Juror's Statement
THE OCTOBER 2002
ALL-MEDIA MEMBERSHIP SHOW
I always enjoy judging an Art League exhibition. The quality of submissions is high - and it is very important that there are places for artists to compete and exhibit.
No one should feel badly if their picture was not selected for a particular show. Good work must always be rejected to reduce the number to those that can be successfully shown. When your work is selected, the main advantage is the opportunity to step back and see your work with a fresh eye.
As a judge, I try as much as possible to look at all the work with an open mind toward all media and all styles. What counts is how well the artist achieved his or her own goal. Of course, I also like to see a fresh approach, a unique vision, as well as knowledge and skill. I did select one or two pieces that were not skillful, but have other strengths.
Joy Turner Luke
Virginia Artist
Juror's Dialogue
by Erika Meredith
Joy Turner Luke returned to The Art League this month to juror the All-Media Show. Luke is a painter and has served as President of the Inter-Society Color Council and a representative for the America Society for Testing Materials. She gives intensive courses and lectures on color and paint.
Luke has jurored for The Art League a number of times. She noted that in the past, many strong oil and acrylic pieces were submitted, but the last time she jurored there were not many oils or acrylics at all, and strong watercolor pieces seemed to dominate. This time, she said, there were not many oils or acrylics submitted, but they were of very good quality. She also noted that the watercolors and prints submitted were very strong.
In selecting pieces for the show, Luke said in addition to knowledge and skill, she looked for something different and interesting, perhaps with an unusual viewpoint. "I like to see things that surprise me," she said. She feels the medium is not as important as is the artist's vision and skill. "It either works, or it doesn't," she said. "There are lots of things you can point out that are good or bad about a particular piece, but the first thing is, you look at it and know it's good; then you look for why." "I also try to think about how a piece will show. It has to be strong on the wall together with the other pieces," she said.
Luke said the only specific thing that took a work out of contention for her was if it was not consistent, maybe in terms of composition or handling. "For instance, when I looked at the photographs, in addition to professional quality, I chose those in which the sensibility was similar to what you expect from artists working in other media," she said. But Luke added that she prefers not to criticize work that is complete, explaining that at that point it is not helpful to nitpick-the work should be looked at as a whole. "When you have to weed out this much for a show, you end up having to cut out pieces that are good. I tried to leave work in that would appeal to different sensibilities," she said.
Luke said her most difficult task was choosing the prize winners. She said, "Particularly in an all-media show, it's like comparing apples and oranges." She gave out eight equal merit awards and the Gilham "best in show" award (Conversation IX Color Study by P. Cook). She said there were more pieces she would have liked to give awards to, but she had to limit her choices.
Although jurors will often give comments on each medium represented in the show, Luke preferred to think and speak about the submissions on an individual basis. She said she is most interested in the artist's vision and skill, and "whether they accomplished what they set out to do." She did, however, offer this comment about drawing: "In a drawing, I'm looking for somebody who really knows how to draw and makes it look easy." She noted that there were not very many colored pencil pieces submitted, and very few sculpture submissions. She said she also would have liked to see more oil and acrylic paintings submitted.
Advice to Artists: "Keep submitting. It can give you perspective to see your work on the wall next to other pieces. Try to see your work in as many different places and competitions as possible." "You certainly can never know too much."
Advice to The Art League: "I'm very proud of The Art League and the fact of its existence. It gives artists a place to show and the opportunity to submit work and have it selected by experienced judges. The quality of work has improved over the years."
This page was last updated 10/22/2002.