1] Choose and consider a painting or poem for a few minutes. Finished? Now try to analyze it clearly, in writing, as completely as possible. Attend to formal construction, symbolism, emotional tone, influences, and effectiveness of the work.
2] Now reconsider the same painting or poem. Has the act of criticism enriched the depth of your perception, or crippled the freedom of your response?
Suggested reading:
"Surrealism and Painting" by Andre Breton
Assignment #1: The Inexpressible
Assignment #5: Etudes: Algorithms of negation, elision, and substitution
Assignment #7: Automatic Writing
shmoetry
abandon prose all ye who enter here