We are closing out the course on the criticism of art and the way these critics come to the conclusions they have in there critiques on art. This post will cover the two videos that I chose to watch from the selection that was offered. Both actually co-featured the social historian T.J. Clark and originally I only picked the one because I had to chose one with T.J. Clark but then I picked a second to hear more on his views and form of questioning. Clark used a very philosophical way of describing pieces and even showed no problem in questioning a peers view on a similar topic all the while keeping the conversation cordial and professional.
Greenberg on Art Criticism: An Interview by T. J. Clark
I think the focus of this video showed how a critic tries to be impartial when reviewing a piece and tries not to mix personal taste with the review. The review of art for arts sake is a questionable method and hard to prove an opinion is being made without the influence of your personal taste. What also seems to come to lite is how critical a critic is on there own work. Greenberg constantly referred to his past work a too judgmental and controversial. It is almost like time allows the critic to open up more and start to broaden the view by which they see art as art.
This interview had very strong relevance to art criticism and my up coming art project that is geared to directly critique a peers art exhibit. The interview really covered how Greenberg tried to describe and relate a piece of art to the people. This self interpretation will always come with some push back from somewhere in the community but getting the opinion out there and allowing others to see a side they may not have encountered when they fist saw the piece is what adds to the success of the critic.
I enjoyed the video and really wanted to hear the rant that must have followed after Greenberg literally started to grill Clark on the young people and their need for information. When he called for cut, I thought it was a joke but it left me hanging.
Jackson Pollock: Michael Fried and T. J. Clark in Conversation
This video really centered around the difference in verbiage and lingo with regards to the description of a piece. Though Fried and Clark both had similar views on the works of Pollock, the way in which they got there differed quite a bit. Even the bit on the use of the word "master" of modern art was interesting to hear.
Here we had a direct tie into the world of art criticism and how people can agree on a concept but disagree on how that concept is derived. The idea is almost political in nature. How both sides want the same thing and agree about the good but completely disagree on how to arrive at the same goal. I will use this critical appraoch im my reviews as well and try to be impartial but expect that some will disagree with my interpretation of the work but may come to the same conclusions.
The conversation between Fried and Clark almost requires a dictionary handy to make sure you are following the ideas and concepts that flow from their mouths as they speak to the qualities of the paintings of Pollock. I think that alone made me enjoy the video. The level of intellect they brought to their arguments where carefully chosen and never aimed to assault the other person. It was well done and I would have liked to have been a part of the conversation had I actually been present.
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