Feldman has made art criticism easy to understand for the student and non-student layperson alike. Throughout the book he uses clear examples from established art works to ilustrate the ideas used in identifying what is art through the use of one's perception. The book is clearly divided into logically linked chapters. The last half of the book can be used as an outline to clearly write one's own criticism, and, with a little work, construct a criticism comparing any two artworks from any media. This is a "must have" book for any graphic or performing artist.

This was one of the most useful books on art criticism that I have come across. One of my concerns as an art education student is the question of how to critique works of art, and furthermore, what methods may be used to pass on this knowledge to my future students? This book, since it was written for practical purposes to be used by art critics, artists, educators, and students alike, supplies its reader with very valuable information regarding the concept of art criticism, the various types of critical review, how criticism is used and applied, and the various "problems" and issues involved in art criticism. Feldman was able to make the issue of criticism easier for his reader to understand, through his use of examples of established artwork, illustrating his thoughts and ideas with easy-to-understand language, and identifying what is perceived in each work of art using various methods of interpretation. Through a variety of ways, Feldman instructed his reader as to how to interpret, judge, and defend their criticism.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable and relatively easy read. I would highly suggest this book for anyone interested in understanding works of art -especially teachers and students. The illustrative examples and explanatory writings relate to the art world of today, but also aids us in our understanding of how to interpret art of the past. In combination with other art criticism books, it is my belief that anyone may learn to interpret, judge, and defend their art and art criticism. Edmund Feldman is a wonderful author and teacher; able to guide his audience through the complex issues surrounding art and its criticism.

This is a VERY basic introduction. It is a large book and has a large number of beautiful color pics of the artwork, but when it comes to learning about art in my opinion this book is on a high-school level. This book introduces very general concepts of art history.