An art critic write reviews of individual art works or art exhibitions for the general public or for a more specialized audience. His or her articles are then published in newspapers, magazines, academic journals, and on art blogs. Art critics base their judgments on objective and rational elements. To do so they use a four-step method: describing, analyzing, interpreting and evaluating.
Duties of the art critic
One of the art critic’s main duties is to interpret the meaning of works of art. Typically an art critic will attend a cultural event, such as an exhibition, and will then write an article about it in an interesting and engaging way. By doing so, the art critic’s objective is to popularize art to wide audience.
Skills and qualifications of the art critic
Naturally, art critics are well versed in art and art history. Their knowledge as well as their acute sense of observation serve another key skill: their ability to analyze and review piece of arts.
Being curious is essential as it is what drives them to explore new forms of art, meet new artists, attend exhibitions they normally wouldn’t, to keep a fresh point of view.
They should also possess excellent writing skills to accurately express their views.
How to become an art critic?
Earning a master's or even a doctorate in art or art history is great first step towards acquiring the knowledge, the analysis tools and the writing skills to become an art critic.
We recommend people planning to embrace this career to experience art and see as many cultural events as possible and write about it. One on hand, these represent opportunities to expand your horizons and practice your writing. On the other hand, you should seize the opportunity to extend your network.
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