"It is the artist, not the critic,* who gives society something of lasting value."*a person who evaluates works of art, such as novels, films, music, paintings, etc.
Art sometimes could be too abstruse to be properly appreciated by the populace. Therefore, it the critic, by virtue of their expertise and experience in art appreciation, who reveal aesthetic value of artistic work which otherwise would be ignored or even misinterpreted by the public. Similarly, critics play significant roles in enlightening somewhat benighted audiences and guide them to applaud and acclaim the essence of work beyond the intimidating expressive propensity of the artists.
Critics' work resembles that of the magnifier, revealing the most delicate traits of precious works, which otherwise would be too infinitesimal to be descried by the public. Without critics, works by writers of stream-of-consciousness such as Proust and Virginia Woolf would appear too distracting and incoherent to be appreciated. Similarly, Metamorphosis by Kafka or Loretta by Nabokov would be discarded because of the unconventional theme that the writers chose. Furthermore, Emily Dickenson's poetry would be disdainfully treated as idiosyncratic treatment of the mundane daily life and therefore appear not remarkable in their artistic value.
Critics' work is similar to that of the tools used by archeologists, disinterring and clearing the mantles covering the priceless items, which otherwise would appear too hazy and obscure to be appreciated. Movies digging out deep themes, without critics, would appear insignificant and might have been discarded as scraps of doodles or works needs expurgating. Were it not for the academia, movies such as Forest Gump that depicts individual life against backdrop of social changes would not receive the acclaim that it deserved when competing with more commercialized ones dealing with more exciting themes like Avatar or the pop fictions on vampires.
What is more, critics help demystify works of art by explaining and interpreting the idiosyncratic propensities of the artists and therefore assist the audience to reach the essence of the artistic work belonging to special genres. The surrealistic paintings by Miro, to a less art-cultivated audience might appear too cryptic to appreciate the delicate beauty. Similarly, the allusions and allegories replete in T.S. Eliot's acclaimed The Wasteland only become accessible with aide from critics' interpretation and explanation.
Still, since art is frequently applied to fulfill political, religious, or didactic functions, critics of art play an irreplaceable role in clearing the appendix roles assigned by people or group and treating art for the sake of aesthetics. For instance, the religious paintings from Middle Ages would only intensify the religious piety when appreciated by a Christian audience. The introductory and critique works produced by critics, nevertheless, would occasionally divert the audience attention to the truly aesthetic value of these paintings.
Despite all the noteworthy work associated with critics, it is still the artists who create works of art that endow lasting values to the work. The sculpture David by Michelangelo, without critics appreciation and remarks, stands equally as glorious as beautiful it is. Similarly, the sunflower paintings by Van Gogh seldom fail to instill within even the lowbrow audience a sense of beauty and enthusiasm. What is more, some critics, motivated by the ulterior idea of striking the public's attention, would unfairly idolatrize or lampoons artistic works. Likewise, there are always dilettantes dabbling in art proclaiming to be critics that mislead the audiences on the value of arts. Whatever the case is, we should be wary of the pompous comments given by such critics.
In short, critics are fulfilling important functions in assisting the populace to appreciate the value of art. They highlight delicate points in the work which otherwise would be discarded as trivia, they enlighten the audience through the interpretation work so that they could reappraise the pieces of work and reach a sense of Eureka, and they even help the public construe their own understanding by instilling a sense of grandeur while appreciating the art. Next time when appreciating a piece of artwork, it is advisable to resort to some critics ideas but meanwhile keeping it in mind that even without gauges and modern measuring instrument, the height of Mount Everest would never be ignored by people. Artworks with lasting view are such silent manmade marvels.
I think you have a typo here:
Therefore, it the critic, ...
Oh.. wait, no, you are missing "is." It is the critic who, by virtue...
reveals the aesthetic value of ..
Emily Dickenson's poetry would be disdainfully treated as idiosyncratic treatment of the mundane daily life and therefore appear not remarkable in their artistic value.---yeah, good point! So... the art critic can help the ordinary viewer/reader to appreciate the art. I think that is true.
Is an apostrophe missing here?
...it is advisable to resort to some critics ideas ...
...but meanwhile to keep in mind that ...
:-)
Great job! You write so well, I kept googling to see if you were a student who copied from a professional journal Very, very eloquent.
Trillions of thanks to you, Kevin. ;-)
Guess I'd type your remarks out so that I can feel the encouragement from a friendly stranger...;-) (Don't know if this is culturally proper, but your words made my day). And you know what, writing doesn't seem so gruesome a task for a while, or does it?
