authenticity in criticism

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Authenticity in Criticism The role and influence of the critic in disciplines opens up interesting debate and is rather hard to define directly. Multiple texts read throughout the semester address the issue of authorship authenticity. The always scrutinized but always-present position of the critic in architecture discourse is what the questions asked in this paper attempt to address. Does the critic within the discipline of contemporary architecture gain a stake of authorship in the projects he/she critiques? And if so, how can the critic, and the critic’s authorship be considered authentic?

To first understand the critiques role within Architecture (or other disciplines) lets refer to Dave Hickey’s “Air Guitar” text. “People despise critics because people despise weakness, and criticism is the weakest thing you can do in writing. It is the written equivalent of air guitar—flurries of silent, sympathetic gestures with nothing at their heart but the memory of the music. It produces no knowledge, states no facts, and never stands alone. It neither saves the things we love (as we would wish them saved) nor ruins the things we hate.” “Air Guitar” Dave Hickey


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authenticity in criticism by Homayoun Ismael Zaryouni - Issuu