The Critics
Encyclopedia
The Critics are the main characters of a long-running cartoon
of the same name in the British
comic Viz. It was created and is illustrated by John Fardell
.
They are Natasha and Crispin Critic, two high brow art critics from London
. They work for The Sunday Chronicle, though they have done freelance work with the BBC
and Channel 4
, writing elitist and sometimes sycophantic articles on contemporary art. However they're very damning of pop culture and popular art as "tat".
The strip itself is, like much of Fardell's work for Viz, a satire on the fashionably solipsist, pseudo-liberal middle classes and their attitudes. He depicts Natasha and Crispin as shallow, sycophantic, elitist, snobbish and hypocritical people who live and work in a cliquish social circle. Although a couple rather than siblings (a flashback sequence in one episode shows them being born to different mothers) Crispin and Natasha do look somewhat alike, giving the impression that they may be related and that their elitist circle is at least metaphorically incestuous. (Nepotism also features in at least one episode, with Crispin giving his nephew a lucrative helping hand during a search for supposedly fresh new talent.)
Their sharklike profiles could be an allusion to the predatory nature of journalism and arts criticism, as some sharks (like tabloid hacks) are predatory themselves. Despite this, they are very snobbish, and though they practically drool over gritty and cutting-edge art that is in touch with the working classes, they loathe the working classes themselves. In fact, they have little knowledge of what is outside London, once describing the North of England
as "That place we fly over on the way to the Edinburgh Festival
."
The artists they admire are all fictional, but are clearly inspired by real-life artists such as Damien Hirst
and Tracey Emin
. A frequent plot device involves Natasha and Crispin mistaking some everyday object - like a fire extinguisher
, puddle of vomit or even some public toilets - as a piece of modern art. In other episodes, they don't grasp the concept of art at all - once, they viewed an artist create artwork with conventional methods like drawing and painting, and marvel that it is something they have never seen before.
The pair have died frequently, usually thanks to their habit of reviewing the works of a reformed-violent-criminal-turned-artist, giving tactless negative reviews and then coming to a brutal end at the hands of the artist in question. They are invariably automatically resurrected in time for the next episode, although once they did actually make it to heaven
, where they proceeded to deride the pearly gates to heaven as being unfashionably minimalist
. Saint Peter
could not bear to have them in heaven, but the Critics were not evil enough to warrant Hell
either, and so he had them reincarnated as the lowest form of animal, fleas. After finishing that life-cycle, Natasha and Crispin were reincarnated as the life form just slightly more advanced than fleas - art critics.
They once received a booby-prize at the Critics Awards for bringing the reputation of critics into disrepute for writing a review that was not only positive but actually made sense.
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
of the same name in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic Viz. It was created and is illustrated by John Fardell
John Fardell
John Fardell is a British cartoonist and author.He is a regular contributor to the adult comic Viz, and has created and drawn two of the most popular and long-running strips, The Modern Parents and The Critics, as well as the more recent additions of Ferdinand the Foodie and Desert Island Teacher...
.
They are Natasha and Crispin Critic, two high brow art critics from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. They work for The Sunday Chronicle, though they have done freelance work with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, writing elitist and sometimes sycophantic articles on contemporary art. However they're very damning of pop culture and popular art as "tat".
The strip itself is, like much of Fardell's work for Viz, a satire on the fashionably solipsist, pseudo-liberal middle classes and their attitudes. He depicts Natasha and Crispin as shallow, sycophantic, elitist, snobbish and hypocritical people who live and work in a cliquish social circle. Although a couple rather than siblings (a flashback sequence in one episode shows them being born to different mothers) Crispin and Natasha do look somewhat alike, giving the impression that they may be related and that their elitist circle is at least metaphorically incestuous. (Nepotism also features in at least one episode, with Crispin giving his nephew a lucrative helping hand during a search for supposedly fresh new talent.)
Their sharklike profiles could be an allusion to the predatory nature of journalism and arts criticism, as some sharks (like tabloid hacks) are predatory themselves. Despite this, they are very snobbish, and though they practically drool over gritty and cutting-edge art that is in touch with the working classes, they loathe the working classes themselves. In fact, they have little knowledge of what is outside London, once describing the North of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
as "That place we fly over on the way to the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
."
The artists they admire are all fictional, but are clearly inspired by real-life artists such as Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,...
and Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
. A frequent plot device involves Natasha and Crispin mistaking some everyday object - like a fire extinguisher
Fire extinguisher
A fire extinguisher or extinguisher, flame entinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations...
, puddle of vomit or even some public toilets - as a piece of modern art. In other episodes, they don't grasp the concept of art at all - once, they viewed an artist create artwork with conventional methods like drawing and painting, and marvel that it is something they have never seen before.
The pair have died frequently, usually thanks to their habit of reviewing the works of a reformed-violent-criminal-turned-artist, giving tactless negative reviews and then coming to a brutal end at the hands of the artist in question. They are invariably automatically resurrected in time for the next episode, although once they did actually make it to heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, where they proceeded to deride the pearly gates to heaven as being unfashionably minimalist
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
. Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
could not bear to have them in heaven, but the Critics were not evil enough to warrant Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
either, and so he had them reincarnated as the lowest form of animal, fleas. After finishing that life-cycle, Natasha and Crispin were reincarnated as the life form just slightly more advanced than fleas - art critics.
They once received a booby-prize at the Critics Awards for bringing the reputation of critics into disrepute for writing a review that was not only positive but actually made sense.