Art Criticism

Explore articles about Art Criticism.

9 articles

9 articles in Art Criticism

12 min read·June 8, 2026

Orientalism in Art: Edward Said and the Western Gaze on the East

Edward Said exposed how Western painters invented a fantasy Orient, exotic, erotic, and passive. Discover how Orientalism shaped 19th-century painting and why it still matters.

Canon Formation: Who Decides Which Artists Get Into the History Books

Art History

11 min read·June 7, 2026

Canon Formation: Who Decides Which Artists Get Into the History Books

Vasari decided who mattered in 1550. The canon he created excluded women, people of color, and non-Western artists for 400 years. Discover who decides what art history remembers.

Deconstruction and Art: How Derrida Changed the Way We See Images

Art History

12 min read·June 6, 2026

Deconstruction and Art: How Derrida Changed the Way We See Images

Derrida said meaning is never fixed, it always defers. Discover how deconstruction changed art criticism, from the parergon to différance, and why it still matters.

The Institutional Theory of Art: If a Museum Shows It, Is It Art?

Art History

12 min read·June 5, 2026

The Institutional Theory of Art: If a Museum Shows It, Is It Art?

Arthur Danto saw Warhol's Brillo Boxes in 1964 and asked: why is this art when the ones in the supermarket aren't? Discover the institutional theory of art.

Semiotics in Art: Signs, Symbols, and How Images Carry Meaning

Art History

12 min read·June 4, 2026

Semiotics in Art: Signs, Symbols, and How Images Carry Meaning

Semiotics says images are signs, and signs carry meaning. Discover how Saussure, Peirce, and Barthes gave us the tools to decode paintings, from icons to indices to symbols.

Marxist Art Criticism: Class, Labor, and Who Art Is Actually For

Art History

13 min read·June 3, 2026

Marxist Art Criticism: Class, Labor, and Who Art Is Actually For

Marx asked why Greek art still moves us if art is just a product of its economic base. Discover how Marxist criticism, from Benjamin to Berger to Clark, answers that question.

Feminist Art Theory: From the Guerrilla Girls to Institutional Critique

Art History

12 min read·June 2, 2026

Feminist Art Theory: From the Guerrilla Girls to Institutional Critique

The Guerrilla Girls wore gorilla masks and called out museum sexism. Discover how feminist art theory went from the Dinner Party to institutional critique, and what changed.

Postmodernism in Art: Everything Is a Reference and Nothing Is Original

Art History

12 min read·June 1, 2026

Postmodernism in Art: Everything Is a Reference and Nothing Is Original

Postmodernism said nothing is original, just references to references. Discover how Sherrie Levine, Cindy Sherman, and Jeff Koons turned appropriation into art, and why it matters.

The Male Gaze in Art: Laura Mulvey and How We Look at Female Subjects

Art History

12 min read·May 31, 2026

The Male Gaze in Art: Laura Mulvey and How We Look at Female Subjects

Laura Mulvey coined "the male gaze" in 1975. Discover how it applies to painting, why John Berger got there first, and how bell hooks changed the conversation with the oppositional gaze.

Art Criticism

Orientalism in Art: Edward Said and the Western Gaze on the East

Canon Formation: Who Decides Which Artists Get Into the History Books

Deconstruction and Art: How Derrida Changed the Way We See Images

The Institutional Theory of Art: If a Museum Shows It, Is It Art?

Semiotics in Art: Signs, Symbols, and How Images Carry Meaning

Marxist Art Criticism: Class, Labor, and Who Art Is Actually For

Feminist Art Theory: From the Guerrilla Girls to Institutional Critique

Postmodernism in Art: Everything Is a Reference and Nothing Is Original

The Male Gaze in Art: Laura Mulvey and How We Look at Female Subjects

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Art Criticism

Orientalism in Art: Edward Said and the Western Gaze on the East

Canon Formation: Who Decides Which Artists Get Into the History Books

Deconstruction and Art: How Derrida Changed the Way We See Images

The Institutional Theory of Art: If a Museum Shows It, Is It Art?

Semiotics in Art: Signs, Symbols, and How Images Carry Meaning

Marxist Art Criticism: Class, Labor, and Who Art Is Actually For

Feminist Art Theory: From the Guerrilla Girls to Institutional Critique

Postmodernism in Art: Everything Is a Reference and Nothing Is Original

The Male Gaze in Art: Laura Mulvey and How We Look at Female Subjects