More-than-critique

<p dir="ltr">This paper addresses the practice of critique. Pushing back on the way critical practices have come down through Kant, it discusses four different ways of engaging critically with art—two that have emerged in recent years and two of the author’s own propositions. The first is Jane Bennett’s enchantment methodology (2001) which aims to engage with art (and other objects) in a way that has us practicing ethical behaviours, not just endorsing them. The second is Rita Felski’s attachment methodology (2020) which calls for a reduction of the relational distance between ourselves and the work we are engaging with. The third is a working methodology which has the viewer constructing a labour-oriented relationship with the work, where the viewer functions as the work’s ‘junior assistant’. The final is a tacktical methodology which involves engaging with artwork primarily with the ear rather than the eye. This approach activates a deep listening attitude one might hold while conversing with a good friend on a walk.</p>