We hear a lot of talk about photo quality and the jury process and, really, it hit me yesterday what we're talking about.
I sat through the first day of the Fort Worth open jury and it was quite an experience. It was the first one I’ve ever attended and I was surprised in some areas. I understand the jury’s only job on this first day was to decide “yes, no or maybe” so, there seemed to be very little going on. No dialogue or conversation of any sort. They went through the photos very quickly with no conversation of any kind. The second time they looked at them, a very short artist statement was read while the photos were being viewed. They had a few more than 1300 applications and that’s around 6500 photos they had to look at. To say they hurried through them would be a gross understatement. There were 214 jewelers with five photos each and the only thing the jurors will ever know about them is how good their photos were.
I now understand why it is necessary to have photos that blow their socks off. The person with nice, yet average, photos doesn’t stand a chance. They don’t have time to study artistic quality so, the photos with the greatest initial “pop” are they ones that catch the jurors attention. It doesn’t seem quite fair because a lot of outstanding artist are being left by the wayside simply because their photos aren’t eye-popping.
If everyone could see this they’d be lined up down the street at Larry Berman’s house! I suppose the bottom line is this: If your photos don’t snap, crackle and pop, you’re not going to get in. Simple as that. The jurors won’t even notice the artist whose photos do not fit this category. You could be the best artist on Earth and you’re going to be quickly overlooked and cast aside.. I now have a much better idea of why it is so difficult to get into some of the better shows.
Also, the entire process can get pretty boring if you‘re a spectator only interested in one or two categories. To me, one of the best things about it was that it offers up some good ideas for booth set-up.
I have felt like I have some pretty decent photos but, "pretty decent" doesn't even come close to what one needs. The ideal is to have photos that sort of slap a juror in the face as soon as they pop up on the screen. Anything less than that is simply going to mix you in the pot with about 1000 other people and then it becomes difficult to stand out from the rest.
One parting thought. Is it common practice for a jury member to also be an applicant to the show in which he is jurying? To me, that smacks of a conflict of interest and should not be allowed to happen. Does anyone else agree?
For those who have never had the experience, I highly recommend attending a jury session for one of the big shows. I think it will give you a whole new perspective on your photos and whether or not you need to make some changes. Larry and others have been "preaching" this for a long time and I've now had the opportunity to see why they stress the importance of this. It can't be overstated.
Comments
I've run juries, chosen juries and been on juries and each one is different. A show that gets 1500 applications is going to run its jury differently than one that gets 300 and will probably have different jurors. And don't even begin to think that there are more than 4 or 5 shows in the country that will have 1500 applications. Most shows will be below 500.
The jury's job is to put together the highest quality possible. Interesting work that is photographed to show off its best assets is necessary. You can do all the tricks with the photography and follow all the tips on this site but if your work isn't special (way beyond "pretty) don't expect to be at the top shows. It is about the content, not the photography, but don't shortchange your fine work with inadequate imagery. Tell the story with your slides -- consistency in materials and style tells the story. I've seen fine individual pieces in presentations, but each image is a little bit of this and the next a little bit of something else. Sure you can do all kinds of things in your medium, but if the images don't relate to you, your personal style, they don't show a narrative, they don't hang together as a "body of work", you won't stand as good a chance.
When I was taking classes at Herron back between '89-'91, I had mentioned doing art fairs in a discussion with the photo department head. You would have thought I had spoken heresy. She informed me in no uncertain terms that was low level activity and not worthy of an artist. Let's just say there was no respect there. I moved on to Ball State after that year. If her attitude was any indicator, I doubt if anyone from Herron would sit in as a judge :-(
There have been artists from the show on the panel for the past 2 years. I saw them, know them and heard their introductions. Maybe this is something new. They also had people from the art community, but no professors from Herron, and only one teacher from the art center. I'm sure it changes from year to year.
I just wanted to add here that I watched the Broad Ripple jury a few years ago and as far as I knew, there were no artists on the panel....only administrators of the center and a few teachers. Penrod has definitely had a few artists jury the show along with professors from Herron.
No, it looks pretty raw before I seal it up with a few layers of lacquer. I guess I can try to take some creative photos that show a before and after just so the jury knows what they're looking at...
Larry Berman
Wow, but this is crummy for those of us who make apparently common items that require a little more explanation. Like items that are special because of the materials used, or because of an unusual function.
I build jewellery using functional mechanics -- all the important parts of my work are hidden inside and impossible to photograph.
It makes it impossible to prove my case to a jury within a saturated category.
To answer Larry's question about Broad Ripple, I'd have to say it depends on the jury panel. One year I sat in and heard several comments, but last time they were pretty quiet. The moderator was certainly audible while he gave his instructions, so we heard all of that. And if the jury chose to speak or ask questions, we could hear that as well. It's not a particularly huge auditorium, but you also have to sit back a few rows. Most of the questions were about booth shots and how they ought to deal with scoring people who broke rules. There was really no discussion this last time about the worthiness of any particular artwork. In past years I heard discussions about things that appeared to be buy-sell items.
When I visited the Broad Ripple jurying of "Jewelry, Other" the visitors were not included in the jurors' discussion of their selections, only the display of pictures, and simultaneous reading of the artist's statement which took approximately 20 seconds for each set of pictures.
I agree with Allen about the way that the money is not seeming to trickle down to the jurorss. I decided not try again when a show I have applied to 4 times in the past, bragged about the number of applicants they had for the limited number of spaces available. I figured that it was into the multi thousands of dollars. I haven't seen any definite qualifications for jurors, either. At one show the jury was composed of a mix of artists (who decides who's an artist?), committee members (how does someone get on the committee?), and art teachers. Are there jury members who are familiar with each of the catagories that are being entered? If the jury member knows the media and something about the processes, I think that would help to keep the buy/sell out of the shows. I make jewelry (one of those, I know), and although my art is only in one area, I know enough about other jewelry processes to be able to spot jewelry that couldn't have been hand made in the quantity or for the price ("nothing over $10.00).
Jacquelyn...I was not aware that local artists were juried in on site by the judges walking the shows. there seems to be such a diverse method for each show to be juried in. I know the judges for each show walk around for selecting their local awards winners but I am not sure how much this affects the jurying/application process.
Quality pictures are extremely important in having your work seen and quality photography is such a complicated process as much as any other medium.
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