Feldman Method.pdf - Woodlands Photography Club

Welcome to
Photography Critique
using the
Feldman Method
Todd Marshall-Closson
toddmclosson@gmail.com

The Four Steps of the Feldman
Method of Art Criticism
1. Describe
2. Analyze
3. Interpret
4. Judgement

Step 1: Describe
Describe what you see in the art work. Describe
exactly what you see, in enough detail that your
audience could visualize the artwork from your
words.
Do not use judgments or opinions.

Here are a few things to consider when writing your
DESCRIPTION:
Size
Shape
Texture
Color
Angles
Perspective
Light Source
Media
Form
Space
Artist, Title, Date

Step 2: Analysis
Examine the relationships between the Elements
of Art by
citing the Principles of Design

The Principles of Design
Contrast
Repetition
Unity
Movement
Balance
Emphasis

Contrast
Contrast shows the difference
between the Elements of Art
(Line, Color, Shape, Value,
Form, Space and Texture)

The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599-1600).
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Repetition
Repetition is the use of line,
color, or a motif in more than
one place in the composition

Galconde, 1953 René Magritte

Unity
Unity is the harmony between
all of the visual elements in a
composition.

Blues, 1929, Archibald Motley

Movement
Movement can be the illusion of
motion in the artwork, or the path
the viewer takes starting with the
emphasis.

The Dance, 1910, Henri Matisse

Balance
Balance is the equilibrium of
various elements in the work
of art.

Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, James McNeill
Whistler,1871 - Portrait of the Artist's Mother

Emphasis
Emphasis is given to a
center of interest, which
might be the largest,
brightest, or lightest subject.

The Third of May, 1808: The
Execution of the Defenders of Madrid, Francisco de Goya, 1814.

Questions to ask yourself when
completing an ANALYSIS:
How does the artist visually organize the composition?
What is in the foreground, middleground, background?
How has the picture been arranged?
What colors are used and how have they been arranged?
What shapes are there and how have they been
arranged?
Are there any leading lines and if so, where is your eye
lead,
Is there any use of contrast? If so where?
Is there any use of pattern? If so where?
Is there a sense of space or perspective?
Are there any special techniques employed by the artist?

Step 3: Interpretation
What do you believe was the goal of the
artist?
What message is he/she trying to make?
What was the artist’s intention?
Is there a mood or feeling being
conveyed?
Use research, Description and Analysis
to support your opinions.

Step 4: Judgment
What Aesthetic Classification
does the artwork illustrate?
Support your decision with
Description, Analysis and
Interpretation.

Aesthetic Classification to
reach a Critical Judgment
Feldman identifies and describes three philosophies of art that are
useful for justifying critical judgments
A. Formalism: stresses the importance of the formal qualities and
the visual elements of art
B. Expressivism: stresses the importance of the communication
of ideas and feeling in a convincing and forceful manner
C. Instrumentalism: stresses the importance of the social
intention or utility of the work.

Formalism
1. The formalist critic wants the experience of art to be devoted to contemplation of the
relationships of the parts to the whole in a work of art.
2. Each part should enhance the quality of the parts around it.
3. It should not be possible to change a single element without spoiling the whole work
of art
4. The viewer should feel a unity or wholeness in the work. If you have too much or too
little emotion when you experience the work, it is flawed.
5. The Formalist critic wants pleasure in art to come from the art object itself - the
combinations of sensations from its surfaces, colors, and other visual qualities.
6. Feelings and ideas should depend only on the way the artist shapes his materials.
7. Art that relies on symbols, or on subject matter, or on the viewer’s life-long
experience is rejected by the Formalist critic.
8. The Formalist critic appreciates "art for art’s sake", and feels that no other reason for
creating art is needed or even acceptable.
9. A masterpiece, according to the Formalist critic, is a work of art that has perfect
visual organization and technical execution.

Sky and Water I, M.C. Escher: Woodcut, 1938

Big Self-Portrait, Chuck Close 1967-1968

Expressivism
1. The Expressivist critic is interested in the depth and intensity of the experience one has
when looking at art.
2. An excellent work of art could be ugly.
3. The Expressivist critic believes that the formal and technical organization of the work
has to be good, otherwise it would not be able to affect his or her feelings.
4. The Expressivist critic has two basic rules for judging excellence: a. that the best work
has the greatest power to arouse the viewer’s emotions b. that the best work
communicates ideas of major significance
5. Art should look and feel as if it is based on reality, not other works of art.
6. Great art should not look calculated. It should seem to be the inevitable result of what
an artist has seen or felt deeply.
7. The Expressive critic believes that art should make everyday life more meaningful and
profound.
8. What matters is the artist’s ability to make the viewer believe in what the viewer sees in
the work. The viewer must experience an emotion before the viewer can believe that
the artist also felt and expressed it. The genuineness or actuality of the artist’s
emotions does not matter and often cannot be determined.

The Old Guitarist, Pablo Picasso, 1903

The Tragedy, Pablo Picasso, 1903

Poverty, Kathe Kollwitz, 1893-4

Instrumentalism
1. The Instrumentalist critic believes that art should serve purposes that have
been determined by persistent human needs working through powerful social
institutions. Art should serve the interests of the church, the state, business or
politics.
2. Art is at its best when it helps to advance some cause that will, presumably,
advance the interests of humanity.
3. Art that depends on art or grows out of art is inferior, self-serving, and/or
decadent.
4. The excellence of a work of art is measured by its capacity to change human
behavior in public and visible ways. For example, great political art results in
greater allegiance to the party. Great religious art inspires faith.
5. The technical and imaginative gifts of the artist need to be organized by an
idea that is greater or more important than the private emotions of the artist.
]6. The Instrumentalist critic believes that, if the meaning of the work is good and
is expressed through perfect organized form, then the work is a masterpiece.
The phrase perfectly organized forms means the closest possible connection
between the appearance and the social intention of the work.

Guernica, Pablo Picasso 1937

The Lovers, Rene Magritte, 1928

Judgment
I think the art work is (Instrumental, Expressive
or Formal) because….
Include the definition for your Aesthetic
Classification in your explanation.
Justify your opinion with what you see.
I think the work was/was not successful
because…
Justify your opinion based on what you think the
artist’s goals were.

A final word of advice:
Do not start the examination of a work of art by asking whether it meets your
criteria for excellence. That is the last question you should ask.
Begin with identification and description.
Work your way through Description, Analysis and Interpretation.
By then you will know which type of Aesthetic Classification (philosophy of
art) is most appropriate for the work you are examining. It is better to use
these philosophies interchangeably, according to the character of the art
object, rather than to stick rigidly to one philosophy alone and thus lose the
opportunity to discover some excellence the work may have. The goal of
art criticism is not necessarily to demonstrate how consistent you are in
your final judgments The real goal is to increase the range of ideas, values,
and satisfactions you get from art.

Migrant Mother, Dorothea Lange 1936

Lunchtime atop a Skyscraper, Charles Ebbets, 1932

Pepper,
Edward Weston, 1930

Raising of the Flag at Iwo Jima, Ira Hayes, 1945