The article talks about what criticism is, why it is needed, what it happens and what it takes to become a critic.
Creativity and discussion
Even in ancient times, when our ancestors didn’t really look like people, among them were those who were attracted to everything unusual and strange, for example, music and drawings. With the cave art, everything is clear, although to this day there are not as many of them as we would like, but primitive musical instruments made a splash when they were found.
In fact, all highly developed creatures with high (by the standards of the animal world) intelligence love and recognize creativity with art. For example, dolphins and elephants can draw, and the latter even recreate some pictures of their life that they saw many years ago.
Art, as such, is closely related to the development of society and, in general, the formation of man as a person. It has long been proven that without it, the normal development of civilization is impossible. And an integral part of art is its criticism. So what is criticism, why is it needed and what happens? This we will understand.
Definition
Among people there were always those who were attracted by art of any kind, and they sought to create something special, unique, and later share it with others. So there were wandering singers and poets, their legends were remembered and passed from mouth to mouth. The same thing with artists, writers and others. But any activity of this kind cannot be ideal. So what is criticism? This discussion of the work as a result of which his assessment is made, the strengths and weaknesses are revealed, the message that it bears, its prospects and value for both contemporaries and descendants are examined.
In the process of criticism, the value of the work is also sorted out, if the theme of criticism is something other than a picture, poetry or song, then such a phenomenon helps to find the correct point of view, or the one closest to it. So criticism can be applied not only in art. For example, scientific hypotheses and assumptions are necessarily criticized. So now we know what criticism is. But what kinds of it are?
Good and bad
Roughly speaking, there is good - constructive, and bad criticism. In the first case, her judgments are based on an impartial analysis of the material when a person or group of people in the process of discussing a work of art, scientific theory and other things is based on facts, messages and actions, rather than a personal relation to the author. Simply put, good criticism is one that carries a constructive discussion, indicating errors, shortcomings and minuses, and all this, regardless of the personal relationship to the author or group of authors.
Well, if we talk about criticism is bad, then everything is exactly the opposite - it does not carry anything sound in itself, the claims have no clear justification, it strongly depends on the personal attitude to the author. By the way, a bad criticism may be one that simply praises a work or something else, without justifying positive assessments.
Meaning
What is the essence of criticism? Without discussion, evaluation and analysis, any creator, author or scientist will not be able to adequately develop. Sooner or later he will either fall ill with megalomania, or, conversely, will become discouraged by the fact that no one even discusses the fruits of his labors.
In science, criticism is simply necessary, usually theories and hypotheses are developed further only if they withstand the initial constructive criticism.
History of criticism
Criticism as such has always existed, but perhaps it has become most famous in Ancient Greece and Rome, where there were many talented poets, sculptors, artists and scientists. But still it is worth remembering - sometimes criticism is harmful, especially if it is given by a person who does not understand anything in this matter. But is it true that before you start to criticize or criticize someone, you need to understand the topic in detail?
Yes and no. On the one hand, a person is not required to be able to write poetry in order to appreciate someone’s creation, the same with songs and other tales.
But on the other hand, if a person begins to criticize the technique of painting, the design of the building or the proportions of the sculpture, it is useful for him to get at least some idea of these processes.
Criticizing is always much easier than creating. And by the way, few people criticize, for example, Einstein's general theory of relativity, or the assumptions about the origin of the ancient hurricane on Jupiter, because for this you need to understand what you are talking about.
Some take criticism negatively, considering them simply crooks who profit from other people's works, and such cases sometimes happen in reality. And some critics specifically provoke authors to quarrels, fights and scandals.
So, now we know what criticism is, why it is needed, and what happens.