Jury Duty: Call Me
Not!
Once in a while, local art groups call me to be "the one" or one of
the usually , two or three person jury committee , for their juried shows ,
anniversary or annual /seasonal (
spring, fall) .It's thrilling to be called an " expert" but it's not
an easy task.
There are many factors to be taken into consideration
when a juror.One being you have to really blend in taste with the other members do
the jury , and to create the "
consensus" atmosphere.
Each society/group has it's own criteria( following the
theme of the shows, selection of original work only, number of paintings
selected conform the gallery wall space, prizes to be offered...).Some are
represented national , other internationally, and first you have to understand
the group intentions with the show, their credo and reasoning in order to make
a final decision.
After many years of curating my own shows and being the
show chairman for different artist's
groups around GTA , I have issues with the selection. First and
foremost I am rooting for high quality of work , secondly I am looking for originality of subject matter and then, of course, I am limited by the number
of works to be selected, which is a given.
Usually there is a limited number of spaces in a gallery,
a certain number of pieces , of a certain range size. My issue when
selecting ,is that ,no mater the number of potential works probably to be
accepted in a show ,there is always a very limited/ finite number of good ones
presented to the jury , so your hand gets " forced" into accepting
less valuable pieces, for the sake of filling the space .I prefer quality to
quantity, but somehow every time, I am finding myself in a situation when I need to
explain that this is not an " elitist" issue, and even if I want to
be " inclusive " of as many possible participants( for bigger crowds
at the openings, more visitors ...) in order to spark lots of interest , a very good
show has to be the most important goal.
When I chose I have in mind great technique , but when
two works are equal in good technique , I prefer the most original one.
Of course I have an issue with the "winner of the 7th
place " , like in the comedy
"Meet The Fockers" .
Why not have only a winner and two honorable mentions for all?
Why is that , that there is always a need to have best , second, third...in
show, then best, second....acrylic, best, second...watercolor...., Oy
! Everybody needs to win something , the family members are going to be all
happy, pictures taken,then the monthly group's newsletters filled with pages upon
pages of " people's first, people's second ....third awards" .
Then , first thing you know, your name is attached to these awards , and local
newspapers are called to report at the opening, and , of course , you are invited too,
asked to give away all the awards for works you didn't in fact ,even wanted to
accept into the show , and your photo is ending up in all the family albums .
"Nebulae 113" Acrylic on Canvas , 10"x10"
Last and not least ,after the show is taken down , there are the "angry " phone calls or e-mails , from
the people who were not accepted into the show , or didn't won any awards, yes,
believe it or not I got these asking " Why not? Why our works were not accepted
?" - some people have some nerve , and this is " the glamor" of
being a juror !
