Criticism and Metacrticism in Art Critique: A Conceptual Analysis

The aim of the current study is to clarify different definitions of criticism and metacriticism in art critique. The method of data gathering is descriptive-analytic. The researcher has analyzed different definitions of art criticism from various domains and by adopting a descriptive-analytic approach, the following definitions and functions of criticism became clear: evaluating the advantages or disadvantages of the artwork, evaluating the piece by deduction and induction, or even on the basis of personal taste, translating visual signs to linguistic ones, unveiling the ultimate meaning of a work, decomposing the piece to its elements and analyzing the elements, making a part-whole relationship in search of meaning, regarding the viewers’ expectations, emphasizing on the value of reception, understanding the work of art and interpreting the multiple meanings of the piece. Metacriticism has also different definitions including, explaining the limitations of artistic systems such as visual systems, clarifying the norms, studying criticism, and analyzing methodologies and their pitfalls.