In a recent poll of practicing art critics 75 percent reported thatrendering judgments on artworks was the least significant aspect of their job.This is a troub... » 

In a recent poll of practicing art critics 75 percent reported thatrendering judgments on artworks was the least significant aspect of their job.This is a troubling statistic for philosopher and critic Noel Carroll whoargues that that the proper task of the critic is not simply to describe or touncover hidden meanings or agendas but instead to determine what is of valuein art.Carroll argues for a humanistic conception of criticism which focuses onwhat the artist has achieved by creating or performing the work. Whilst a goodcritic should not neglect to contextualize and offer interpretations of a workof art he argues that too much recent criticism has ignored the fundamentalrole of the artists intentions.Including examples from visual performance and literary arts and the workof contemporary critics Carroll provides a charming erudite and persuasiveargument that evaluation of art is an indispensable part of the conversation oflife. «