Speaking of Art Blog

If I ever thought a juror’s task was easy, kind of like playing God for a day, I will never think that again.  Talk about a daunting task!  We first went from one gallery to another, slowly eliminating work that just wasn’t up to the excellent standards of the majority of the work there. But we also wanted to give as many artists the opportunity to show their work as possible, so when an artist had entered three pieces of work, if one was not quite as good in quality as the other two, we eliminated it.  That narrowed the accepted work down to 177 with 122 artists represented. We took a very quick inventory as we were leaving each gallery and counted the number of accepted compared to unaccepted works.  We tried to keep those numbers fairly even within each gallery.

Then we went back to each gallery and I wrote down brief descriptions of the works that absolutely blew us away. My list had 11 works on it. We made sure we had a nice variety of subject matter, styles, and art media represented in the mix of 11. Then we sat down and prioritized the prize winners, assigning prizes to each. That was tough, very tough! They were all equally exceptional and sometimes comparing widely divergent art media and trying to prioritize them seemed impossible. So we talked about each piece’s message at that point, and how well each conveyed that message. Suddenly the choices became clearer.

I am convinced the three of us could not have done such a thorough job if we had not communicated and worked so well together all day, as a team. If one of us had more knowledge about one medium than the other two, we deferred to the person with the most knowledge. Were we totally objective the whole time? Heavens, no! We are people just like each artist who poured their heart and soul into their artwork. We were drawn to some work, and other work left us feeling indifferent. But again and again we were of one mind when we saw quality work that conveyed a clear message.

I learned soooooo much that day, not only about how to jury an art show, but also about how I plan to drive home a point with my own artwork. Was it fun? Would I do it again? YES, in a heartbeat! I was exhausted by the time I got home, but I felt I had done a laudable job, which I will remember years from now as the same year that I turned age ??.  Let's just call it a year older and wiser than in 2012.

Here is an excerpt from my juror’s statement that was printed in the show program:

 “I am honored to have juried and judged such a large, fine collection of varied artwork here at the Carnegie Center for the Arts.  All artists, whether they were juried in or not, are to be congratulated for their creative efforts.   The sheer numbers of superb caliber artworks were overwhelming!

What I looked for in my initial jurying was cohesive, skillful rendering that not only showed creative finesse in the use of a chosen medium, but also conveyed some kind of message.  And it was the messages that took my breath away that I felt deserved special recognition by receiving awards.  All of the award winners’ works were flawless in execution, presentation, and the clear message conveyed.

Lastly, no juror has the final word.  If a piece of artwork was not selected for inclusion or didn’t win a prize in this show, it does not necessarily mean it is not a legitimate piece of creative work.  All of our artwork is one more step in the gradual learning curve of our individual creative processes.  And I for one am assured of the vibrant, creative talent that is thriving and growing in southwestern Michigan.”