Varieties of criticism
Open-knowledge reference entry
There are many varieties of criticism. This article describes common types that occur regularly in everyday life. For other criteria that classify criticisms, see Criticism § Classifications. For more subject-specific information, see the pages on topics such as art, film, literature, theatre, or architecture.
Aesthetic criticism
Aesthetic criticism is a part of aesthetics concerned with critically judging beauty and ugliness, tastefulness and tastelessness, style and fashion, meaning and quality of design—and issues of human sentiment and affect (the evoking of pleasure and pain, likes and dislikes). Most parts of human life have an aesthetic dimension, which means there is plenty potential for criticism. Often architecture criticism is considered the highest form of aesthetic criticism, because architecture combines art, science and technology to build a pleasing home environment, a "living space" that people must inhabit everyday, more or less permanently.
An aesthetic critic however does not simply say "it's beautiful" or "it's ugly." Instead, the aim is to explain the meaning of a work of art, why something is beautiful or ugly, or how the meaning of a design should be interpreted, the stronger and weaker sides of a cultural object, etc. For this purpose, aesthetic critics have a toolkit of criteria they can use in their commentary. These criteria include such things as:
The motive behind creative activity
Total context within which creative activity occurred
Techniques or physical forces used to create the aesthetic effect
Values, sentiments, interests, needs or ideals that a phenomenon communicates
Relationship of an object of criticism to associated objects, themes, traditions, or genres
Interaction between observer and observed, and the overall effect
Function the object of the criticism fulfills
Using these kinds of criteria, which usually assume extensive relevant knowledge, aesthetic critics can inform their audience about the achievements and limitations of the object of aesthetic criticism.
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