Making Sense of Art: The Relationship between Art Criticism and Theories of Visual Hermeneutics

Many people experience bewilderment when exposed to the range of opinions on offer from a wide range of sources about the meanings of art works. Often these opinions are in conflict with one another, and this can lead to much confusion! The paper recommends an examination of the theories of visual hermeneutics - the interpretation of images - from which basis any particular art criticism stems, because in fact it is impossible to argue for any well-developed, coherent position of art criticism without acknowledging its corresponding theory of interpretation. Three groups of visual hermeneutic theory are identified, related to corresponding positions of art criticism, and discussed in terms of their advantages and disadvantages.