What is criticism of art for?

John says the most important thing criticism can do is find and lift up overlooked good work, and in 2026 he called it essential to making art.

Axis: criticism is for finding and lifting up overlooked good work ... criticism is for judging and exposing what is bad

Positions by date: 6 records in 6 videos. The position was refined (2021, 2024), never reversed, in these records.

John

date	how	position	video
2019-05-07	first on record	The most important thing criticism can do is find and lift up important and beautiful work that might otherwise go unnoticed.	How I Read and Why 00:01:35
2021-05-25	refine	In 175 words a review can tell potential readers far more than any single data point such as a star rating could.	The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated 00:04:43
2021-06-01	refine	There is nothing simple about the book; any attempt to summarize it, or even say what John loves about it, only essentializes the unessentializable.	My Two Favorite Books of the Year 00:03:10
2026-09-22	restate	John says it is almost impossible to review a book without spoiling some facets of it, yet book and art criticism are absolutely essential to the creation of art.	I Want You to Know Nothing About This 00:01:02

date	how	position	video
2020-08-07	first on record	Hank says criticism, from a friend or a Goodreads review, can feel like being told he shouldn't have done the thing, or be taken as the only way he will ever know how to get better: a gift.	Her Finger and Her Thumb in the Shape of an 'L' on Her Forehead 00:03:11
2024-04-19	refine	The description worries that the vital awareness of the world's inequities can turn into refusing to enjoy anything and hyper-vigilance for imperfection, which Hank thinks is not great.	I Closed My Boob in a Door video description