ISSUE144【DIES IN FLAMES 0910G长线突破组】By jessicalulu

jessicaluluUID：2471730

Throughout the history of human being, numerous accomplishments in fields of science, politics, technology, and so on have greatly promoted development of the society. As time goes on, most of the brilliance of them wore away, however, the art, like a star hanging in the sky, gives the society eternal brightness and comforts the spirit of people who have resonance with it. As to the controversy that either the artist or the critic gives society something of lasting value, I would prefer the former, who gives birth to art, while the critic just acts the subordinate role.

At the very beginning, I admit that the functions of the art critic cannot be overlooked. Generally, there are three main aspects: (1) to give the opportunity for ordinary people to know about art and help them further understand it；(2) To filter large amount of artworks in order to pick out the most outstanding ones ;( 3) to construct a criterion among both the artists and common persons. In deed, all of the three functions not only encourage artists to create better works, but also open the doors for the mass to appreciate the art. Nevertheless, the criticism does not always bring positive effects. Three following reasons can illustrate my contestation:

First of all, unlike the objective subjects such as mathematics, physics and chemistry, art possesses the particularity of being subjective. There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes. So, inevitably, when critics try to translate and transmit the information of the art, they may upgrade the ones they favor and degrade the ones they have no interest in, thus harming the value it deserves. Hence, the real value of the art should not be determined only by the critic, but by people whoever has interest in them, with their own eyes, ears and minds. Otherwise, we may miss the most precious treasure that the artist gives to our society.

Further more, the criticism made by critics can be affected by the prevalence of a certain time, their religions and the fancy of upper-class people. Accordingly, some criticisms are unfair to both the art and the artists who devoted themselves to create it. William Shakespeare, an eagle standing on the summit of the mountain of Renaissance, where no one can stand with him side by side, was recognized as the greatest litterateur in literature history. Ironically, he had to earn a living in his early age by acting as a clown, as a result of being debased by a critic for his plays not obeying the classical rules. Compared to Shakespeare respected by his contemporaries ultimately, Van Gogh, was not a child of fortune, who lived a miserable life in his lifetime, with only one of his paintings sold out before death, whose paintings although priceless nowadays, were evaluated worthless by the critics, those who gone with the stream. Accordingly, if the mass trust in the critic blindly, they may even sentence the genius to death unintentionally.

Last but not least, criterions set by the critic confine the expression of artist to some extent. Let’s take Goethe, an insightful poet, dramatist, novelist and as well a philosopher, for example. Affected by French Revolution, Goethe was awarded of progressive ideas; however, yielding to the criterion of that time, he failed to express his spirits and thoughts even in his epoch-making epic --“Faust”, which integrated the achievements of neoclassicism, didacticism and romantism. Instead, his shilly-shally was exposed entirely. While looking into the miniatures of Turkey, it was surprising and unimaginable to find that the most respectable painters who painted for the monarch strictly conformed to the only criterion that set various restrictions. What's more ,they even felt proud of their deficiency in characteristics，and regarded personal style as blemish! Such beautiful decorations were nothing of lasting value，but just simple imitations and copies, though extremely precise.

To sum up, while the critic helps people accept and appreciate art, the artist contributes to the society the true invaluable and priceless treasure, which can reflect the fact to the contemporaries, record the history for the posterities. It would be dangerous and harmful to believe in the critics thoroughly, since they can build a bridge between artists and the mass friendly as well as they can lead to a branch road on purpose.

终于写完了哈，嘻嘻，借鉴了范文的，不过感觉还是要比第一篇I143好一点了，就是速度还是一样得慢。。。交啦交啦～