How Do Art Critics Critique? A Move Analysis of Art Reviews Written by Professional Writers
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Abstract
The art review is a genre that describes the artwork under discussion, educates its readers, as well as interprets and evaluates the work. It is a genre that plays a crucial role in the art community as it publicizes art, promotes artists, educates the public and enhances their appreciation of art. This study investigates this underexplored genre through the move analysis of a 67,807-word corpus of 70 art review texts collected from online art magazines and online newspapers containing an art review section. The study reveals seven moves and seven steps found in the art reviews in the corpus: heading (Move 1), describing the work (Move 2), providing external information (Move 3), providing the artist’s background (Step 3.1), providing general knowledge (Step 3.2), discussing a past event that influences the work (Step 3.3), mentioning quotes (Step 3.4), mentioning other reviews (Step 3.5), interpreting the work (Move 4), judging the work (Move 5), providing evaluative comments (Step 5.1), recommending or disrecommending the work (Step 5.2), expressing general opinions and thoughts (Move 6), and sharing the writer’s personal experience (Move 7). The results also show no common move patterns, indicating that the genre allows fluidity and creativity in structuring the content.
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