“Dear All
For 1.3 students this week there are silent crits taking place for which the 1.3 cohort are split into two groups.
A silent crit allows you to gain feedback on work without the viewer having any preconceived knowledge or information. The student will share one image/video/piece of work without any additional interpretation or verbal contribution following which there will be time for feedback from everyone present.
During the feedback, the student will be able to keep notes and there will be a short period of time for their response at the end.
You are invited to attend the session that I will be running, to support your peers, gain experience of these types of sessions, and to contribute to the session. Please email me to let me know that you will be attending. The session will begin promptly at 16.30UK time.“
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I attended this session on 16 May not really knowing what to expect. With the 1.3 cohort split into 2 groups, I attended one of the groups of 4 cohort members. I was the only attendee that was not in that cohort, and so really felt like the spotlight was on me, since I was the only person in attendance that had had no prior knowledge or viewing of the artist’s work.
With my issues around social awkwardness, I really struggled with shyness, feeling the pressure (whether perceived or real) that my feedback was of particular interest to each of the artists, since I would be viewing their art afresh, in much the same way as a visitor to a gallery would view it.
In that respect, I felt that the Silent Crits were as tough and vulnerable for the viewers as for the artists themselves! (It also filled me with a sense of dread for when I reach Unit 1.3 and need to go through the same).
The format of the session was that each artist could show up to 3 images of their art, with no commentary and no written explanation about the piece. As viewers, we were given a few minutes to view and write down any notes, including thoughts, feelings, opinions or responses to the work. Thereafter, we would take turns to individually share our feedback.
Whilst we as artists are also consumers of artworks on exhibit, I still feel that we are all somewhat lacking in the correct language to respond to contemporary art – criting artwork is an ever-growing and evolving skill, and I felt that all of us felt that we were in no place to really judge another’s work. I felt vulnerable sharing my feedback in case my responses were incorrect, and I was acutely aware not to offend in any way, whilst at the same time wanting to give very honest feedback that might be of use to the artist.
Having said all that, I’m really pleased that I was afforded the opportunity to attend the session, and also proud of myself that I managed to just suck-it-up when it comes to my social anxieties. I learnt that a new viewer’s response towards your artwork carries almost as much weight as the artist’s intention behind the artwork – i.e. if a viewer cannot access the actual intended meaning behind an artwork, they will draw their own conclusions about the piece, and artists need to be mindful of that.
This ultimately made me want to revisit one of my current paintings entitled ‘Held in Suspension’, trying to view it from a stranger’s eyes, and thinking about what I could add or change to make the message behind it more explicit so that if ever it was to be exhibited without an accompanying text, or that viewers simply didn’t read the accompanying text, that they would still take some understanding of the intent behind the piece.
There have been pure Eureka moments for me on this course, and the silent crit was one of them. Deeply uncomfortable, socially squeamish, uncomfortably vulnerable, but regardless an almost instant exponential deepening of understanding of what it is to be an artist and an art consumer.
Debbie New 