Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Crabby Baby

This is kind of how I have felt this past couple of weeks :)

Some more thoughts on the jury process:
If a juror offers to put their name on the rejection letter so the artist that was rejected can contact them and get constructive suggestions in a kind and considerate way because that juror that offered to help wished that they had someone give them some advise when they got those rejection letters,

A. Don't have a friend contact the juror and lobby for a re vote, and tell the juror that this was an unfair judging and it was political and why were some people that aren't as good voted in, and then continue to send emails all day so that the juror/artist can't even get out to their studio to work..... don't do this

B. Don't have your teacher call the juror and say that the vote was unfair and the vote was unprofessional and there were political reasons for why the student didn't get voted in and she was way too good to have not been voted in (not true), and continue to be sort of, kind of bitchy about it, and send emails so, again, the juror/artist can't get out to their studio to work

C. As the artist, DO NOT email the poor juror that just wanted to help you be better so you wouldn't get that suck ass rejection letter again next year, and tell them that the guild they are a member of is run by a bunch of flaky and unprofessional members (but wait, aren't you bitching because you didn't get in to that group of flaky unprofessional artists?) and also accuse the organization of other motives.

People, if you get rejected it is most likely because your photographs sucked, your work wasn't as great as you thought it was or you had sucky photos of sucky work. Period. There are no political agendas in an anonymous jury vote.

Don't humiliate yourself by insulting the organization you have just applied to be in, you look like a fool.
If 10 professional artists voted against your work, (by the way some of the artists are internationally known and very well respected in their field) then you probably are not as good as you think you are or as good as your teacher and or friend is telling you. If you want to be in a group of professional artists, be professional. Get some good photos, get someone to edit your application, your artist statement, resume, whatever, and for God's sake, if you get turned down, don't act so pissy. Just get better and apply again, or sulk and wallow in your misery alone and don't insult others, it really isn't their fault, it's yours!

The juror that so kindly offered to help the people that were rejected just wanted to help THE ARTIST, who they naively believed would be professional and accept an honest and kind critique. The juror did not expect to have to explain anything to the friend or the teacher, and the other flaky unprofessional jurors really don't have the time or the interest in a political agenda. They are BUSY in their studios making work to sell, because that is what they do. They are working ARTISTS, they do not run  guilds full time, they are not accountants, office assistants, web designers, mass mailing organizers. They are doing the best they can with the time they have to volunteer their time to this professional guild of artists, and I for one think they are pretty damn great.
Why do I feel like we never get out of high school!?!

13 comments:

Dennis Allen said...

OK, serious juror question. Cohesive body of work.Should I show similar place settings in different glazes or break up a set and do individual pictures of each piece in the same glaze?

Candace Thomas said...

I find that it is best to have a general meeting where the organization, gallery or show sponsors a short talk to talk about what worked and what did not.
Having a room full of folks asking questions helped those people from taking the non acceptance personal because they were able to see others who possibly were making some of the same mistakes as they've made.
Shake it off, make a house. .....and smile!
Peace and Stitch,
Candace

Tracey Broome said...

Dennis! I had to read this three times! I'm still not sure which would be the best way to go. We only had one potter to vote on and here is what they submitted:
a plate, then a batter bowl, same glaze, then a pitcher different glaze, and a vase different glaze. But they were all well crafted pieces and it looked like the same potter made all of them. So I'm thinking that it would be nice for you to do a plate with a bowl in it, same glaze, maybe a mug same glaze and then some of your nice large jars, different glazes. But not six images with a different glaze and style for each one. Does that make sense?
Candace I think this would be a great idea, if you could get that many people together without scheduling conflicts! I also like Michele's comment on my last jury post about having a personal interview and having the artist present their work in person. It is so hard to convey the quality of art in a photograph. Yes, making houses all day tomorrow! NO emails!!!!! We still need to get together girl!

Melissa Rohrer said...

Did any of the artists thank you for your offer of feedback on their rejection letters?

Tracey Broome said...

There was no thanks from any of them.
I did get a very sweet thank you from one artist that got accepted though.....

Judi Tavill said...

I pretty much thought it was going to go this way... I would LOVE to know why I was rejected in the past... and I would never respond that way but...jeez... I sort of thought this would be how it would go down... sad because NOW I have no chance of knowing why i was rejected in the past... from competitions and my future rejections probably won't let me know either...

Judi Tavill said...

Oh... and I feel the need to show that I use different clay colors... so they read as the same artist but they don't show as matchy matchy but this may not be best... for a big expensive craft show???

cookingwithgas said...

rejection for any of us is hard but then it is all about handling the rejection. It happens some where along the line you will get rejected we have all been there- we just buck up pull out the thinking cap and start again. There is a big wide world of potters out there, find your way. And TB there is a point where you cannot fix this- which is what they want. step away from the issue and bow out of the room. I hope you get tons done today.

smartcat said...

I try to keep in mind the first words an editor at Asimov's SF wrote, "Remember, editors do not reject writers; they reject pieces of paper with words written on them."
One of the most consistent things I found in watching a juror jury from work is that most of them could articulate why they were not accepting a work, but it was far more difficult to say why they accepted a work....seemed to be a gut feeling after criteria was met.

Favorite comments from those rejected:
There should be a display of rejected work.
Entry fees should be refunded if the work is rejected.

Tracey Broome said...

All good points you guys. I too agree that the application fee should be refunded, what a waste of money. It keeps me from entering sometimes....
Judi, I think that even with your different colors of clay, no one would mistake that your work came from one artist and it is very consistent in style. I can spot a Judi piece!
Meredith, I'm not too upset by all this behavior, just disappointed that women can be so ridiculous and unprofessional. None of these were men......

Michèle Hastings said...

Not ever organization can pull off an in-person jury, but I will say it eliminates the questions raised about the decision being political. They were there to talk talk about their work and listen to the jurors feedback. Also... not everyone is a photographer or can afford to pay a professional, and that doesn't mean that they don't create quality work. On the other side, I have seen excellent photographs of work, only to be really disappointed at the pots in person!
The LNHC's jury, that I mentioned in the previous post, also requires three reviews of work spaced out over a few months to a year so that the craftsman shows consistency and possible growth from the initial critique. They are provisional members until they pass those reviews.

Tracey Broome said...

Michele LNHC has it going on! I mentioned your previous comments at the board meeting last night. I think each artist deserves as much consideration in as many ways as possible. You are right, it's hard to get good photos if you aren't as lucky as I am and live with a pro!

Hannah said...

Wow! I have selected as part of our open studios event just once. I was stunned by the poor applications submitted by some people who I know are wonderful craftspeople but it looked like they just couldn't be bothered to make the effort.
It was all about the image. It was really helpful to sit on that side of the table and to see how my applications would fair against other peoples. Seeing other applications is very interesting.
The open studio event gets a lot of grief about the application process even though the crieria are published on the site and sent out with application forms.
I was also stunned by the responses by people who were unsuccesful in their applications, some male some female in this case who thought they could harangue the committee and the panel and question their ability and training and qualification to select. It was pretty tough going and quite a wake up call.