CRITIQUE TIME! Getting feedback is an essential activity for artists, and especially important for students just beginning to develop methodologies and a voice that will shape a future body of work. The feedback session can be energizing, illuminating, and yet also--ideally--critically demanding. Productive critiques can be difficult to give, depending on the nature of the work under consideration. Equally, receiving feedback can be challenging to those unfamiliar with the process.
What critique strategies are the most productive? How do we encounter the process in relation to our sense of vulnerability, stubbornness, preconceived ideas and personal feelings? These skills are not a "given." Just as we learn the basics of any unfamiliar subject, we have to learn how to give & take feedback. We have to learn how to respond and what to do with it once it has been delivered.
In the classroom, the assumption that these skills have already been learned "somewhere else" may silence students unsure about how to navigate the feedback session. They are learning to swim by being thrown into the pool without a clear set of strategies and outcomes. In other cases, classmates with more experience readily bear the burden of critique; this narrows the field of feedback even if learning by example can be a very positive experience overall. A further challenge presents itself in classes that deal with non-visual material such as audio recordings, for which productive feedback incorporates both directed emotional responses and technical suggestions for improvement. Students new to the topic must also learn how to speak about sound productively, even as they are learning how to critique each other.
Engaging critically
Before the first critique of the semester, we do a little brainstorming, starting with the question "Why are critiques important?" Students share their ideas about the value and outcomes of the process itself, with the goal of arriving at a common purpose, meeting both the benefits and the scary parts of the process, and finding shared ground from which productive critique can take place.
It's a sort of contract they’re making with each other, an admission that, yeah, we’re all going to help each other be better artists by engaging with the work critically. And sometimes crits might be challenging, but we will strive to create a respectful, but critical and honest space for this to happen.
Each time I've done this, students have come up with responses that address both ideals and vulnerabilities, setting the stage for understanding the crit session as a "learning activity"--that is, something to be worked at, and which can and will improve over time. They discuss how the sharing and feedback cycle is connected to learning the language of critique and analysis. They admit their fears, and through this, discuss how to parse the "personal" of work they've invested greatly in, from the "professional" aspects of a productive critique. They discover other valuable aspects of the experience (exposure to other work, making contacts, developing expertise) and the conversation grows as students share previous experiences in critique settings. It's a sort of contract they’re making with each other, an admission that, yeah, we’re all going to help each other be better artists by engaging with the work critically. And sometimes crits might be challenging, but we will strive to create a respectful, but critical and honest space for this to happen.
This is a good start, with perceptible results: as their ability to translate opinions into feedback gets stronger, so does the quality of our crit sessions, and in turn this raises the bar for the quality of work they bring in to share. In addition to this initial discussion, each critique begins with a reminder about what our respective roles are in the exchange of ideas and work, which I've expanded on here:
If you are the person sharing your work:
Keep your mind open; LISTEN and take notes on the suggestions you are given.
Pay attention to what questions you are asked, and answer them as clearly as you can. Recognize it when you are struggling with putting your intent into words (or, feeling frustrated or defensive). Talking about one's own work is a valuable skill, and it's worth finding answers to even the simplest questions that come your way. If you don't yet have an answer, say so ("I haven't thought about that aspect yet...") and then think about it later!
Don’t forget to ASK your critiquer to explain what they are getting at, if you aren’t sure. Getting feedback helps us understand our work from outside our own heads, so communication is important.
Have a goal in mind: what do you want to get out of the crit session? You may want to prepare some questions for your critique group, in case they don't cover that ground in their feedback.
Remember that all feedback is giving you valuable information—and that even the most negative feedback is about the WORK, not your value as an artist.
You aren't obligated to apply all feedback you get--you will need to do some work later to figure out what parts of it are most valuable to the work (see my comments below in Take it and Leave it).
If you are the person giving feedback:
It is your task to help the artist shape their work through PRODUCTIVE criticism—that is, feedback with the goal of making the work stronger. Sometimes this means giving “negative” feedback—in a productive and specific way.
Focus and take notes about the work as you view or listen, if possible.
ASK QUESTIONS to learn more about the intentions of the work or the artist. This is very useful in opening things up! It may even help the artist identify places in the work that could use revision.
Be as specific as possible about your suggestions and responses. If you can connect your critique to specific examples in other artists' work, then do so.
Remember to pose your comments with respect for the artist (who may be feeling a bit vulnerable by sharing unfinished work). This means: be aware of how you frame your critique. If you don't care for a piece, think about whether this is a personal preference, or some kind of technical or narrative issue with the work itself. Both are valid responses, but this self-awareness will help you deliver a more productive critique.
Take it and Leave it
Critiques can deliver a lot of (sometimes contradictory) information fairly quickly, and it’s your task to figure out what needs to be addressed in the work to bring it closer to the response you hope to get. People giving feedback bring personal preferences and a knowledge base that shapes how they will respond to your work.
One person might be really good at thinking through technical aspects of a piece, while another might be skilled at decoding narrative or emotional themes. A third person may simply not like the genre you are working in (and these responses can be among the most useful). Obviously it is important to get feedback from a number of people, and then do the work of really thinking about which of their suggestions will serve the work best. Don't toss seemingly crazy advice out of hand--think about what the point of the advice is, and perhaps there is something to be gained from the unfamiliar perspective.
I hope this helps! There are so many great methods for in-class critique and I’ll be posting about some of the ones I really like—feel free to contact me if you have comments or something that really works for you!
