The theme here lately seems to be art in small towns in South Carolina. This time I’m in my own backyard in Berekley County – in Moncks Corner, SC. Moncks Corner and Clinton, SC, might be about the same size. Clinton was the last small town I blogged about. When Linda or I say – “I’m going into town” – we both mean Moncks Corner. Going to Charleston, SC, or North Charleston, SC, is going to the city.
While processing e-mail this week I came across one that offered the award results from the Berkeley Artists Guild’s Annual Member Exhibition, taking place at the Berkeley County Museum located at the Old Santee Canal Park in Moncks Corner. The exhibit was on view from July 3 through Aug. 3, 2009, so this meant that I could still see the show. It’s not often I get to see a visual art exhibit in my own backyard – so why not?
But, from the minute I read through this e-mail my mind was processing info – new and old. We receive a lot of these juried show results and we post them on our website. I’m the one who processes this info for the website, so I have seen a lot of data about these shows and some things in this e-mail were raising flags to get my attention. For one thing, one artists had won five awards including Best of Show. Several other artists had won multiple awards. There were 33 awards all together – that’s a lot of awards for a small town show.
The e-mail didn’t say who the juror of this show was and it also didn’t mention how many entries were made or how many works were on display – all normal info included in the results for most of these kinds of shows. So I sent an e-mail off to see if I could get this info and it was soon sent. It didn’t take long to figure out what I was dealing with and after a few internet searches I found the Guild’s blog and website, and learned some more details. I sent another e-mail hinting at an interest as to how many members this guild had, but I haven’t gotten that info – yet. Perhaps my hint wasn’t that clear.
My experience told me that the Berkeley Artists Guild although celebrating its 35th anniversary was probably a pretty small group of artists, some with talent and some still developing their skills, which is the nature of these small guilds. The juror, although from Charlotte, NC, was a self-taught artist of some talent, but not what I would call a master artist. In fact the juror was judging artists of an equal skill level. And out of 56 entries – 33 awards were made to a small pool of individual artists.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not making any kind of judgments, but I deal with artists who are at the top of their game and artists who are at the very beginning of their journey in the arts and there are many levels of skill in-between – just like in all professions. And, there are very few times when I see art offered where I would say – “I can do better than that,” so I have a sense of appreciation for all art and all artists, but also know that some art is better. In the end, it’s all in the eyes of the viewer. Each individual makes their own judgement as to what they like and what they appreciate.
Some people think the number of how many college and university degrees an artists has determines how good an artist is, some people judge art by the price tag or the amount of money an artist generates in a year, for some it’s all about skill levels, and some people make judgments by their own likes and dislikes. I have found that none of these methods are that good a measure on their own and that there is an audience for all artists at all levels. The trick is to match them up.
At this point I was wondering if I really wanted to see this exhibit. If I go see it does it mean I have to record my reactions – in public? – no, but what’s wrong with seeing a show that you already think won’t be the best exhibit you’ll see this year? – nothing. I’m game and I think it’s in my best interest to see all – as best I can. Why not? I’m not the troll sitting under the art world bridge. Carolina Arts is about inclusion – it’s others in this state that are all about exclusion by design and policy.
That same day I received this e-mail I had to make a mail and bank run into town so I figured that after I did my duties there I’d stop by the Park and see this exhibit. At the entrance to the Park I learned that the Museum was closed on Mondays. Darn!
Well, no problem, someone is always making a run into town. There is not much in Bonneau Beach, and not much more in Bonneau – so we’re always going into Moncks Corner for something. And, sure enough, the next day called for another run into town.
O.K. right off – there was some good work there, some not so good work and some in-between. The space was not the best to begin with for an art exhibit, but probably typical of what could be found in most small towns. Lighting was a problem – a mix of artificial and daylight – too many things under glass for flash use and too little light without it. The images I took did not show the works at their best so I decided to go without them. This was my problem, I didn’t expect that I would need a tripod and a ladder. It was my photography curse all over again.
I saw a juried show in Charleston, SC, during this last Piccolo Spoleto Festival that had work in it that I was surprised made the cut. This was the big city and they had a very qualified juror – I had no idea what kind of work was submitted for this exhibit, but some was at the mid-level of this show in a small town. So, not so good work gets into all kinds of juried shows – big and small.
The full results of the awards for this exhibit will be posted on our website at Carolina Arts Online under the heading Juried Show Results – 2009. But this is how that went: the Mixed Media category had 6 entries and 3 awards; Drawing, 5 entries – 3 awards; Acrylics, 11 entries – 3 awards; Watercolors, 12 entries – 7 awards; Pastels, 6 entries – 5 awards; and Oils, 12 entries – 9 awards. These included the usual 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mention awards and some special awards for (Bird, Human Figure, Aquatic, Floral, and Landscape) as well as awards by a Mayor, the Museum and a couple of Memorial awards.
Making the decisions on these awards had to be a difficult task for the juror – especially when 5 out of 6 entries in a category receive awards. It can’t be a good feeling to be the one left out.
And, that’s about the only problem I had about this exhibit – it wasn’t the quality of the work or the space – it was all the awards. It kind of reminded me of a children’s soccer team who came in ninth place out of nine teams and everyone received a trophy. Maybe that’s good for building up something for children, but I think most of these folks were adults. The purpose of awards are to recognize some things that are better than others – much better, not just a little better.
Of course the nature of juried show is questionable. I hardly ever agree with the juror’s decisions. I tend to pick my own award winners. I have always told artists throughout my years in this biz when it comes to juried shows: if you win a top award the juror was a genius and you should brag about it to everyone who will listen, but if you don’t get selected for an award the juror was a hack and it is meaningless. Sometimes just getting into a juried show is an award in that many others didn’t make the cut – an award is just gravy. Some shows include all entries – I don’t know if that was the case with this show, but it would be my guess that it was.
Enough about the awards. Like I said I liked some of the work I saw. In my opinion the following group were the best of the show: Linda Medders Jackson, Horace Nobles, Gayle Jourdain, LaRon Peace, Trish Emery, and Elliott West. I also like some small works by Ellen Gosnelli, but not the works she did on feathers. I’ve never seen that before.
LaRon Peace would get my vote as the artist working most outside the box – most creative with his imagery.
My favorite – in my opinion – was a three-way toss-up between: Ashe Leigh, a drawing by Linda Medders Jackson; Moon Dancer, a mixed media work by LaRon Peace; and A Splash in the Swamp, an oil by Horace Nobles.
The public viewing this exhibit selected the work, A Splash in the Swamp, an oil by Horace Nobles, as the People’s Choice Award winner. I could agree with that, but could just as easily have voted for my other two favorites.
That’s my report – I’ll stand by it, after all it’s just my opinion – no big deal. I wish the show was going to be up for a longer time or that I had known about it before it was almost over – so people could see it for themselves.
