What qualifies anyone to be an arts critic? Do they give themselves the job and on what grounds?

Question

This is really bugging my small brain, thanks for the help people.

Answer 1

I want 2  know that to.and you know it not just art ,s  Cooke's ,historian, although historians must know their history.

Answer 2

i have no idea, i think that about comedians!! who says they are a "comedian"?

Answer 3

Anyone can be an art critic, of course. We do it all the time. "Oh god, that painting is awful." "Oh h**l, look at that building. It's the ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life." "I love that bizarre banana sculpture in the courtyard."

We all do it!

What makes an art critic known is his or her knowledge of all art forms and his disinterest in what looks good or not. No one is saying "All right, everyone, THIS PERSON said that this photograph is pornographic. So now THIS PHOTO is pornography." It's a bit more complicated than that.

Quite simply, an art critic must have a venue. There must be a reason for being a critic. Talking just to hear oneself speak (I'm looking at you, Simon Barnesworth on in the late hours in Exteter) is NOT a reason!

Answer 4

A proper art critic is a  well-studied person. There  is such thing a an art school, you know.

Answer 5

Usually people that do that for a job have a college degree in either literature/writing/journalism or a masters in art of some field.  From that point it's about becoming self important on your own and pimping and writing your opinion out as much as possible,  after all the old phrase.  

"He/She wasn't famous until I read about them in the paper!"

Answer 6

If they can talk a load of bullshit and pretend to understand art then they can be an art critic. Simple as that. It's all in the bullshitting.

Answer 7

An art critic is the latest evolution of the art historian. The difference being, although both traditionally have an accademic or practical grounding in the arts one catalogues and the other analyses.

You have critics that have got to where they are today by contacts and jobs within the bigger art institutions in this country i.e. Normal Rosenthal and the YBAs but then if you look in any broad-sheet the artists are taking over the job of the accedemic critic like Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry! In truth anybody can be an art critic but if you want an art column you have to prove you have an authority on the subject. x

Answer 8

Frankly what some call art i call rubbish, it is basically the story of the Emperor and his clothes, people don't want to differ from others so they will ooohhh and aaaahhh over a pile of rubbish in the middle of a park. As for some paintings my dog can paint better than that. I get the impression anyone can be an arts critic but you will have to be able to agree with the artists that three toilet-rolls piled on top of each other is art. Not my scene.