A good rule of thumb may be to critique only the things that one respects. However, this can't always be the case ... when one doesn't believe the hype, such as the hype of Tim's Vermeer (2013) directed by Teller: sonyclassics.com/timsvermeer/
Tim Jenison's copy of Johannes Vermeer's The Music Lesson.
One can agree or disagree with the unraveling of the so-called mystery of Vermeer, that he used a sort of camera obscura. Man or machine etc, the implications are pretty hackneyed. I can admire Jenison's perfectionism but it's not carried over into the painting itself. Look closely, it's not all that remarkable, flat, a bit "high school" as they say ... nothing 'gainst high school students because some of them are great artists. Jenison doesn't have formal training, but the excuse undercuts the premise. The result's mediocre even with "cheating," far from a Vermeer or good photorealism for that matter. Technology just doesn't replace talent, which's another kind of eye, another kind of vision.
Copy enlargement here: vanityfair.com/culture/2013/11/vermeer-secret-tool-mirrors-lenses
