Art Criticism Terms

noun a word that functions as the name of a specific object, person, place, or concept

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence

adverb a word that modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence

• I would like to point out that there are several errors in the report.
• Just wanted to point out that the meeting has been rescheduled.
• I gotta point out that the new restaurant in town is lit!
• She always knows how to point out the silver lining in every situation.

adjective prepossessed is an adjective that means to be already biased or inclined towards a particular opinion or feeling

• She was prepossessed with the idea of starting her own business.
• I'm prepossessed with the new video game that just came out.
• I'm totally prepossessed with that new song.
• His mind was prepossessed with thoughts of revenge.

adjective Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.

• The art critic dismissed the painting as pretentious and lacking in genuine emotion.
• She always talks about her expensive taste in wine, but I think it's just pretentious.
• Why is he always acting so pretentious around us?
• His pretentious attitude was like a thick fog, obscuring any genuine connection we could have had.

adjective of, belonging to, or characteristic of a high or exclusive social class; lofty and refined; esoteric or difficult to understand

• The rarefied air at the top of the mountain made it difficult to breathe.
• Only a few people have access to that rarefied level of society.
• Getting into that exclusive club is like entering a rarefied world.
• The artist's work exists in a rarefied realm of creativity.

noun a false, absurd, or distorted representation of something

• The mishandling of evidence in the court case was a travesty of justice.
• The way they treated their employees was a total travesty.
• The party getting canceled at the last minute was a real travesty.
• Losing the championship game felt like a travesty after all the hard work we put in.

adjective not alike; different

adverb in a way that shows differences or dissimilarities

• The two siblings were unalike in every way, from their appearance to their personalities.
• My two best friends are totally unalike - one is outgoing and the other is shy.
• Those two cars are unalike, one is a sleek sports car and the other is a clunky old sedan.
• Their opinions were unalike, like two ships passing in the night, never quite meeting in agreement.

noun a group of early 20th-century Russian poets who advocated for clarity, simplicity, and precision in poetry

• The Acmeists were a group of Russian poets in the early 20th century who focused on clarity and precision in their poetry.
• Have you heard of the Acmeists? They were a cool group of poets back in the day.
• The Acmeists were like the OG poetry squad, keeping it real with their words.
• Just like the Acmeists aimed for perfection in their poetry, we should strive for excellence in everything we do.

noun Aesthetic distance

• In order to fully appreciate the artwork, one must maintain an aesthetic distance to objectively analyze its composition.
• If you want to really get the beauty of the painting, you gotta step back and look at it from a distance.
• To really vibe with the art piece, you gotta keep your cool and not get too close, ya know?
• Sometimes it's necessary to create an aesthetic distance between yourself and a situation in order to see it more clearly.