Posted at 6:00 a.m.
End the monopoly
With social networks and online listening platforms, journalists and critics have competition to introduce artists, works to the public or report on a cultural event. “There is greater public action on the notoriety, visibility and durability of a work”, underlines Christelle Proulx, doctoral student in art history who is interested in digital culture. “Algorithms are now part of cultural prescribers,” she adds. Not only does the public actively participate in the critical discourse, critics are also more…criticized! “Everyone has an opinion, so criticism must be more than just an opinion to have value”, underlines Catherine Voyer-Léger, author of the essay. Critical profession: for a vitality of cultural criticism. “There is no diploma to become a critic. It comes with experience. »
A reduced impact
Does a good review have as much impact on a movie’s box office or book sales as it once did? Catherine Voyer-Léger emphasizes that studies struggle to measure the impact of good criticism and that this differs from one art to another. Martin Véronneau, president of Local9, a radio promotion and press relations agency, also considers that the days when a bad review could destroy a career are over. Criticism nevertheless remains an important guarantee of credibility. “If I write a TV show, I want Hugo Dumas to like it,” he illustrates.
A new role
There are now more records, books, TV shows and movies coming out than ever before. In such a context, the role of the critic is more and more similar to that of a “curator”: one listens, reads, looks, sorts and invites us to pay attention to this rather than that. Saying why. Which explains why there are fewer negative reviews: why give space to an average thing done by an unknown artist rather than a project worth discovering? We cannot miss the stars, on the other hand: good or less good, we have to talk about it.
Fire the snobbery
There are critics who believe they can make a sound judgment on everything. Who are contemptuous and boast of having understood this complicated film which ends – so to speak – with an open end… Snobbism, for Danick Trottier, refers to a form of criticism which defends a tradition or an ideal and is still present among some purists, whether they speak of punk or classical music. “Today’s critics are much more guides than protectors of a tradition,” he says. They set benchmarks. As a critic, one also admits that objectivity does not exist. That one criticizes with his cultural references, his sensibility and his preferences. A little humility doesn’t make for worse reviews. Catherine Voyer-Léger also remarks that the tone of criticism has changed. “Culture is no longer consumed as before and there is no longer a single critical authority,” she notes. There is a relativism in relation to cultural tastes. I don’t think a show like The CD Graveyard could exist today. […] We can no longer approach the arts with a firm, non-negotiable posture of what a successful aesthetic is. »
The city is no longer proof of everything
Whether we are talking about catering, lifestyle or cultural offer, cities and regions are less in opposition than they used to be. It would be unimaginable today to speak of “regional music” to describe that of a group or an artist. This was however the case at a certain time with La Chicane or Noir Silence, for example. Another rather bygone phenomenon is that of the great “Montréal back-to-school”. “My hypothesis is that there has been a great development of regional artistic centers for 15 years. This comes with an open mind and a decompartmentalization,” emphasizes Catherine Voyer-Léger. Martin Véronneau, president of a radio promotion and press relations agency (for 2Frères and Taktika, in particular), nevertheless observes that a certain divide remains in certain musical genres. “But it’s not true that it’s so different,” he concedes.
Genres take over
In his book The classic pops!, musicologist Danick Trottier is interested in “musical plurality” and the “decompartmentalization of genres” accelerated by the digital shift. In 2022, a young music lover can listen to both rap, rock or symphonic pop in a single day. In this context, music categories are becoming more and more “obsolete,” writes the UQAM professor. Nevertheless, he emphasizes that language is essential for naming, qualifying or classifying music. Journalists must be able to situate the public, but they can no longer oppose so-called classical and popular music as frankly as in the past. For critics, it is therefore a challenge to cast a wider net, especially since there are now a multitude of blogs and specialized websites. On the other hand, the “generalists” have an overview. “This general vision is important because it allows you to put things into context and compare them, judge Danick Trottier. In specialized sites, the view is often limited to a single domain. »
The artists, our “friends”?
The world is small. Quebec’s cultural milieu is even more so. Hence this impression of closeness between cultural journalists and artists. Finding yourself face to face with a person whose work has been severely criticized is not unusual in Quebec. Nor pleasant, both for the critic and for the criticized. Which does not prevent us from saying what we think. “I feel as much enthusiasm as reserve. I don’t feel that the work of criticism is affected”, says Danick Trottier, even if he perceives that this can be the case when a medium is linked – by its owner, for example – to a cultural production or its distribution. . The nuance is perhaps that when it comes to Quebec creators, critics are generally careful not to go into show criticism. Demolishing an artist to draw attention to oneself is indeed not very glorious. “A posed criticism takes into consideration the consequences of its remarks, the way in which it will be received. Not only by the artist, but also by the public”, specifies the musicologist.
And the future?
Catherine Voyer-Léger considers that cultural journalism is undergoing a major transformation. If we are no longer in the golden age of criticism with large sets like that of The gang of six, she explains, criticism is fragmented and takes other forms, whether with podcasts or cultural reviews. The #metoo movement has also fueled the whole debate about whether to separate the author’s work. “We are no longer in the discourse of art for art without moral discourse,” she explains. Today, it is also questioned whether a white cis man has the right posture to criticize a feminist work by a black woman. With the arrival of digital technology and the Internet, the power to define what is called legitimate art has changed, adds Christelle Proulx, doctoral student in art history who is leading a research project on the question in visual arts. But criticism must keep its place. “It is important that there is this voice of expertise that remains. »