Juror's Statement
December 2002 All Media Membership Show
No statement available.
Walter Bartman
Director, Yellow Barn Studio at Glen Echo, Maryland
Juror's Dialogue
by Pat Gerkin
December's All-Media Show has been jurored by Walter Bartman--artist and teacher in the area for more than 30 years and Director of the Yellow Barn Studio at Glen Echo, Maryland. Mr. Bartman says that there were no surprises in the submissions this time. "The work submitted is similar to what I have seen at The Art League before and what I expected to see--a lot of landscapes, florals. I would like to see more figurative works and more oils. The oil painting is always the weakest part of the submissions. I am always surprised at that. Maybe it is because landscape lends itself to color and this is a very colorful show," he mused. Bartman says that he tried to choose a variety of mediums and a variety within each medium rather than a particular style. His selection process included the following: 1) Variety of styles (so if submissions were similar in style and subject matter, some may have been omitted for that reason. 2) Innovative work (something different from the usual). 3) Craftsmanship (this is important and must be good before the other criteria are considered). 4) Fresh approach. There is a lot of talent here, but not as much experimentation. A lot of artists are working in similar ways, and that works against them. In fact, the more experienced the artists, the less likely they are to experiment because they have settled into a "style", he noted.
"At least 15 pieces were award quality, but I could not choose all of them for the top award. The best of show was a unique work (B.J. Anderson). It had simplicity, balance, good compositional structure, and good play of color. It used warm vs. cool colors. It was clear that there was a specific plan for this piece that worked out very well," he stated. "If I noted a lack of experience, for example, the work was not innovative, it lacked contrast, lacked the know how to manipulate the paint, or did not pull at me emotionally, I took it out immediately. It was much easier to take out the first 400 than it was to go from 200 down to 125," Bartman stressed.
Philosophy: "I have taught art for 35 years, and what I want to see in a work is that the artist has arrived at another level of awareness than before. That is probably more difficult for experienced artists to attain, but easier for beginning artists."
Photography: "The photography was much stronger this time. I saw some very beautiful work. I was impressed by the sensitivity and unique ideas. I don't like to see photography that is just a snapshot. I chose two for awards--one was narrative and the other abstract. They were very good examples of design, relationships of colors, and value, the same as paintings. In fact, painters should take a look at these two to explore the imagery involved."
Watercolor: "The watercolors are always strong in general. A weakness of the watercolors, though, is that there are too many florals. I would be pleased to see a few more figurative paintings and crowds of people. They are more interesting. Watercolorists seem to shy away from figures. The works were very good, but there was not enough variety among them."
Drawing: "This was also a very weak category. Only a handful of drawings were submitted. The ones in the show are very good, but they don't really take any risks."
Pastels/colored pencil: "Again, only a handful of pastels were submitted. One, however, was an award-winner. It was a nude on a bed (L. Palmisano). It was very good, and it made it easy to choose it for an award."
Printmaking: "I saw a number of very nice pieces, and many of them were chosen for the show. The variety of drawing showed up here rather than in the traditional drawing category. The first prize was a litho with watercolor."
Mixed media: "I enjoy seeing a variety of materials, but I didn't choose many of the mixed media, except the top award winner."
Collage/assemblage: "I chose a lovely weaving, gold-colored (M.Bauman). It was another good example of variety. A lot of assemblage/collage were rejected because they were so similar to what I've seen before."
Sculpture: "The sculpture had more humor and there were some very nice pieces. Humor is perhaps what may be lacking in the 2-dimensional work. I especially liked the wooden vest (S. Wengrovitz). Some pieces were good but would not make the show stronger. Sometimes a piece is so different that it can be too dominant and can change the feeling of a show."
Ceramics: "I chose a few interesting ceramics for the show. The glazes were unusual but the forms were more typical."
Abstract: "It is more difficult for abstract work to get into the shows because it is more difficult for them to have variety and to be unique. The first generation abstracts were all unique, but the second and third generation abstracts are not. I think that may be why abstract has moved over into mixed media. The abstracts all have a similar feel. It's been done and we've seen a lot of it. One problem is that the shapes of the canvases were all similar size, whether abstract or representational. If you want a unique composition, one of the best ways to accomplish it is to go to a unique size canvas."
Advice to Artists: "Look at shows and determine what is NOT being done. Do what is NOT being done, not what is already being done. For example, I saw very few cityscapes, no human condition, and no social commentary. Abstract painters should paint their temperament and get away from designing the canvas. Look at ways to work with abstraction that they havenít worked with before. Choose different patterns, different palettes. Look at Manuel Neri and how he approaches his subject matter."
Advice to The Art League: "I always enjoy judging a show at The Art League. The quality of artists is always high. The weakness of the shows is that the artists know what gets in and so they try to second-guess the judge. They should take risks and submit work that they think wouldn't get in."
This page was last updated 12/23/2002.