I recently, for the first time, received some feedback from a jury on a show I had applied to. The feedback was very helpful, and it ended up highlighting an issue that I have been struggling with for a while.
In most applications there is a requirement that the body of images submitted should be representative of the work that will be displayed. In some cases the applications even go as far as to say that work that is not represented in the application will not be allowed to be displayed at the show (I know it's unlikely that they would follow through on this, but it shows that they do indeed consider it important).
Meanwhile, jurors seem to favor applications that are all from the same body of work, not ones that are representative of the body of work that will be displayed.
As an example, I am a landscape photographer that is heavy into nightscapes. However that is not all I do. A little less than half my work is nightscapes, and the other half is more traditional landscapes. So in a recent show when submitting 5 images I chose 2 nightscapes and 3 traditional landscapes.
The jury feedback came back that they really liked my work, but that the image submissions were uneven and didn't mesh together. In fact, it said they'd have liked to see either an entire collection like images 1&2, or an entire collection like images 3, 4, and 5, and as it was they were confused how the 5 images worked together.
Even further, in the general notes for the show it mentioned the jurors were very wary of booth images where the work displayed was not consistent with the 5 images. So even if I had submitted all 5 images as nightscapes, it sounds like I would have been dinged when my booth image did not contain only nightscapes.
So what's the right way to go about this here? Is it to just submit all 5 images as nightscapes, submit a booth image showing only nightscapes, and then hope that no one says anything when the booth at the show is only 40% nightscapes? I enjoy nightscapes and they sell OK, but they are not enough (sales-wise) to carry a whole show on their own.
It just seems odd to me that jurors are often so focused on the images all representing the same thing and working together as a story. That seems more appropriate for a group image contest than for a show application where people are looking to sell individual pieces of art, not tell a story.
Replies
I struggle with the same issue. We are photographers as well and do a great deal of our work at night. Our subject matter is urban, industrial and abandoned which is part of our artists statement. So do we include images from each category in our application or just stick to one such as abandoned churches. I have gotten into some good shows doing it both ways so I am left to wonder which approach will work best overall. I agree that I need all three lines of work in the booth to make a go of it sales wise. The other aspect of this issue is when juries want to see your submission images in the booth shot. It takes us an entire day to set up our booth, hang the work so it will look great in an photo and then take it down again. So we tend to use the same images for applications despite having new work that might be better solely because we do not have time to set up for a new booth shot. I think this cohesive body of work thing stifles creativity. I think Larry's suggestion is a good one. By the way, I read a review of the Crosby show last weekend where someone visited the booths and compared what was on display with the booth shots and some people were asked to leave.
A very common situation as artists tend to go in multiple directions with their work and shouldn't be handicapped because of it. Have the jury style of work on the back wall of your booth picture and the other images on a side wall. And like I suggest for other artists who might be challenged about their work, carry an 8x10 or 11x14 print of your booth picture. Having both bodies of work in your booth picture gives you a better chance if the art police come around.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100