Criticism

This article was very interesting and informative. I believe that the points that Scott Berkun made were logical and extremely valid. I thought that the information on steering a critique in the right direction could be extremely useful. The idea of asking useful questions in order to get more out of a critique as the person being critique is something I had never really thought of. I think that a lot of times how to take criticism is one of the biggest problems we face as students. Its often difficult to focus on critiques that your work can benefit from if you're distracted by your feelings that your work is being talked about negatively. Thats why I found the idea of asking questions to get more specific advice to be a good one. I completely agree with Berkun on the point that it is important to pick good partners in your critique. It is definitely important to pick people who's opinions you value and respect, but at the same time will give you honest feedback so that you can improve.

I believe that this article should be an assigned reading for most college students. Whereas we are taught in most English classes to provide ‘positive criticism’ on one’s work, we are never guided as to how to do that. By providing this sort of criticism, one can better his/her work without feeling like he/she failed.

I would like to mostly concentrate on the point that Berkun makes in the section, “Shut up. Just shut up and listen.” Most students, as I know I do, feel that there is a need to defend their argument, and to imply to their audience that their work is a final masterpiece, when it likely is not. This section has compelled me to think of a way to accept this criticism, as I know that I am sometimes inclined to defend my work. This easily relates to the author’s next section, “Ask clarifying questions.” Today, when I receive criticism from classmates, I will make sure to concentrate on the positive and negative attributes in my work and how I could possibly improve them.

Criticism

The article is very logical and makes sense; one would have to wonder why criticism is almost never given or received in the manner he describes. What he describes is a very civilized method of discussing work. Unfortunately in the world of critiques, a lot of other factors are involved. Movie reviews for one, are almost always written or given without the creator able to respond. There is no interest in a dialogue, so how to change that? Within the work world, he leaves out the factors of office jealousy and rank. Both big factors out there in the real world especially in fields of creativity where jobs are few and competition is fierce. These were my initial thoughts when reading this article having been a working person for 11 years and seeing office dynamics I have realized that often high school is more recalled than any measure of adult civility.
Personally do I agree with him, yes. One thing though I have seen at least in classes are the students looking blindly to the professor to fix their work. I think one of the most important things to think about in dealing with criticism is looking at oneself in the mirror and knowing that the work one is putting out into the public is the best possible. Many people become defensive when they are asked questions they have no answer for, even if they are as simple as "what do you want to say by this body of work". When people know deep down they are not prepared, it is hard to receive the criticism even if it is neutral. Believing in one's own work I think allows for the ability to receive criticism constructively: one knows what one wants to say, one knows where one is willing to compromise and where not. Anyone who puts out a well prepared piece knows how many revisions it took to get there, how different the final product looks from the beginning and they are probably more willing to continue with revisions than the person that slaps something together and wants desperately to believe it is perfect...ok I am rambling now so I will stop.

Critique Article

Scott Berkun does an extremely good job of pointing out the importance of critiques, while at the same time discussing the methods that can be taken to provide and accept good, constructive feedback. Berkun emphasizes several extremely important points of a critique: to understand and evaluate the intention of the piece before criticizing, to refrain from imposing personal preferences onto someone else’s works, and to maintain a balance of positive and negative feedback.

I agree also on his point that the creator has to refrain from commenting while others are critiquing. This does often lead to defending the piece, when the piece needs to speak for itself. At the same time, I’m glad that he points out the importance of discussion of the feedback. I’ve found that discussions after the critique help clarify feedback and strengthen communication overall.

While I agree with Berkun that critiques are meant to help strengthen the piece as a whole and guide the designer on how to do so, it is also important to remember that the ultimate goal is to help the strengthen the designer as an artist/creator as well. Overall, this article was extremely helpful and clear.

Where to find photos to work with

Nice archive... interesting images.
http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/dlib/lat/introduction.cfm

Not sure... might be good.
http://www.historicphotoarchive.com/

Library of Congress... an amazing archive. High resolution. Public domain.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html

AFP photo feeds in high resolution.
http://boston.com/bigpicture/

Reading on Criticism

I found this article very helpful and realistic. Providing oral criticism is something which I never really did until college, and I’ve learned that it sometimes can be very difficult to give and receive (especially if the person giving it cringes or looks distressed). One thing I always like to keep in mind when criticizing is to make sure that my advice is helpful and is something which I would find useful if I was the artist.

Also, good criticism does not come from telling a person what you personally would do to alter their piece, but what the artist can do to improve or expand upon their original idea. Suggesting alternate ideas is also fine, as long as the person criticizing is mindful of the meaning behind the piece which the artist had originally intended- this can be difficult at times when we can’t necessarily comprehend the places from which the artist was coming. So basically, the main rule of thumb for me is to be kind and respectful to the work which you are criticizing. I think that this article helped explain good ground rules to work from, the idea of many differing perspectives along with why we have them, and it also emphasized something to always keep in mind- criticism without negative energy!

On criticism: A critique?

This article offers useful advice on how to go about giving and taking criticism, but has certain flaws that the author should address.
The author tells us that following from a lack of objectivity in the observed world, there can be no objective measures when criticizing a work. He then develops on this statement by discussing the importance of understanding the intent behind a work when judging its worth.
Later in the article, he advocates critics to find admirable qualities in works which the critic may dislike. He says: "Your personal preferences only get in the way of providing the work and its maker... with useful information." This advice directly contradicts his belief in the lack of objective criteria with which to judge a work. Supposing for a moment that the intent of a work is clearly known and communicated and that multiple critics, regardless of their affinity for the work, can put aside "preferences" (subjective, of course) to address underlying attributes, this clearly indicates the presence of a more objective set of criteria for judging the work.
To take the author's example of a pan: imagine that a panel of critics knows it is a pan intended to cook meals, and made to last for a year, and one of the critics picks up the pan and the pan falls apart. Hey presto! Objective criterion for judgment: the pan has failed to perform its intended function. Of course, one could argue about the 'level of objectivity' of any set of criteria, but I've found that a discussion like that usually stumbles into relativism, and falls over on its face there. One could also debate the applicability of such judgments in the criticism of a creative work.
Regardless, the author does offer some sound advice on the giving and receiving of criticism. I strongly agree with his views on the use of not responding to criticism instantly, but rather taking the time to think about it, and asking for qualifying statements instead. Other parts, such as his recommendation to alternate between good and bad advice seem less pragmatic, considering that they could lead directly to the fabrication of insincere statements.

Thoughts on How to give and receive criticism

The article proved to be very informative and true. As college students our work is constantly being criticized by both our professors and our peers. Sometime the criticism we receive is constructive and other times it is hurtful and biased. Personally good constructive criticism is hard to come by and requires a person to have what they want critiqued finished ahead of time. On a college campus it is hard to complete and assignment on time and thus causes most students to not even consider having someone review and critique there work prior to turning it in. Even if by some miracle a student is able to finish a particular assignment early, good constructive criticism is hard to come by since most people don’t know what it is.

This article is very accurate when stating that most people are unable to provide unbiased criticism. When a person watches a movie or even views a collection of art they perceive there likes and dislikes to be the same as those who will also be viewing what they are viewing. Only a select few are able to detach themselves from their personal likes and dislikes in order to view a piece of artwork and critique it based on how well the creators point comes across. If a critic is unable to understand the creators idea then they are unable to say how well their work illustrates there main idea.

In the end it comes down to being able to avoid the “Assumptions that bad critics make.” The author of this particular piece does a great job of signifying just what a good or bad critic is and what a person has to do in order to provide constructive criticism. Personally this piece has shown me just how important it is to first understand the motive behind a piece of artwork before I attempt to critique how well they incorporated that idea in there work.

Reading Assignment

I found the article helpful and refreshing. Criticism can be hard to give and accept, specially if the audience criticizing comes from a different background. Its hard to comment on work that you are not familiar at all with whether is cultural, lifestyle or religious back ground. I like the way the essay is set up in terms of how to evaluate and go about giving and receiving feedback. Its good to know how to handle tough criticism and that it is OK to ask questions on why the person doing the critiquing sees thing in that way and what could be done to improve the work.
Something that I also found very helpful was to not automatically make changes to your work to please one critic but to collect all feedback and apply it as a whole to your work, but not let it loose your ideas. As a student, I have faced the difficult challenge of having to change my work to please the critic and feeling like it had lost meaning.
I will try to use this article as a reference on how to critique work in the future.
(I feel that while in school, all of us are at the mercy of our professors because they have the grade book. At least in my experiences here at UNC, I have felt that what is considered Good or bad was determined by the instructor and not fully by the feedback received in general to the work by all of the people involved in the critique. Given some have given some great advice on why a work should be changed regardless of what other things were said) I hope I not being too critical