Art education and art criticism: The case of visual arts teacher training institutions in Turkey

When we consider the confusion of values observed in the field of arts today; the ability to assess, make sense of, and convey this confusion accurately is one of the most important problems in art education. One of the effective solutions for this problem is to perform the art criticism course in an accurate manner. The multi-dimensionality of art criticism, the extended boundaries of art with new possibilities of expression, and the diversified methods and approaches of art criticism necessitate a thorough glance at the content and method of this course.Departing from this necessity, this dissertation contains a qualitative research which focuses on to what extent the current conditions in Fine Arts Education Programs (FAEP) in Turkey satisfy the requirements of the art criticism course, to what extent they respond to the mentioned changes, and the necessities that exist other than the current conditions; and a comprehensive literature review that covers art criticism with its various dimensions.In the qualitative section, survey method, which is one of descriptive research methods, was adopted as the research model, and a questionnaire was administered as the data collection tool since this is a nation-wide study and it focused on a large geographical area. The universe of the research consisted of instructors teaching art criticism in FAEP in the 2007-2008 academic year. In the study, a 92% majority of the universe was represented, and by interpreting the findings, suggestions were presented towards the improvement of the art criticism course.In the theoretical section of the research, firstly the concept of criticism was included and the necessity of the critical vision was underlined, and then, the historical development of art criticism in Turkey and in the world was examined and contemporary art criticism and its problems were also addressed. Moreover, by touching upon the types and methods of art criticism, examples of critical approach differences and possibilities in the field of art were provided, and thus, a comprehensive resource for teaching art criticism was formed as a main recommendation for instructors.Some of the conclusions derived from the findings with respect to the research data are as follows; a department or university library having the written or visual resources that can be used in the art criticism course generally exists, however these resources are considered insufficient. It is mostly reported that the technical equipments required for the art criticism course sufficiently exist. According to the majority of instructors, students benefit from these resources at a poor level, and access to exhibition places such as museums, galleries, art centers and biennials are available to a certain extent as part of the course. The idea that the art criticism course should be included in the curricula at least three hours per week and at least two semesters annually becomes prominent. According to most of the instructors, the content of this course is adequate to a certain degree for the artistic development of students and in the context of training art teachers. However, it is considered to be inadequate in terms of the assessment of the contemporary art. It has been found that the instructors determine the pieces they cover in the art criticism course according mostly to their own importance criteria, and then chronologically. The last preference criteria was found to be students' demands. The most preferred method for this course is the presentation of ideas in the form of mutual discussion over the art piece displayed. According to the majority of the instructors, a department or a program at the undergraduate or graduate level is absolutely necessary for the execution of the art criticism course in a more accurate manner in Turkey.Keywords: Fine arts education, art criticism, visual arts, teacher training, art education