The Critique Handbook: A Sourcebook and Survival Guide

I first came across this book while researching for teaching. It's a great resource for fine art teachers and professors as well as students and art enthusiasts. It helps build constructive, more objective critiques and gives anyone interacting with art a foothold to begin and facilitate dialogue.

Way Cool! Proud to boast about this great project! Kendall Buster and Paula Crawford have tackled a very difficult and taboo subject with wit and wisdon, keen insight and thoughtfulness that transforms the culture of studio art education into a clear discussion of the artistry of creative presentation and all of the thinking, doing, and planning that support it. The authors unravel a mystery for art students to ingest that can only have positive impact on their the work. Artists who are eager for depth, breadth, and better ability to plan and present their ideas to others - this is a must read! The content is completely applicable to all art discipline areas. From painting to sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, design, photography - it cuts across all areas of the visual arts and binds the conceptual with the end product in an engaging discussion of the ways and means of creative evidence, philosophy, and discussion. An excellent required and affordable text for studio classes across the board! Harold Linton, Chair Art & Visual Technology, George Mason University.

I am an adjunct photography professor at a private college. This book was used as a text for a joint workshop on The Critique for the art department of our school and another local college. Given the complexity of the subject matter, this book does a good job of covering the basics of an art school critique. I particularly appreciated the discussion regarding the role of faculty and the personal baggage we sometimes forget we can bring to the party. It's impossible to cover all the possible permutations of The Critique, but this book does a fine job of highlighting the peculiarities of several art disciplines and the details that should be addressed. It gives you a springboard to make the conversion even if your discipline isn't specifically covered. If you teach art or hold critiques in your class, I believe you will find this book very helpful. My only quibble is the type size for my aging eyes. Don't be fooled by the physical size of this book. It may be compact but it makes up for it with density.

This is a well-written, insightful and important manual that every professor, teacher, curator, gallery owner, student and professional artist should have on their bookshelf. It IS extremely expensive, but worth every single dime. There is a million bucks worth of info between its covers! Run and place your order...I'm glad I did!

What a fantastic idea! How is it that something as essential and ubiquitous as the studio critique had not been examined in this way before? This book takes on the task brilliantly. "The Critique Handbook" is a wonderful mixture of how-to manual, theoretical analysis, irreverent debunker and basic gameplan. The authors' analysis of how to make the best use of the critique applies both to those giving the critique as well as to those receiving them. While students will find the book quite useful in learning how to negotiate the critique and find the best uses for the information presented to them there, professors and other professionals will also find much to think about in the authors' analysis of what makes a critique helpful and harmful. And, delightfully, the authors are not afraid to take on the sacred cows of the profession. Any art professor will appreciate the witty and deadly portraits of their colleagues sketched by Buster and Crawford in their analysis of the types that can be found in the artist's studio.