I can be a little defensive when it comes to critique.
At my current job, critique is a necessary and central part of my job, but it's usually self-induced rather than other-induced. I've had jobs in the past, though, where the critique - while accurate - was so moving and disconnected that it proved entirely worthless, and having spent teenage years being compared to inaccurate and insulting descriptions of my mother (inaccurate twice over, as my mother and I have different natures, and their opinion of my mother was also inaccurate), I have sensitive nerves to misplaced and cruel critique. The gentle and loving critique of my current job is a soothing balm, but the sensitivities remain.
( More Single Frame Stories here. )
Aww I'm sorry to hear you've had to deal with such criticism!
ReplyDeleteI really feel that unasked for critique is, frankly, rude (and I am guilty of giving it, so not claiming to be a saint here), and that criticism should be the sole responsibility of the asker - that is to say, it is the receiver's responsibility to *ask* for critique, not the critic's to give it uninvited.
Its life, you know? I think everyone has their pains, and mine are smaller than most.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the fence about giving critique. I think sometimes unasked for critique is the greatest way to grow - but I think often critique is less about improving the item critiqued and more about the pleasure of finding flaws and breaking down a creation. Being able to love something and still carve it out is a difficult skill to learn; it's all too easy to slash and burn.