Degrees of Art: Controversial Observations ~ & Announcing a New Visual Art Contest: ART DEGREES with need for SBD Sponsers.
And so, at the serious risk of treading on precious toes and being accused of being ungracious or munching soar grapes:
I feel that many, not all, of the Photography and Art Contests I see here on Steemit are woefully lacking and I wonder about the required qualifications that entitle one to run a competition and set oneself up as judge.
For surely, one cannot put oneself forward as mechanic unless one has the necessary skills and qualifications either formally procured or hard won through experience.
I realise what I have just written is highly inflammatory and unlikely to win me friends but I have been sitting on this, my truth, for a while now and feel compelled to step out from the shadows.
I also realise that these competitions are created for fun and encouragement to allow folks to share their creations in a safe and nurturing environment but, as a professional artist and ex-tutor at a top London Art School, I take my metier seriously and am perturbed.
~
Art in all it’s many forms is glorious and should be for everyone but, because of this non-elitist notion of inclusion, I observe huge discrepancies in the level of competence in work entered into contests. This is normal - fine and dandy! And whilst appreciation of art is subjective, and a highly contentious hot potato, there are inevitably differences in level of understanding and competence, use of materials, colour, composition etc as each of us is at a different stage of our creative development.
We each have the potential to be great but to be great we have to be open to constructive criticism and be honest about where we stand on the evolutionary timeline. I include myself here and happily acknowledge that I have far to travel to truly master my own art. In truth any artists final destination is never fully attained.
And so, I have been pondering this issue for many weeks now and feel that I have identified the main weakness in the competitions I see here – lack, and possible misunderstanding, of the classification of entrants.
Any competition is flawed if entrants are not competing on a level playing field and It is unfair to ALL participants to have amateurs/hobbyists, students and professionals competing against one another and, to my mind, a recipe for disgruntlement.
(I should state here that whilst rare, it is not unheard of, for an amateur or student to be at the same level of mastering of their craft as a professional. Lines can be blurry!)
All creative endeavours at all levels are of great worth and should be encouraged but by lumping all levels together I feel no one category of artist is able to fully shine.
~
ART DEGREES.
Hence, I intend to run an Art Contest here with 3 categories of entrant:
Amateur/Hobbyist.
Student.
Professional.
ART DEGREES will also have a twist – As a tutor I used to write briefs for my students and crit their work; through constructive criticism and guidance a person can grow. And so, it is my intention to offer the option for entrants to solicite my help if they so desire.
To date I am unsure of the details and funding of ART DEGREES as I wish to offer prizes and, as a minnow, am unsure as to how I will be able to achieve this.
I guess I will be reaching out to a few movers and shakers asking for their support: @jerrybanfield @aggroed @riverhead @alice @fulltimegeek @jamesc
If you have any ideas or wish to support ART DEGREES please get in contact.
With Love.
xox
http://www.lindadacey-laforge.com
I invite you to check out my recent posts. I'd sure love to hear your thoughts :)
https://steemit.com/spirituality/@ldacey-laforge/lightworkers-together-we-can-help-heal-our-world
https://steemit.com/love/@ldacey-laforge/a-series-of-essays-on-love-essay-2-love-is-all
https://steemit.com/life/@ldacey-laforge/spare-change-please
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Stunning idea, L - I have noticed the same but have no quals to back me up (or talent). Have you checked out @budgets? That might be what you're looking for......?
Very good post, and it speaks to me. I am administrator on a artist network where we are trying to maintain a high level of professional quality.
I am often stumped about what to say when approached about it with a question how to join - I then look at the work and wonder: did you really look at the art on our site and you feel you fit into that category? Then of course I don't know what to say to them. I really don't want to be rude, but if the grandma pins that art to her fridge, it doesn't mean it belongs on a professional artists website.
The ratio of artists that had approached me (via the comment section on our site) is about one in fifty that I would give a second look. But what do I say to the rest? Eventually, I deleted the comment feature altogether.
Delicate subject full of fragile and inflated egos eh!
And the problem, for me at least,is that if I spoke my mind honestly I would be slated and hated for being a snob, elitist, disillusioned, ungracious, unkind ~ I could go on.
If you have any relevant thoughts or contacts that may be interested in helping to get ART DEGREES started I am all ears!
Thanks for your comment.
Happy creative days.
xox
thank you - I know what you speak of. At times I deflect the "blame" by saying that these decisions are done by committee and out of my reach. I used to be a juror for provincial art awards in Alberta, where I lived in Canada. The votes are secret ballots, nobody knows what others voted for. On the other hand, at my Alma Mater I was on the STP (Salary-Tenure-Promotion) committee, and the votes were open - needless to say there was a lot of bitterness that in the end did cost me my job (on a vote by professors that voted against me, based on my previous votes).
Cheers 🍺
I hope this takes off. You have to go for it!!!
hi @ldacey-laforge so glad you dropped me this link. wow you make a great point that I didn't really think of - I mean I'm just a beginner in the art world and I really haven't taken part in any challenges, purposely because I feel like I'm still practicing lol I see so much profound and beautiful art on here by some people (which is great, I love they share their work and I appreciate it, too - I admire it) but to break it up a bit sort of by levels of mastery would really foster a learning community and one where new artists can learn and hone their crafts and be supported while doing that but also then another community where established professionals can showcase their work and be recognized really among their "peers" and judged against others closer to their skill bracket
wonderful post! @plushzilla has created the Steemit Network of Learning where we hope to bring together teachers and students to create workshops,posts, video all teaching whatever skill you're good at - for anyone who may want to learn.. this may be something you'd be interested in I think :) https://steemit.com/makesteemitgreat-again/@fibrefox/the-steemtopia-network-of-learning-update-under-new-management
Challenges and contests would do great with this kind of community because "teachers" can be honored as great masters by other teachers or even students too and vise-versa with the "students" - contests can be posted to the students and judged within a more fair scope.