| How do we approach the task of understanding art and design, either historical
or contemporary? All images communicate on a variety of levels. There are
factual, historical and cultural elements and the social/political contexts
are all-important to the way in which we “read” a piece of art
or design. As the title of this unit of learning suggests, looking and thinking,
in this context, requires a specifically analytical method, in other words,
a critical approach. However the terms critic and critical can be somewhat
ambiguous as the following definitions suggest; |
| As you can see from the above definitions, the term “critical”
has two distinct meanings; i) positive, analytical and thoughtful, ii) negative,
fault-finding and largely destructive. Clearly the first set of definitions
are those which will lead to constructive and informed criticism, a positive
and creative process which can give the critic a greater understanding of
his/her own life and times. |
