I have juried plenty of shows, usually for teens, sometimes adults. And I have been a grant panelist a number of times, which has some overlap. Here are some thoughts.
WIn some and lose some...
A common refrain among jurors is, "it's so hard to pick, so many of these are deserving of awards!" If I have the opportunity to speak to students who might enter into contests, I try to reframe the experience as an exciting chance to learn about yourself, to push your limits. The juror's decision is not the final statement on your abilities and artistry.
I keep a spreadsheet of my own wins and losses, with wins highlighted green and losses highlighted red, to remind myself that there is a mix.
Constructive feedback...
Sometimes, as a juror, I am asked to give recorded video feedback to every teen artist. I tell them things that I observe and enjoy about their work, give suggestions that I think might be helpful, and artists that they might connect with. In the most recent event, I was told that all of the students watched these videos together to learn from one another and for me.
Juror's tastes...
A friend who was juror in a recent Plein Air painting event framed his remarks around one idea, which is that it comes down to the individual juror's taste.
I was recently awarded second place in a different Plein Air painting event. That juror framed his remarks around stories, and how stories might unfold as the viewer travels around inside of each painting.
Spirit of exploration...
I once gave an award to a teen who had created a piece out of upcycled trash and paint. It was not a particularly attractive piece, not even to me, and less technically advanced then many of the pieces that I did not give awards to. But I felt I was being true to the spirit of the award, in acknowledging the student's passionate exploration of material, whereas some of the other pieces were technically advanced, but conventional and not particularly thoughtful or exciting. The organizing committee contacted me to see if it was a mistake, but let the awards stand after I explained my reasoning.
Grant panelist...
In this case when we are awarding tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars to Arts organizations, of course we begin by seeing that the application is complete and correct. This weeds out one level of contenders.
After that, we look at things like, how well does the organization tell the story of what they are trying to accomplish? Do they have a solid plan for how to execute that? A history of succeeding in the past? Will diverse audiences be served by the art or art event in the proposal?
We give written feedback to each organization, to help them succeed the following year if they did not secure a grant.
Not only should there not be buried art shows, one should not be a juror. Why? I had the misfortune to enter a show, pay the fee, and then be told I was not good enough. It was extremely disheartening, as I was given no reason at all for the decision. Never again.
I understand and appreciate your position. But I also hope that you will continue striving to become a better painter. If juried competitions aren’t an avenue for you then I hope you find another more helpful path for yourself. Nothing about being an artist is easy and that will never change. Best luck to you and your future goals.
I've judged many shows, both local, regional and national. I always start off objectively, taking into consideration design, color and mark making. But as I approach the final stages, I agree, that many of the works that have made it to that point are excellent, and that other criteria must be used. These other criteria include a personal, subjective response to the work at hand; in short, a gut reaction. And yes, quite often there are several pieces that could qualify as first place or even best of a show, but a decision must be made. If I'm asked by the exhibition committee to comment on the works and my selection, I always make sure to note that another judge would almost certainly have picked different winners.
I, too have been asked to jury a number of competitions ranging from open-submission shows with no barrier to entry beyond the submission fee to high-end exhibitions which focus on the sort of thing I do.
Of course, the second group will always be the most difficult to judge for the reasons you state because at some point ANY artist who works hard enough, and long enough, can reach a level of excellence that defies comparison.
So in the end, while I accept the need to judge competitions which means I accept the need for competitions, I often take some or all of a juror's picks with a grain of salt. (Not broadly dissing jurors, I'm just saying the decisions one juror might make may not be the same as mine. But I do credit a painter who is judging with more knowledge and experience than a non-painting judge. Again, not being snide, but a civilian judge can often get the side-eye from me and my peers as well. Ha!)
When I teach, the issue of entering competitions to gain recognition often comes up, and when it does I alway emphasize that an artist should never attempt to second-guess what a juror(s) will pick. Why? Because trying to doing so will drive you crazy, or lead to anger and disappointment; or worse, direct feelings of rejection and failure towards yourself – which is never a helpful thing to do when you are trying to grow as an artist.
In any case, it is difficult, if not impossible to make (equitable) comparisons between all of the artists in a show. And I don't think that fact will ever change.
Of course, the above is just my opinion and I would never expect everyone else to embrace it, but we do have a saying in this part of the biz and that is:
"If you are the judge tonight you don't have a friend in the room."
Well, maybe until after you are done judging, then you may have one. (Ha!)😉
I have juried plenty of shows, usually for teens, sometimes adults. And I have been a grant panelist a number of times, which has some overlap. Here are some thoughts.
WIn some and lose some...
A common refrain among jurors is, "it's so hard to pick, so many of these are deserving of awards!" If I have the opportunity to speak to students who might enter into contests, I try to reframe the experience as an exciting chance to learn about yourself, to push your limits. The juror's decision is not the final statement on your abilities and artistry.
I keep a spreadsheet of my own wins and losses, with wins highlighted green and losses highlighted red, to remind myself that there is a mix.
Constructive feedback...
Sometimes, as a juror, I am asked to give recorded video feedback to every teen artist. I tell them things that I observe and enjoy about their work, give suggestions that I think might be helpful, and artists that they might connect with. In the most recent event, I was told that all of the students watched these videos together to learn from one another and for me.
Juror's tastes...
A friend who was juror in a recent Plein Air painting event framed his remarks around one idea, which is that it comes down to the individual juror's taste.
I was recently awarded second place in a different Plein Air painting event. That juror framed his remarks around stories, and how stories might unfold as the viewer travels around inside of each painting.
Spirit of exploration...
I once gave an award to a teen who had created a piece out of upcycled trash and paint. It was not a particularly attractive piece, not even to me, and less technically advanced then many of the pieces that I did not give awards to. But I felt I was being true to the spirit of the award, in acknowledging the student's passionate exploration of material, whereas some of the other pieces were technically advanced, but conventional and not particularly thoughtful or exciting. The organizing committee contacted me to see if it was a mistake, but let the awards stand after I explained my reasoning.
Grant panelist...
In this case when we are awarding tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars to Arts organizations, of course we begin by seeing that the application is complete and correct. This weeds out one level of contenders.
After that, we look at things like, how well does the organization tell the story of what they are trying to accomplish? Do they have a solid plan for how to execute that? A history of succeeding in the past? Will diverse audiences be served by the art or art event in the proposal?
We give written feedback to each organization, to help them succeed the following year if they did not secure a grant.
Not only should there not be buried art shows, one should not be a juror. Why? I had the misfortune to enter a show, pay the fee, and then be told I was not good enough. It was extremely disheartening, as I was given no reason at all for the decision. Never again.
I understand and appreciate your position. But I also hope that you will continue striving to become a better painter. If juried competitions aren’t an avenue for you then I hope you find another more helpful path for yourself. Nothing about being an artist is easy and that will never change. Best luck to you and your future goals.
I've judged many shows, both local, regional and national. I always start off objectively, taking into consideration design, color and mark making. But as I approach the final stages, I agree, that many of the works that have made it to that point are excellent, and that other criteria must be used. These other criteria include a personal, subjective response to the work at hand; in short, a gut reaction. And yes, quite often there are several pieces that could qualify as first place or even best of a show, but a decision must be made. If I'm asked by the exhibition committee to comment on the works and my selection, I always make sure to note that another judge would almost certainly have picked different winners.
James:
I, too have been asked to jury a number of competitions ranging from open-submission shows with no barrier to entry beyond the submission fee to high-end exhibitions which focus on the sort of thing I do.
Of course, the second group will always be the most difficult to judge for the reasons you state because at some point ANY artist who works hard enough, and long enough, can reach a level of excellence that defies comparison.
So in the end, while I accept the need to judge competitions which means I accept the need for competitions, I often take some or all of a juror's picks with a grain of salt. (Not broadly dissing jurors, I'm just saying the decisions one juror might make may not be the same as mine. But I do credit a painter who is judging with more knowledge and experience than a non-painting judge. Again, not being snide, but a civilian judge can often get the side-eye from me and my peers as well. Ha!)
When I teach, the issue of entering competitions to gain recognition often comes up, and when it does I alway emphasize that an artist should never attempt to second-guess what a juror(s) will pick. Why? Because trying to doing so will drive you crazy, or lead to anger and disappointment; or worse, direct feelings of rejection and failure towards yourself – which is never a helpful thing to do when you are trying to grow as an artist.
In any case, it is difficult, if not impossible to make (equitable) comparisons between all of the artists in a show. And I don't think that fact will ever change.
Of course, the above is just my opinion and I would never expect everyone else to embrace it, but we do have a saying in this part of the biz and that is:
"If you are the judge tonight you don't have a friend in the room."
Well, maybe until after you are done judging, then you may have one. (Ha!)😉
TJK