Juror's Statement
THE JANUARY 2003
ALL-MEDIA MEMBERSHIP SHOW
It was certainly a pleasure to be able to stand in for Jack Perlmutter to juror the Art League's exhibition. The variety of the work in style and media was impressive. I found the quality of the top third of those selected to be comparable to the selection I've made in past situations in nationally competitive shows. What the Art League does for artists in the Alexandria/Washington area is significant, and I would hope that situations like this would encourage open and forthright critiques among the artists of their own work.
In general, I always encourage more experimentation in subject matter and approach, and more practice in technique and craftsmanship. I also suggest keen attention to presentation, as frames and mats (or pedestals in the case of sculpture) can often be inappropriate and can overwhelm the work or detract from it. A fancy and neat frame does not enhance a poorly executed work, nor compensate for a lack of attentiveness to the details within the work itself.
Nothing said in the way of critique should override the fact that generally most of the work presented was competitive and thoughtfully executed.
David Furchgott
President and CEO
International Arts and Artists
Juror's Dialogue
by Pat Gerkin
Jurying at The Art League for the first time, David Furchgott, President of International Arts & Artists (IA&A), an international arts service organization, is something of a hero by stepping in at the last minute for his long-time friend, Jack Perlmutter. The Art League is honored to have such a distinguished juror for our monthly all-media show and is pleased that Mr. Furchgott has agreed to juror for us again at a future date. At the same time, we were greatly saddened to learn that Mr. Perlmutter was unable to join us, due to illness.
Although this is his first juror experience with The Art League, Mr. Furchgott has jurored and/or curated international, national, and regional shows for many years. This month, he has assembled a carefully selected group exhibit for our gallery. Furchgott was enthusiastic about the variety of mediums and personal expression brought to the gallery. He would like to have seen more three-dimensional work since 16 years of his 30-year-long career in the arts were focused on sculpture. He noted, also, that the submissions had a broad range of quality, emphasizing that The Art League has some very good artists.
Furchgott's selection process included craftsmanship, irrespective of the medium. "I don't like works that are sloppy. Although I can and do honor the impulse to create works in a loose fashion, I look for the artist's control of the process. It must be obvious that the looseness is intended and is controlled, not just an accident or paint slapped on with little regard for intention," Furchgott stressed. He also tried to maintain a reasonable balance between abstract and representational works because there was a balance in the numbers submitted. "I don't favor a particular medium or expression over another, but I think it is easier to be critical of representational work because it either looks like what is being painted or it doesn't. Also, I studied originally to do representational work myself (particularly figurative work)," he said.
Speaking of his friend, Jack Perlmutter, Furchgott shared these thoughts, "In the world of art in recent years, Washington, D.C. is not known for its artists. It is known for its museums. It is hard to be an artist and be recognized in Washington, D.C. Jack Perlmutter is one of the stalwart artists who chose to stay here and work here and be recognized here. All artists swim against the current here. For matters like studio space, for example, it is easier even in Baltimore or Richmond," Furchgott says with a trace of regret. "But for this show," he says, "I want to encourage artists to continue their work. I believe in criticism, however, especially if it is done individually to help the artist."
Works that did not make the cut were--sloppy, repetitious of things seen before, an imitation of something done before, redundant, or appropriated work. "Being influenced by master artists is expected, but it is the artist's obligation and challenge to take it to another level," he stressed.
Drawing: "Not too many drawings were submitted. Some were eliminated because they were rough studies, and not well completed."
Figure work: "Many of the figurative works, both drawing and painting, looked as if the artists didn't have full control of what they were trying to do."
Intention: "Intention is very important. It is great if an artist can express the intention clearly. That is the mark of a good work. If you don't know where the work is going and the 'mystery' is not intentional, then it is a problem."
Landscapes: "I saw, and I chose, quite a few interesting landscapes, across the mediums."
Paintings: "Paintings on canvas and on paper were often not evenly finished. Some looked like they were partially finished but the artist didn't know how to finish. Even some that I chose were borderline choices and had some problems in them. For example, one part of a canvas might be well done, but a problem might be apparent in another part of the same canvas."
Photography: "My father, who was trained as a painter but was a professional photographer for nearly 50 years, taught me that what you select to shoot is a big issue. The photo of the wall with the window in the upper left-hand corner and the door at the bottom was an unusual composition. It made it interesting (M. Fenn). The photo of the cottage and the range of trees (D.Biehler), 'is another example of an interesting composition. Instead of putting the cottage smack in the middle, the photographer placed it off-angle. My father said that 'Half of doing art is knowing what to do; the other half is knowing when to stop.' This is as true in photography as it is in painting and in all other mediums."
Paintings: "I eliminated several portraits that were lost in their backgrounds--either for too much unresolved space or too much going on in the background. The portraits could easily have been painted on a smaller canvas with less background or with the negative space more controlled. Regarding the painterly quality of works on canvas, you can tell when an artist knows how to handle paint. There were a few bold abstractions that were knockouts, and several of the detailed representational paintings were great, too."
Sculpture: "We simply did not have a lot of 3-D work submitted, and in general, the sculpture was less sophisticated than some of the painting. I was told that open-call exhibitions such as this one at The Art League seem to attract more 2-D than 3-D. I did choose several works in stone and a few ceramic pieces that were pretty good."
"Although I used to do this more often, my time only allows me to judge one or two shows per year. Consistently in my experience, about 1/3 of the work submitted in shows like this is not well done. That figure seems to hold up whether I'm judging alone or whether I'm on a jury with several professionals who are selecting the work. When I judged this show, I was able to cut between 1/3 and 2/3 immediately. My first cut was to about 195, and then I refined the show to somewhere around 120-125. That was out of 603 entries," Furchgott said thoughtfully. "I chose a few that were unusual, unconventional, or 'odd'. That is always a risk because it could turn out to be an artist who came across something unusual for the first time and once only--an unintended accident or a fluke. Or, it could be someone who has practiced marching to that 'different drummer' for many years--which is, of course, admirable."
"I saw a couple of abstract works that were done in the pointillist style with melted crayon (S. Pollack). Trendiness and fashion has discarded some abstraction that still has value. In my view, if a style had value at one point in art history, that value can extend to new work being done today, if the artists take the work or the movement a step or two further. I consider that a valuable part of the continuing discourse."
Advice to Artists: "In about 1983, I was fortunate to have a discussion with Henry Moore, and I asked him what was important for an artist. He replied, 'Integrity'. So I say, know what you want to do, and do it to the best of your ability. Not only know what you want to do, but how you want to do it. Be true to yourself."
Advice to The Art League: "I don't know The Art League very well, but I would cheer you on. It is an important service that you provide to artists in a city that is as museum-dominated as this one is. It is sometimes difficult to remember that the artist is at the center of all this."
(As with all jurors, I requested that Mr. Furchgott address the issues that keep works from being accepted into the show. He has done this admirably. Many jurors prefer to address why they chose the pieces that are in the show. I hope you will all find this Dialogue particularly instructive. I certainly did.-PG)
This page was last updated 01/17/2003.