In myriad forms

Arts criticism

Reviews

Interviews

Response pieces

Cultural essays

Event coverage

Other stuff not on this list

A standard way technique for performing arts

criticism is to evaluate an artistic piece

formally, and then consider how to arrange

those elements:

Description

Analysis

Interpretation/Reflection

Judgment

Description should include objective

information about the piece itself, such as:

Who made it

When

What is it (form)

What does it look like/sound like/tell/show?

This description should show, rather than

tell, meaning it should avoid the dreaded

ADJECTIVE

Explain the organization of the piece: Is it a

three-act play? Is it a short story written in a

series of flashbacks? Is it a Pointellest

painting?

Whatever the medium, analyze it as a whole

and look for the relationship between its

most compelling parts

Think of the example in “Tell It Slant,” of

Lawrence Weschler’s essay “Inventing

Peace,” in which he looks at a Vermeer

painting, The Head of a Young Girl” as he

considers the Bosnian war crimes tribunals

What is your response to the piece about

which you’re writing? Are there connections

outside of it to your personal life/ larger

events/other works of art?

#Fail?

Kidding: Judgment does not have to be the

typical thumbs up/thumbs down approach,

although it can be

Judgment can be for parts or a whole

By what criteria do you think the piece

succeeds or fails?

Does it belong in conversation with other

comparable pieces and fail or succeed in

comparison?

While every piece may not be as extended

and interpretive as Weschler’s, using these

elements in some degree can produce:

A reflective piece in response to art

A review of art/tv/theater/book etc

A cultural essay

Humor

Interviewing “creatives,” (sorry, bad trendy

annoying word) (artists, writers,

photographers, actors, directors etc) is also a

way to bring your questions about the piece

(your descriptions, analyses, responses and

judgments) to the source

This can create an interesting piece of

writing in itself

Interviews can be used to craft profiles of

artists, or as stand-alone Q&As:

Recently (maybe today) The NYT Arts Beat

interviewed Josh Oppenheimer, a filmmaker

who just received a MacArthur genius grant:

First, let’s listen to AO Scott’s review of

Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing

So what is art’s journalism?

We are going to watch a short (10 minute)

documentary

Take notes

Afterward, you will write a short piece on

the documentary, in which you:

Describe

Analyze

Reflect

Judge

Not necessarily in that order

A documentary by Jessie Auritt

Length: 10 minutes, 37 seconds

WINNER: Grand Jury Award for Short Documentary 2013 Slamdance Film Festival

WINNER: Best Documentary Short, 2012 Williamsburg Independent Film Festival

WINNER: Neighborhood Award, 2013 Lower East Side Film Festival

WINNER: Audience Favorite 2013 Media Film Festival

OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2012 Doc NYC Film Festival

OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2013 Independent Film Festival Boston

OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2013 Arizona International Film Festival

OFFICIAL SELECTION: Rooftop Films 2013 Summer Series