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Another Insight to Decision Making, for artists & jurors

Posted by Connie Mettler on August 17, 2011 at 12:00pm in Jurying for Art Fairs & Craft Shows

Worth thinking about:

Here's a link from my friend, photographer Allan Teger,that will give you something new to think about, worry about or even slow down your decision making:

"The very act of making decisions depletes our ability to make them well. So how do we navigate a world of endless choice? http://nyti.ms/qpAHLe

This would say that jury scores are higher (or more accurate?) if your slides come up early in the day or right after lunch! We always suspected that, didn't we??"

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Allan Teger, NY Times, decision making, jurying for art fairs

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Replies

Susan Thornton September 18, 2011 at 7:49pm

Used to, in the days of slides, early was better because the loading of the carousels used in projection. They were loaded as the applications came in. The bulbs in the projectors even made a difference in the color of the images. I used to send in at the last minute too and still got in shows.

I do not try to get in at the first anymore. I have found that if you do that then sometimes, there is the early pre-jury thing and then the show wants you to pay your booth before the late applicants do. That has happened two times and I did not do the shows because to me that is hinky.
Barry Bernstein August 17, 2011 at 11:04pm

Nels, good point. I, too, apply at the last minute which usually means after 11:30 PM on the day of the deadline. In the days when we sent slides I would always send it in late. I'd ask the post office guy to hand cancel and then smear the postmark stamp so you couldn't tell what the postmark date was. There was a certain high quality show in Florida that I would always send the app in two weeks late and I always got into the show. Of course, now, you get shut out of the process or have to pay a late fee, so, I can't do that anymore.
- Ruth Finkenbiner > Barry Bernstein August 17, 2011 at 11:22pm
  
  Ha Ha, maybe that's our problem. While my husband would definitely procrastinate, since I do most of the paperwork and will do applications in batches of 5 or so at a time as soon as they are available, we are usually early submitters. Maybe I need to learn to curb the type A organized personality of mine!!
Jim Parker August 17, 2011 at 10:53pm

Interesting article, Connie. I do think that the jurors in many shows have far too many images to look at in a day. Same with the judges who have to look at over 350 artists booths in a day and then hand out money. By the time they get to my booth, they are glazed over and toasted.
Dan Bondroff August 17, 2011 at 10:41pm

I'm wondering if applying very early matters. Since a lot of people procrastinate, will my slides be seen in the middle of the jurying process if I apply a week before the deadline or even 2 days before? If half the applicants apply the last 2 days it changes the definition of early. I guess it only matters if the slides are seen in order by submission date.
Barry Bernstein August 17, 2011 at 4:06pm

Excellent article. So, when a show is judging images, perhaps they should jury 100 people per day and the quit for lunch and do another 100 and they start over the next day.

I'm just saying....

Meanwhile, you get 30 articles a week or something like that before you have to subscribe to the NY Times online.
- Nels Johnson > Barry Bernstein August 17, 2011 at 7:34pm
  
  I am by nature a procrastinator. I hope I miss my passing by a good decade. That said, I usually always apply to most shows on the final days of registration. I am never an early bird. Guess what, I get into a lot of good shows, consistently, so pipff! to that concern about where your slides are placed. Good work always stands out and will be noticed by the judges.
  
  We really have more important things to worry about than where your slides are placed.
  
  Me, I need lots of work on my putting game. I barely slid by an opponent in match play today. But I am in the champiopnship round at my club. Ooh, if only I could putt like how my images score.
  
  Get over it folks, just send your best in....don't worry.
  - Jim Parker > Nels Johnson August 17, 2011 at 10:51pm
    
    Nels, I like your attitude. We, as artists, spend far too much time analyzing this and that. And seriously, does it do any good? Nah. I'm glad you're getting in some good golf. Me, I went out in the Badlands and made a nice picture or three.
    - Linnea Lahlum > Jim Parker August 17, 2011 at 11:21pm
      
      The reason why we analyze this or that, is because we feel we don’t have control. Once our images are made and sent, our ability to make a living is in someone else’s hands. If we felt in control, we wouldn’t need to dissect the process so endlessly. I can only “let go” and relax like Nels and a few others, if I feel I have controlled every aspect that I possibly can.
Connie Mettler August 17, 2011 at 2:47pm

This article is not about ZAPP -- it is about making decisions in many areas of life.