The Art of the Critique
Group
By
Schelly Keefer
with
Edward McKeown
All of us want our work to be the best we can
produce. To reach our fullest potential
we sometimes need a little help from our artist friends. As artists we spend probably too much time
alone in our studios, not quite happy with the results, having lost
perspective. Or we might be feeling
brave and trying a new approach or media and need to have knowledgeable people
we can run it by for their reaction.
A critique group, if properly managed can be
a valuable resource. I have always felt
that more artists or art groups would use this tool if they just had a
blueprint for how to start one and how to avoid the usual and obvious pitfalls
that come from doing it badly. This
article discusses some basic guidelines for how to set up such a group and the
different types of groups that can be formed.
The two types of groups I have worked with
are open groups formed from the members of a larger art organization, and
private groups. The open groups are
generally open to any member and the size of the group may vary a great deal. Private groups are formed by invitation,
allowing you to work with a smaller group of artists, who are more closely
related in skill and career objectives.
With a large open group, it is best to hold
the session at a regularly scheduled time and location or it will quickly fall
apart. I usually had it announced at the
monthly organization meeting and in its newsletter. Having a regular session scheduled was often
incentive for people to get their pieces finished in time for us to take a look
at it. In an open group full of active
artists, you my have many people show up with lots of artwork to cover. This work will often cover quite the gamut of
media and styles. Some may bring
multiple pieces. At the beginning of the
session, I would take stock of how many artists have shown up and how much they
were carrying. As our critique group was
limited to two hours, which is about as long as practical, I’d have each artist
put up one piece, in turn, for critique.
After going through the group once, we would restart in the same order
and go through the additional pieces. I
tried to vary who went first, working the room right to left sometimes and then
reversing it others. I would make
allowances for people who had to go to work or had other scheduling issues if
they approached me beforehand.
A private group is more easily run as the
person starting it knows the other artists and has some idea of their work,
skill level and temperament. Unlike the
large public group it can easily be assembled when there is sufficient work to
make a session worthwhile. Such groups
will go into greater detail and depth in critiquing the work as they know each
other and feel more comfortable digging in a bit deeper. I find that four to six is a good size for
this sort of group, which can easily meet in a house or private studio and be
convened at less regular time.
The mix in a private group is
very important. One possible downside to such a group is the danger of
conformity. People with similar styles
may not challenge each other that much.
My current group has artists who work in pastels, oil, watercolor &
mixed media. They paint landscapes,
portraits, still lives, abstracts, & florals. All are artists who are consistently juried
into shows and often win. I feel very
fortunate to have such talented people to help me. It is a balm for my artistic soul to run
paintings by my group before dropping them off at the gallery that reps me (The
Red Sky Gallery in Charlotte NC http://www.redskygallery.com) My critique group is my first line of defense
against bad work.
It is a good idea to aim your
group at one end or the other of the artist spectrum, beginner or
advanced. With an art organization open
group you will likely have to accept artists of widely varying skill
levels. That’s just the nature of that
sort of that group. Whoever walks in is
made welcome. De facto then, larger open
groups will be more oriented toward beginner to intermediate artists, who have
joined Guilds and Leagues looking for feedback.
These artists require more time and attention and will advance more
slowly. They have less training and will
have to be introduced to concepts that an experienced artist will pick up
immediately. I can tell an advanced
artist to define the landscape using the shapes of your shadows. With a beginner I might have to tell or show
them what that actually meant.
Fortunately, with other artwork on hand you can often pick up another
piece and say, “See how the shadow here tells us that the road is flat and then
defines the curve of the bank beside it.”
Mixing in a beginner with an
advanced group may seem like you are doing the person a favor, but in reality,
you will probably leave them frustrated.
You don’t throw people in the deep end of the pool to teach them to
swim. Yes, we know that there are
stories of people thrown into the deep end who prospered, but bear in mind
those that didn’t aren’t around to testify to what a lousy idea that was!
It’s important that the group
have some minimal structure. Artists
hate rules and other emotional or intellectual straightjackets, but without a
few rules you risk hurt feelings, and worst of all, art that gets stifled or
abandoned. There are roles in a critique
group. While the roles do not have to be very formal, they do exist:
The
Moderator. I like this word because of the implication
of moderation. A moderator doesn’t have
to have a black robe or gavel, nor do they need a loud voice. Their role is to help the group function
smoothly and to stay on task. Someone
once said that getting artists to do anything is like herding cats, and there’s
some truth to that. Okay, there’s a lot
of truth to it.Moderators do not need to be the best artists in the group. They do need sufficient mastery of the subject to allow them to serve as a leader. It is an important distinction that the moderator is not a teacher. The group itself functions as the teacher, even if all it can do sometimes is raise questions in the mind of the artist. Moderators may even turn over the discussion to a better artist in the group to make a point.
A moderator’s essential role is keep the discussion positive and on point. The moderator needs to always have control of the agenda and the time. If someone is carrying on a bit much, a moderator may need to lean and say, “Thank you. Now as to this next piece…” or “We’ve covered that adequately. Let’s move on.”
Moderators know that critique time is limited and should be used for critiquing. While we want the group to remain as informal as possible, there are pieces to cover and advice to give. Discussions of grandchildren, politics, or the weekend need to be minimal or shelved. While humor and camaraderie will be prized and encouraged, we need to stay on task.
The Presenting Artist: The role of the presenting artist is to listen to critiques without defending or arguing. Remember that when your work hangs in a show, you won’t be able to stand by it and explain the concepts to the passersby. The piece will have to speak for itself. Assume a good intent on the part of the critic. This will be good practice for dealing with real jurors.
The presenting artist may be asked at some point to say what he or she was doing or trying to express. Note that this is different from defending or arguing the critique. You have now been invited to explain. This is great practice for selling to buyers, galleries or for teaching or public speaking engagements related to your art. Use it to develop those skills. Despite our desire that it do so, art doesn’t sell itself. Learn how to speak succinctly about your art in the few minutes that a gallery owner or patron will give you.
The Critic: This is a critique group, not a support group. We are trying to reach new heights and looking for hands to pull us up. We need perspective and challenge. People don’t like the words, “critique” or “criticism” but even using another word would not change the essential nature of what goes on in such a group. It is the first place that your work comes out of the studio and stands before the world, and that is scary.
It’s not criticism that should be feared. The well-known Hungarian watercolorist, Zoltan Szabo, told me to “Expose your work to as much criticism as you can find. Artists need thick skins as well as brushes. The only way you can lose is if you do not try.”
However, criticism can be delivered with tact, or it can be done in a manner that is destructive. This brings us to the most important point. The critiquer is standing in for the world when they view a piece. That is an awesome responsibility. The critiquer must offer meaningful criticism in an adult, professional and very civil manner. Your parents hopefully taught you that there is right and wrong way to say anything. Use the language of diplomacy and understand that I am not urging “political correctness” but the “Golden Rule.” All members of the group must make every effort to be sensitive to the artist’s feelings.
How would you want to hear it expressed? “You blew the perspective,” or “Perspective could be stronger and here’s how.” It’s the difference between, “You chose the wrong colors,” and “I’m afraid those don’t work for me because…” Emphasize the positive without trying to pretend the negative does not exist. I often think of this as, what did the artist do right and where is there room for improvement? Often the smallest improvements will lift the level of a painting significantly.
I like to have each person critique for three to five minutes but I don’t want them to feel compelled to use the full time unless they are adding something. In the event that I, as moderator, feel the criticism is, for whatever reason, straying from the useful, I may ask the critiquer to move on or drop a point for the sake of amity.
Here are a couple of points that I found useful in creating a critique etiquette:
1) be present when you are in the group. That means cell phones off, Blackberrys and PDAs in your bag and text messagers will be shot on sight. If you do not have time to devote to your fellow artists, then come another time when you do. Electronics have led to a collapse of civility in our culture and to the rise of a group of people who do nothing with full attention. Art is more important than that.
2) Try to avoid interrupting others when they hold the floor for their critique.
3) It is not your job to persuade the artist that your critique is correct. You offer information. They use it or they don’t. Don’t argue a critique. I feel that is the reader comes away with no other piece of information from this article than this, you’ll have the most important point. This is not a workshop or classroom experience and sometimes a lot of damage is done to art and artist by failing to follow this rule.
4) Liking a piece or not is immaterial to a critique, though clearly it helps to enjoy the work you are looking at. Though I am not fond of Thomas Kinkaid’s work, that doesn’t remove him from the pantheon of immensely successful artists. You are trying to help the artist to express themselves effectively-not to make them paint something you like. The issue is, it a successful painting? Does it contain the basic elements of design: good use of values, line and shape? Is the color palette effective?
5) If you find a piece offensive you may pass on it by doing no more than advising the moderator that you do not feel you can do an effective critique.
Armed with these thoughts and concepts, I
hope that you will find it easier to start such a group or less intimidating to
attend one. In the final analysis, a
critique group is way of helping others and helping yourself at the same time.
Sidebar #1 “ It’s about becoming, not being”
I hear this one all the time; “My work isn’t good enough for a critique group.” Or “My work’s not ready to be seen yet.” That is about fear and hiding out. Sometimes we are required to be a bit brave, to take the plunge, to pull the painting out and put it on the easel in front of everyone.
One of the nice things that used to happen for me when I ran a critique group was to have people who had not yet shown work come and sit in a meeting. After seeing how the critique group conducted itself in a positive manner, they would go out to their car and bring in their work. I realized that I as moderator, and the others as critiquers, had acted in a way that made it possible for these beginning artists to find their courage and bring their pieces into the light. They’d come to check it out, prepared to slip away if the experience was cold or destructive. We had gained their trust. Not as much by what we said, as by how we said it.
The point of a critique group is to make the work better, to Become. If you were already at the end of your journey as an artist you wouldn’t have much need for a critique group. You would already Be the artist that you are trying to become.
I doubt I will ever get so accomplished that I won’t need the advice and reactions of my fellow artists to guide me to that place beyond myself, out of my comfort zone, where my true art lurks, tantalizing, like a mystical unicorn, ready to leap out of sight if I let my focus slip.
Sidebar #3 Roberts Rules of Order or “We’ve got to get organized!”
Sometimes in critique groups, particularly a large group, it may be useful to add a bit of procedure such things as adding a new member, moving to a new location or time. You may wish to put up a motion and have a vote. Having a set of rules that already exists and has a track record, beats making them up: http://www.rulesonline.com/ or any bookstore.
Sidebar #4 “It’s about the positive.”
One of my favorite experiences concerned a piece by a woman who was a beginner. The piece was an acceptable effort commensurate with her ability, but admittedly not a very highly skilled piece of work on the subject of a French countryside. I asked her to put it up but not to say anything about it. Then I asked the group what was the one thing that they all could recognize.
Everyone came up with the same thing, the French countryside. The artist wanted to share
Too often when we think of self-expression, we think of the written or spoken word, but if that were all there was to it, we wouldn’t dance, we wouldn’t sing and we wouldn’t paint. The piece was not produced for sale. For some artists the painting is an end in itself. This one went home with her to stay on her wall and tell everyone about both the artist and her France.
Sidebar#5 What you will need
First you have to have a place to meet. Many art groups are fortunate enough to have access to their own space. If yours is not or you are starting from scratch, for a large open group, there are a lot of options: civic centers, schools & churches. Many apartment complexes or condo subdivisions have a community room or clubhouse. You might approach an art supply shop such as Michaels or Binders. They might be happy to host a critique group on the theory that this is the sort of consumer that they are trying to lure into the store. Barnes and Nobles and Borders do the same for writing groups for that reason.Most serious artists will already have the necessary equipment. The essential is a good solid easel that can hold large work. It’s also useful to have tabletop easels for the smaller pieces. I use artboard with clips to display unframed or unfinished work. Excellent lighting, whether it’s in the room or provided by good clip-on lights added to the easel is critical. I find the halogen task lighting on my kitchen peninsula to be perfect. The more comfortable the location, the easier it will be for the artists to sit and relax, so they can focus on the work at hand.
Schelly Keefer is an award winning
impressionist, specializing in pastel and watercolor. She’s conducted both open and private
critique groups as well as offering demonstrations. Her work has been featured in the
international magazine Pastel Journal, UNCC’s Sanskrit Magazine, and the cover
of the Chronicle of the Horse. She has
been on NPR and local TV, with numerous mentions in local newspapers. Schelly is known for her landscapes and
cityscapes but paints a wide variety of subjects. She is represented by the Red Sky Gallery in Charlotte
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