Mandan Art Association

Judging Art

05 Dec 2010 Comments Off

by catfc in Artist profile

On Thursday, Jeannine L. Saabye judged the Mandan Art Association Gallery Miniature Show. Saabye, associate professor of humanities and gallery director at University of Mary in Bismarck, picked winners for Best of Show, Gallery, and Most Creative awards.

It’s difficult and sometimes politically dicey to judge any kind of creative endeavor, and especially to talk publicly about how one chooses one work over another. So, I was grateful that Saabye was willing to speak openly about her criteria, her personal tastes, and why the two don’t always draw her to the same work of art.

Saabye said she looked at three criteria when judging the Miniature Show:

1. Composition. Saabye pointed out that her winners all showed excellent composition. For example, attention to background as well as foreground. In the case of the Gallery Award winner, an abstract, she pointed out how a number of diverse elements and media blended seamlessly to create a cohesive piece.

2. Mastery of tools and materials. The Best of Show artist had undeniably expert control, creating smooth color and warm light with just colored pencils.

3. Invitation to see. The third criterion was  a bit more subjective. Saabye said she looked for a quality in all of her winners that invited her to see beyond the frame…the light source, what else might be going on in the space not drawn.

While those three criteria drove the judging, Saabye added a couple other conversational notes that might be interesting to artists:

• Personal versus objective favorites. Saabye noted there were other pieces that appealed to her, in some cases quite a lot, though they didn’t meet her judging criteria as well as the winners. She pointed out a work by Dakota Noot that she described as an example. “This one is just so fun,” she said.
• Originality. There were other works that Saabye said were beautiful and executed nicely. However, they weren’t as unique as the winners.

To see the Miniatures that Saabye chose, and to vote for the People’s Choice award, visit the Mandan Art Association Gallery during business hours this week. Or join us Dec. 10, 5-7 p.m. for our annual Evening of Wine, Cheese, and Art event.