Juror's Statement
THE SEPTEMBER 2002
ALL-MEDIA MEMBERSHIP SHOW
I enjoy juroring for this show because it gives me a chance to see a large body of work that I normally wouldn't see. Galleries show a very limited number of artists so one does not get a sense of the work that is being done in the area. Since I have jurored for The Art League several times, I find that I can make comparisons. This time, I observed that there is a shift from predominantly paintings to half and half with photography. Sculptures, prints, and pottery were all very sparse. What was really missing for me was drawing. That's surprising since I can't see how paintings are done without drawings. I was impressed that most of the framing was good, with very few exceptions, and that is different from the last time I jurored. This is a greatly varied show-there are many schools of art represented rather than just one or two. These Art League shows do a very great service to artists and to the art scene in this region.
Jack Boul
Professor of Art emeritus
American University
Juror's Dialogue
by Pat Gerkin
This month's All-Media Show was jurored by Jack Boul, former teacher at American University, Washington Studio School, and working artist. Mr. Boul was recently honored with a large retrospective show at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. "I have been very lucky in my career," he said. "I have had the opportunity to see my work hanging in good museums and galleries." Boul has jurored for The Art League a number of times and, as a result, feels that he can make some valid comparisons between "then and now", including the observation that the number of photography submissions has grown significantly.
In noting that sculpture submissions were sparse, he also pointed out that sculptors have a very difficult time, professionally, and the cost is sometimes prohibitive. He is disappointed that more sculpture is not submitted, and he wondered aloud whether word gets around that the judge is a painter and the sculptors decide not to submit their work. Drawing is also a disappointment to him and he stressed that it "is really missing for me." "Some figurative paintings and drawing were fine examples, but much of the figurative work was lacking in an understanding of anatomy." He said, "Drawing used to be one of the prime focuses of art schools, but that is not so anymore." In previous shows he remembered that content or subject matter seemed to overwhelm and that was less in evidence this time. He was pleased that the framing had improved. "Very few were poorly framed this time. When I say poorly framed, I mean that you see the frame first. You shouldn't see the frame before the painting. Maybe that is the framer's influence. To a framer, the frame is the most important element. To an artist, the art is the most important element-as it should be."
What knocks a piece out of contention? "Some of the figures were unrelated to their backgrounds. Very delicate little paintings should not have frames that overwhelm them or jar the viewer visually. You can't have an arm that doesn't make sense or a foot that is foreshortened badly so that you can get it onto the page. I saw bad uses of space. If it's fairly representational, then the artist must complete it in that way. Sometimes the content was quite moving but the form was weak. For example, a large photograph of the Pentagon was a compelling subject matter but I saw no reason for the size. It was not operating as a visual work; it was operating as a narrative, a story. I saw figures walking on a beach and the figures were very attractive, but the negative space had nothing to do with the figures. The negative and positive space has to have some relationship with each other. Sometimes they look as if the artist didn't know what to do with the space. It's a bit like putting in the background after they've painted what they wanted to paint."
Selection process? "I looked for whether they work. What was the relationship between colors, shapes, and lines? This is true regardless of whether it is a photograph, a painting, a watercolor, or a print. I also looked hard at the use of space. Everything in a piece of art is in relation to something else."Drawing: "Very few. I was disappointed. Lines can be dark/light, hard/soft, straight/curved, and the same is true of tones. Very often, those works that were rejected had a monotony of line or a monotony of tone. The interest was actually only in the subject. Isaac Stern once differentiated between 'playing notes and playing music' by taking a composition and playing every note exactly the same, with the same rests between the notes, the same volume, etc. It was very boring. Then he played the same composition using varied rests between the notes, bowing and plucking, using loud notes and soft notes, and suddenly there was music. It's the same thing with drawing, and all art. While it is important to say something with your art, it is equally important how you say it."
Watercolor: "Most were rather tight and focused on rendering rather than on painting. Manet painted flowers beautifully. They were exciting and lush first, then you noticed what kind of flower it was. The main concern of some of these artists was that I recognize the flower rather than the space, the page, and how they relate to each other. In mechanical drawing, meticulous accuracy is a goal, but in fine art it is not a goal. A camera will give you meticulous accuracy. The watercolor artists do display a great deal of skill, however."Printmaking: "There were a few nice monotypes, but very few were submitted."
Mixed media/collage: "These were mostly decorative. They reminded me of fabric or tapestry. I chose a few nice ones."Works on canvas/board: "The award winner was an oil painting. It employed a very successful use of shapes, colors. The canvas was beautifully divided, and then it became a landscape."
Nonobjective: "Often these work were designs or patterns. They don't interest me as much. All painting is abstract, and all works start out by being a few marks and a few daubs of color. How a page is divided is done first. Those who are obsessed with subject matter don't really have a relationship with abstract elements. I used to take slides of 13th and 14th century works and show them out of focus to my students. You usually couldn't tell what period they were from, but even in their blurred state you could see the relationships between colors and shapes. Out of focus is like squinting-you eliminate the details and see only the large shapes."Colored pencil/pastel: "Very few again. But nothing changes in how I looked at these works. The requirements, the considerations are the same."
Sculpture: "There were a number of figure studies that were rejected. They were not anatomically incorrect, but the overall work was not correct. By that I mean, that in sculpture one must consider planes, negative space, texture. Many had the same texture for the entire piece-there was no relief, no contrast. In some cases, the bases did not make sense. It's like they were placed on a platform that didn't go with the sculpture."Advice to Artists: "The motivation for artmaking has to be the satisfaction and enjoyment one gets from the work. Monetary rewards and acceptance by others has to be realized as something that artists learn to live without."
Advice to The Art League: "On the one hand. The Art League is doing very well as it is. More and more people are submitting work. It serves a very useful purpose for artists and there is no other venue that is serving this need. The Art League has a school where many of the problems I have noted in the exhibiting artists could be addressed. A school is measured by its faculty. The fundamental classes are the most important classes that your school, and any art school, teaches. The Art League has the opportunity to make a huge difference in the work of these exhibiting artists."
This page was last updated 09/10/2002.