Arts criticism is the process of describing, analyzing, interpreting, and judging works of art . It is distinct from art criticism (which focuses on visual arts) due to its broader remit.^{[citation needed]} The disciplines of arts criticism can be defined by the object being considered rather than the methodology (through analysis of its philosophy): buildings (architecture criticism), paintings (visual art criticism), performances (dance criticism, theatre criticism), music (music journalism), visual media (film criticism, television criticism), or literary texts (literary criticism).

Criticism of the arts can be broadly divided into two types. There is academic criticism such as that found in scholarly works and specialist journals, then there is criticism of a more journalistic nature (often called 'a review') which is seen by a wider public through newspapers, television and radio. The academic criticism will be of a more vigorous and analytical nature than the journalistic, the journalistic may even focus on entertaining the reader at the expense of detail about the art under discussion.^{[citation needed]}

David Pagel is an art critic, educator, curator, dioramatist, and bike enthusiast.

Pagel is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times and has written nearly 500 articles since 1997. He serves as Chair of the Art Department at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California.

Pagel has written several books and essays about artists such as Jim Isermann and Irene Hardwicke Olivieri.

He was the recipient of an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Contemporary Arts Criticism in 1990 and was a Macgeorge Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Australia in 2002.

David Pagel has curated:

Peter Schjeldahl, (born 1942), is an American art critic, poet, and educator.

Schjeldahl was born in Fargo, North Dakota. He grew up in small towns throughout Minnesota, and attended Carleton College and The New School. He began his professional writing career as a reporter in Minnesota, Iowa and New Jersey.

In 1964 he traveled to Paris for a year before settling in New York City in 1965. Since coming to New York he has worked as an art critic for ARTnews, The New York Times, The Village Voice (1980 to 1998), and 7 Days (The Cooper Union). In 1998 he joined The New Yorker where he is currently the head art critic. His writings have also appeared in Artforum, Art in America, The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, and Vanity Fair. During his career Schjeldahl has written several books of poetry as well as art criticism. He taught at Harvard University in the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies for four years as well.

Schjeldahl’s poetry falls in line with many of the characteristic themes and styles of the New York School. As a contemporary postmodern poet, Schjeldahl believed fervently in the idea that poetry should be enjoyed and understood by all readers. In an interview with the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Blackbird Schjeldahl commented on how “there are no rewards in being obscure or abstruse or overbearing” (Wolgamott). Schjeldahl’s work reflects this attitude and his beliefs against institutionalizing art and poetry.