of them minimalists?’ (my own work is quite minimal, and people usually end up talking about what isn’t there).
If you’re floundering and no-one comes to your rescue, you must avoid the ‘it could have been’ angle – the artist wants to hear your thoughts on what they did, not what they didn’t.
Finally, be honest and tactful. If you find the work unfathomable, admit it. If it looks lazy or pretentious, don’t mention it – investigate the process. The old saw, ‘if you can’t say anything positive, don’t say anything at all.’ might not be such a bad idea, after all, nobody wants to hear yourant about ‘this type of work’ (again) do they? Especially not when the artist is standing right beside you. Sobbing. No, brutal criticism is best reserved for those student-only occasions, when you’re all agreed that frankness is the order of the day. After all, a comprehensive dressing-down can be a sobering way of telling you just how un-extraordinary your new direction is.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Never take anything personally, remain objective, and thank people for their comments.
Good luck, Critters!
P.S. Regarding nerves, I am utterly advice-less. I’ve got butterflies even now, and all I’m doing is thinking about clicking on ‘publish post’.
