Often when students are asked to critique a work of art, they think they are supposed to take a negative approach. Even if they understood the term, they are often not sure how to proceed. The process of a critique has four steps:

1. Describe the piece, including medium, size, color, texture, shape/form, etc.
2. Analyze how the principles of design are applied.
3. Interpret the work, including possible symbolism, cultural context, and possible uses.
4. Evaluate the work. Does it make a meaningful statement? Is it aesthetically pleasing?
   

Even knowing the steps, students sometimes have trouble getting started because they are not used to discussing works of art in depth. Comparing and contrasting pieces rather than analyzing one piece helps student to use more concrete language.

Using the PowerPoint™, guide them in discussing four clay pieces. When they seem comfortable with the process and are beginning to use strong descriptive language, ask each student to select one piece from the soon available PowerPoint™ (or from the Clay Gallery) to critique. To go deeper, have them research their artist before doing the critique to obtain more insight into the artist’s creative process.

Download the presentation (zipped)