The art critic is one of the most sought after persons in this creative field. For one, its always good to have someone to bounce your ideas on, gain qualified feedback or just for pre-sharing. On the other hand, critics sometimes reflect the views of the public or potential client, and at times act as a yardstick to measure the presented work against standards that he/she should be well familiar with. This career choice is a matter of skill – albeit trained skill. The critic must be knowledgeable of elements such as the techniques, language, style, perspective, perception. At the same time he/she must be able to see as the artists, and beyond the artist, to make sound and balanced judgement, after accurate interpretations. In the end benefiting artists, whether performing of visual benefit and garner great financial rewards. In brief critiquing art calls for four stages – description, interpretation, analysing, evaluation (Details here).

TYPES OF ART CRITICS:

Journalistic art critics write for newspapers or magazines and report on current art exhibits, galleries, or artists in their area.

Scholarly art critics write for art journals, universities and other professional art organizations.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Having a degree is the easiest and quickest way to land a job, especially if you have experience. The best degree to have is Master’s and/or doctoral degree in art or art history

It sure makes a difference in some companies with the pay scale.

However, some of the best art critics are those who have had hands on experience as an artist, formal training and experience in journalism. Some effective critics have even had hands on training with galleries. someone with six years solid experience could have the same or better knowledge than someone with a first degree for example.

SALARY:

In 2015, a study reveals that the median salary is US$36,360.

Some art critics make even US$25.40/ hour

MOVIE CRITICS can make far more, some even more than US$100,000..

See more links:.

Read here for reference on movie critics

Further Reading here