view from a street judge/artist

Last year I had the honor of being one of the street judges for Arts Eats and Beats. I understand why most artists would avoid wanting to be a judge, alienating friends that expect preferential treatment, dealing with artists that think they can either harass or intimidate the judge into an award, and listening to the complaints of fellow artists about how they were robbed of an award. This was an experience though that I learned from and truly enjoyed.

One of the reasons I enjoyed the process was getting to see the behind the scenes work that goes into judging a show. The directors of this show are caring, professional people that tried to pick a diverse group of judges from different artistic backgrounds. This is only a fraction of the job the directors have to do, but both took extra time to make sure this was done fairly. This show had moved to a new location and the directors were dealing admirably with the problems that this brings on.

Judging is done by a one to five scale, five being the best . Three’s were not allowed so this made you commit to a high or low score. After scoring the art, the numbers were added up and the award were given to the highest scorers.

Most artist don’t remember that judging is done by more than one person, so high marks by one judge doesn’t always translate into that artist getting an award. I walked the show without my clipboard twice so I could view all the art without the artist feeling they had to explain why their art deserved an award. When I did finally score the show and place the stickers on people’s booth signs I had already admired their work and had an idea of the high quality of the show.

One of the complaints I heard was that I didn’t spend enough time in their booth to really see the work. They judged this by how much time I spent in their booth with my clipboard. I have talked to other artists that have judged shows and this is a common complaint. There was over one hundred and fifty artists in this show, if I spent even five minutes in each booth that would be over twelve hours. By the time I was placing stickers I had seen their work three times, which I think is fair and gave me enough time to form my decisions.

I came away from my experience with a renewed respect for the amount of work being a street judge takes. The job of the awards judge is to reward the best art in the show, your job unfortunately does not make everyone happy but I left feeling like I was honest and fair and really did judge the best that I could.

All Judges/Jurors (not necessarily Robert by any means):

There is a small minority of artists that do not want their work judged - for reasons of their own.

I'm one of them.

Speaking for myself, if I politely say "I prefer not to have my work judged, thank you.", I would like for all the judges, jurors or whatever to just say "OK" or something to that effect and get the hell out of my booth so I can sell my work to my customers.

That means no debating, no questioning, no arguing, and for God's sake - no "educating".

Just accept that not everyone cares about the awards or your opinion, and move on.

Life is too short. If you are politely declined, please politely accept the decision of an educated artist and walk away. There are plenty of eager beavers down the lane salivating to get a moment to chat with you - why stand around with someone that doesn't want you there?

Replies

Munks February 25, 2011 at 2:49pm
Connie Mettler February 25, 2011 at 12:04pm

Robert, I am doing my first "street jurying" in St. Joe in July. Over the years I've watched over the street jurors at ABE and could see how really hard the job is, especially when you know some of the artists, and of course you want to be fair. Thanks for this explanation and pray for me in St. Joe - I think 250 exhibitors!
- robert bridenbaugh > Connie Mettler February 25, 2011 at 12:59pm
  
  Hi Connie
  
  St. Jose’s is in a beautiful park and a good percent of the show is under shade.Still it is going to be a long day. Keep hydrated and try to enjoy the process.
  
  250 artists is a lot, I was pleased to see Arts,Eats& Beats was able to maintain it’s size to last years number of artist.
  
  Robert
Joan Tweedell February 25, 2011 at 9:13am

Thanks for giving us the view from behind the clipboard! I have often thought of how much time it takes to view every booth in the typical 150 booth show, and realized how little time we have to impress a juror. Which shows how important it is to not have that eye-catching work hidden, but right out where it will snag the attention.
- Munks > Joan Tweedell February 25, 2011 at 2:52pm
  
  All Judges/Jurors (not necessarily Robert by any means):
  
  There is a small minority of artists that do not want their work judged - for reasons of their own.
  
  I'm one of them.
  
  Speaking for myself, if I politely say "I prefer not to have my work judged, thank you.", I would like for all the judges, jurors or whatever to just say "OK" or something to that effect and get the hell out of my booth so I can sell my work to my customers.
  
  That means no debating, no questioning, no arguing, and for God's sake - no "educating".
  
  Just accept that not everyone cares about the awards or your opinion, and move on.
  
  Life is too short. If you are politely declined, please politely accept the decision of an educated artist and walk away. There are plenty of eager beavers down the lane salivating to get a moment to chat with you - why stand around with someone that doesn't want you there?

This reply was deleted.