Balzer Designs

My Experience as an Exhibition Juror

A few months ago I was asked to be the exhibition juror for the members exhibit at the Mosesian Arts Center.  It's a non-juried show.  All members are invited to submit up to 3 pieces of work for the show.  From the submissions, I was to choose 1 Best in Show Winner and 3 Honorable Mentions.

Once the show was hung, I was invited to come by the Mosesian Arts Center and see the work.  I was determined to have a system for making my choices.  Before I walked in, I made a list of criteria for myself.  Work under consideration for a prize must:

• Be well executed.
• Have a point-of-view.
• Make me, the viewer, feel or think or react in some way.
• Be unique in some way.

These aren't the criteria that all judges use, I'm sure. But these are the things I like to see in art.

I made an initial sweep through the exhibit making quick choices about "yes" this fits the criteria or "no" this doesn't.  After my initial sweep, I had a shortlist of 20 artworks I wanted to go back and see again.

I started to think more deeply about the artwork this time through.  I read labels and really considered each of the 20 pieces.  After taking a good hard close up look at my top 20, I narrowed it down to 10 pieces that I really felt met all the criteria.

At this point, I felt overwhelmed.  And so I decided I needed a bit of time.  I took photos of the 10 works under consideration and went home.

The next morning, I decided that I needed a way to more directly compare the artwork.  So I printed all 10 out together onto 2 sheets of paper.  This allowed me to look at them side-by-side.  I picked out my four favorite and decided to sleep on it for one more night.

In the morning, without looking at the artwork, I asked myself, "What artwork are you still thinking about?"  Once I had chosen my top four, I had to choose a Grand Prize Winner from among them. The questions I asked were, "Which of these works shows complete mastery over this person's craft?" and, "Which of these works do I not have any suggestions to give the artist on how to make it just a little bit better?"

And in this way, my choices became clear.  Here I am announcing the prizes at the Exhibition Opening:

All in all, I would say that this was an educational process for me.  I have often been on the other side of the judging process.  Four things I'm taking away:

• Art is subjective (obviously).  I like seeing the hand of the artist.  Another juror might not.
• It's often attractive to go towards creating work that is like what everyone else is making, but standing out is often about standing alone. 
• Titles matter.  Is your artwork about something?  Can the title add meaning to what the viewer is already taking away from the work?
• For me, pretty is not enough.  I need story, emotion...something more substantive than pretty.

Most of all, I think I will be less hurt when I don't make it into an exhibit or win a prize.  Instead I will focus on being the best version of the artist I want to be!

Thanks for stopping by!

Yayoi Kusama: Love is Calling

This past weekend I visited Yayoi Kusama's "Love is Calling" infinity room at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) here in Boston.

In case you're not familiar, Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist who has been creating mirrored infinity rooms since the 1960s.  The experience of being in an infinity room is definitely reminiscent of a fun house mirror room -- but with lots of extra visual stimulation.  In "Love is Calling" the extra stimulation comes from polka-dotted plastic stalagmites and stalactites.

In the room, there is a recording of Yayoi Kusama reciting a poem in Japanese.  This is a translation of that poem:

Even with a timed ticket, you have to wait in line for a while...

...and then they open the door to the big white box and it seems like a magical world inside!

I've had the good fortune to visit a few other Kusama installations.

To me, I both love and hate these installations.

I love them because they make me happy.  It's impossible not to smile and feel playful in that kind of funhouse environment.

I hate them because (a) they're just all about "getting the photo" and (b) there's a strict time limit (30-120 seconds, depending on the piece) on how long you can spend in the installation. 

I have literally never seen anyone in a Kusama installation not taking photos -- myself included.  And I understand the time limit -- there's always a wait.  But, can you really experience something meaningful in so brief a period of time?

What do you think?  Have you visited a Yayoi Kusama installation before?

Thanks for stopping by!

Artistic Serendipity

On Friday night, I got an idea -- one of those ideas that's like a gnat that won't stop buzzing in your ear.  Buzz buzz buzz!  I just *had* to drop everything and chase that idea!  I started cutting up fabric and piecing it back together in strips and blocks of all kinds. 

Saturday morning I got out of bed and asked myself, "Should I do the work that I ought to do or should I continue last night's experiments?"  Well, as you can guess, that was a short conversation with myself.  Of course, I wanted to continue cutting and sewing and chasing that darn idea.

I was so pleased with my progress that I snapped a photo of the bits and bobs up on my design wall in my studio before I left the house.

And then I walked into the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) and stumbled into a room of paintings by Helga Roht Poznanski that made me do a double take.

(These watercolor pieces were behind glass, so there are some weird reflections in these photos.)

Magical artistic serendipity, right?  These watercolor paintings are so much of what was buzzing around in my brain.  I feel like I was meant to see this exhibit on this day!  I literally could not stop smiling as I walked through this particular gallery.

Have you ever had a moment of magical artistic serendipity?  It's so exhilarating!

Thanks for stopping by!

Highfield Hall and Patrick Dougherty Stickwork

I recently stopped by Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA. It's an historic home, which unfortunately was denuded many years ago when it went up for sale and the contents of the home were auctioned off.  That bad fortune has been somewhat reversed as it has been turned into a museum and event venue. 

Outside on the lawn was a Patrick Dougherty Stickwork Sculpture and it was magnificent!

Inside the house was a series of fiber exhibits.

Including this seriously spectacular "quilt."

There were also some photorealistic drawings (under glass and so they didn't photograph well) and a small collection of collected leaves:

And while the house has been largely denuded, there were still fireplaces and stained glass and one very giant mirror to admire.

All in all, a great place to spend a few hours.  I wish it hadn't been quite so boiling hot.  The grounds are extensive and look like a lovely place to go for a long walk, but we just weren't up to it in the heat.  Next time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Truro Historical Society Highland House

I love old houses.  It's no wonder, therefore, that I bought an old house.  I've always been delighted by their quirky charm.  Touring old houses is actually a passion that Steve and I happily share.  So you can imagine our delight at stumbling upon the Truro Historical Society's Highland House.  The first floor is set up as a museum with cases full of historical artifacts and a brief history of the local shipping/fishing industry.  But I was most drawn to the stone fireplace and the gorgeous molded tin ceiling.

The second floor is a rabbit warren of themed bedrooms.  I particularly liked the painted dresser:

All in all a very sweet museum to visit.  We took a quick walk down the lane to the Truro lighthouse after the museum:

Inside the lighthouse were these kids coloring book pages...

...and you know what I love about them?  There are just 3 white lighthouses.  Every other version of the lighthouse imagines it as something totally different and I loooove that.  Why do we ever teach people to stop imagining?

Here's to imagination!

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P.S. Tune into HSN today during the 10am and 6pm EST hours to see me demo sewing, serging, and the PTouch Embellish!