The Post-Interpretive Criticism (PIC) Engine is a diagnostic tool designed by the Museum of One to analyze art critical texts. It moves beyond sentiment analysis to measure the structural proximity between the critic, the artwork, and the viewer.
The Concept:
Rather than evaluating what a critic thinks or feels about an artwork, the PIC Engine calculates the structural relationships and pressures embedded in critical language. The arithmetic is continually clarified so the same parameters produce the same results: transparent, repeatable, and accountable.
What the App Measures:
It applies the Canonical Rule Set v2.0 to calculate five key indices:
- Epoché Fidelity (EFI): Measures the ratio of descriptive statements to presuppositional assumptions, indicating how well the critic suspends judgment to witness the work.
- Phase Alignment (PPAS): Analyzes the distribution of attention across distinct phenomenological phases, detecting if engagement is premature, balanced, or retrospective.
- Residue Engagement (RERR): Tracks the restraint and closure in mentioning "residue" (the unexplainable excess of the artwork), measuring respect for the work's irreducibility.
- Agency Recognition (QSARI): Calculates the balance between Quasi-Subject (the work acting) and Quasi-Object (the work being acted upon) statements, revealing if the critic grants the artwork agency.
- Dialectical Circulation (DCI): Measures the dynamic movement of the text through circulatory terms and oscillatory markers, indicating a responsive, living engagement versus a static readout.
Key Features:
- Analyzes critical texts using deterministic calculations based on linguistic patterns
- Measures structural relationships: fidelity, phase alignment, residue engagement, agency recognition, and dialectical circulation
- Classifies texts into critical postures: Witness-Aligned, Extractive, Institutional, or Unstable
- Processes texts via the Google Gemini API for diagnostic purposes only
- Produces transparent, repeatable, and accountable results
Privacy Note: All analysis happens via the Google Gemini API. Texts are processed for diagnostic purposes only.
What Makes It Different:
This tool doesn't judge whether criticism is "good" or "bad"; it reveals the structural conditions of critical language, making visible how much space a text leaves for direct encounter versus interpretive authority.