My wife and I have been visiting various towns around the south west recently. What with my recent resignation and the new job being fully remote, we could live anywhere. So, we have been having a very good look. One of the places we visited was Frome, Somerset. It has quite a forbidding town centre with a formiddable dark stone, but lots of interesting things to find. One of thsee things we found was an art exhibition with a good variety of local artists and styles. They had run a competition - a very popular thing nowadays. We were lucky to talk to a lady who had been involved in the organising of the exhibition and she was very enhusiastic about the overall winner, which was a ten centimeter portrait by a new artist beginning her young journey into art. The painting was competent for someone of her age showing promise for her future endevours. It was, however, totally unremarkable. The choice of composition was good with head slightly turned to the right and shadow allowing shape to emerge. If it was a true likeness, it would be unfortunate for the sitter. Standard compositional portrait errors were clearly visible. There was no understanding of the way colour worked with the shadows. The overall effect was a slightly lifeless piece which I hadn't looked twice at, until I learnt it won.
Across the room was another portrait, by a clearly more experienced painter. The brush strokes were wild and energetic, the colours danced and played and the painting held your interest, expressed emotion and it was even a decent likeness (as far as could be told). It was a comparable painting in that both were portraits, but the second one was packed with the ability and skill that practice brings. It out shone the first.
This really narks me. What is the point of a competition if you do not pick the best painting?
Go back now to the start of the year. As a challenge I entered the Friends of the Ridgeway competition to show the Spirit of the Ridgeway. I like competitions as they give a bit of focus and give something to work towards. The Ridgeway runs just south of where we live in Wallingford, so one frosty morning I set out with my camera looking for something paintable. I took various photos but settled on a picture of the church in North Stoke as I liked the composition. Let's face it - a lot of the Ridgeway is in fact a bit flat, and this church was so bang on top of the route, the Ridgeway was smack in the middle of the photo. Arguably, I made the mistake of not pandering to my audience as the Friends are based under the gaze of the White Horse. Every other painting in the exhibition had the White Horse somewhwere. Nevertheless, perhaps my painting might stand out? Anyway, I went to the exhibition, and although there were the many mediocre entries that you would expect, there were also a handful of extremely talented artists which I was stunned to see. There were some gorgeous paintings, and I did not think my entry could quite cut it. So, I promise you: I did not mind not winning. Obviously I didn't win it.
That's not what this is about. Honest.
The winner was a high-aspect ratio landscape semi-abstract take on the local hillsides. Some skill was evident in being able to produce smooth washes and a planned composition. That was as remarkable as it got. So it's not that I didn't win, it is that it was pointless to take part: there was nothing I could have done to win. No matter how skilled I became, the choice would never be based on my ability. Had a decent painting won, I would have gone away happy.
Yes, yes, yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's all very subjective isn't it? No, we can do so much better than this. If you are going to ask artists to make an effort for your show, you owe them a fair crack. It is not enough to say that this painting just happens to tickle you. You have a responsibility to be professional. There are plenty of metrics you can fall back on:
It isn't rocket science. Art theory has been around for a long time. If you wanted to you could easily set up a competition that was honest and upfront. If we can do it for dog shows then a local art exhibition is easy.
Despite all my protestations, I will still go for these competitions. There is a certain thrill in pushing a painting out into the big wide world. Why else do this website? However, do I go for a competition that has an entrance fee? After all, none of these competitions give any indication how the judging will be done. So, when I give in my penny's worth, is there anything I can do to make a difference to my chances of winning? Or is winning totally arbitrary and just a money-making exercise?