Interview with a Juror
Monday, August 29, 2005
Please describe how you stay actively involved in the arts.
Eugene is a great area for art viewing and art showing. I strive to stay active in the arts on both fronts, as an artist, and as an appreciator of the arts.
I work on the University of Oregon campus in the Westerfield Lab in the Institute of Neuroscience. In this capacity I am able to keep my tie to the University, even after having completed my degree work in Biology in 1997. This University position gives me a great vantage point from which to keep abreast of the University art community. The University has several rotating art galleries of varying sizes on campus and the recently reopened Schnitzer Art Museum to keep me visually occupied.
Also, I have been fortunate to take the occassional art class through the University's staff rate program that encourages University employees to take classes at reduced tuition rates. My University connections been a great way to keep my brain buzzing with a constant feed of artistic inspirations.
This year marks my beginning journey in viewing what happens "behind the curtain" of the art gallery. I am serving on the Jacob's Gallery Steering Committee, which is giving me a valuable insight into funding discussions and committee work. I'm realizing that many cogs are required to make the art scene of Eugene work. This role as a Mayor's Art Show juror is another step in this journey.
As a professional artist yourself, what advice would you give to aspiring artists who want to market their art?
The first step to fulfill as an aspiring artist, is to make sure you are creating the best art you can at this moment in your life. Before you market your art, it has to be honestly the best art you can make. Your time as an artist is one of your most valuble assets, so use it to your fullest potential and make art you are truly proud of. Anything is possible in the art world, as long as it is done well.
Also, to successfully market your art, an artist can't be afraid to fulfill details of the business side of the art market. This means creating a top notch visual presense, for your art and yourself as an artist. Be able to clearly state who you are as an artist and what your art is. Create a stunning presentation of your art in the form of a portfolio or online gallery. Make information about you and your
artwork as easily accessable as possible.
A final crucial piece of advice for artists striving to market their work, is to be able to ask for help from those in the art world. Be it gallery owners or successful Eugene area artists, there are many worlds of wisdom when it comes to marketing art in the Eugene area. Artists shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel in this realm of living and working as an artist.
What excites you most about the Lane County arts scene?
Lane County has a great mix of artistic flavors. The proximity of the University has great potential for infusing Lane County's arts scene. I've seen the excitment that is generated in the studio classes on campus and love catching traces of this energy as it trickles through out Lane County. Even better is that the University is like an ever constant fountain of youth in regards to its art vigor. Each year overflows with new arts students, each teaming with potential. The trick is, how to tap into this novice energy; to bring the excitment and learning of a studio experience and mix it with the wisdom of long time practicing artists. I would love to see more of an exchange between these artist groups.
Please describe your experience as a juror, what the role of juror means to you, and what type of shows you have recently juried.
Acting as a juror for this year's Mayor's Art Show is my first formal capacity in the role of a juror. Though I have to admit, I've informally juried several Mayor's Art Shows... in my volunteer shifts as an art handler! Working the volunteer shift of receiving artworks or handing back non-admitted pieces provides a wonderful opportunity for ones own private jurying process. I've even written up lists of artworks that resonnated with me, to compare to the juror's final selection of artworks. Every year I am surprised by the similarities and the differences in the final pick of arts to be in the Mayor's Art Show.
Part of being an artist is the roving eye that takes in everything art related around you. Every art show I attend is "juried" and critiqued in my mind as I view it. Every art journal I read is thoroughly digested and checked against my own internal aesthetic. I continually create and update my own personal aesthetic by digesting the art around me.
What are your aspirations as a juror for the 2005 Mayor's Art Show?
As a juror, I hope to catch some of Lane County's unrealized gems in what is the Mayor's Art Show dragnet. The Mayor's Art Show has many flavors swirling around its reputation... it can reveal new artists, highlight established treasures, create a city-wide chuckle (remember the paint test art work of stripes outed in the Comic News?). It can also push one to try harder for next year; it can invoke the harshest
inner critics of an artist's mind.
I have seen such a variety of reactions to the assembled Mayor's Art Shows of years past. I aspire to be transparent in my selection of artworks with no juror-mystique attached. I can only approach the variety of artworks submitted with my own personal preferences and the goal to work with the other jurors to narrow down the field of entered artworks to a body of work that will fit in the gallery. I hope to share the jurying process with any who are interested so that hopefull artists can see that jurying is not a condemnation of non-selected artworks.
Eugene is a great area for art viewing and art showing. I strive to stay active in the arts on both fronts, as an artist, and as an appreciator of the arts.
I work on the University of Oregon campus in the Westerfield Lab in the Institute of Neuroscience. In this capacity I am able to keep my tie to the University, even after having completed my degree work in Biology in 1997. This University position gives me a great vantage point from which to keep abreast of the University art community. The University has several rotating art galleries of varying sizes on campus and the recently reopened Schnitzer Art Museum to keep me visually occupied.
Also, I have been fortunate to take the occassional art class through the University's staff rate program that encourages University employees to take classes at reduced tuition rates. My University connections been a great way to keep my brain buzzing with a constant feed of artistic inspirations.
This year marks my beginning journey in viewing what happens "behind the curtain" of the art gallery. I am serving on the Jacob's Gallery Steering Committee, which is giving me a valuable insight into funding discussions and committee work. I'm realizing that many cogs are required to make the art scene of Eugene work. This role as a Mayor's Art Show juror is another step in this journey.
As a professional artist yourself, what advice would you give to aspiring artists who want to market their art?
The first step to fulfill as an aspiring artist, is to make sure you are creating the best art you can at this moment in your life. Before you market your art, it has to be honestly the best art you can make. Your time as an artist is one of your most valuble assets, so use it to your fullest potential and make art you are truly proud of. Anything is possible in the art world, as long as it is done well.
Also, to successfully market your art, an artist can't be afraid to fulfill details of the business side of the art market. This means creating a top notch visual presense, for your art and yourself as an artist. Be able to clearly state who you are as an artist and what your art is. Create a stunning presentation of your art in the form of a portfolio or online gallery. Make information about you and your
artwork as easily accessable as possible.
A final crucial piece of advice for artists striving to market their work, is to be able to ask for help from those in the art world. Be it gallery owners or successful Eugene area artists, there are many worlds of wisdom when it comes to marketing art in the Eugene area. Artists shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel in this realm of living and working as an artist.
What excites you most about the Lane County arts scene?
Lane County has a great mix of artistic flavors. The proximity of the University has great potential for infusing Lane County's arts scene. I've seen the excitment that is generated in the studio classes on campus and love catching traces of this energy as it trickles through out Lane County. Even better is that the University is like an ever constant fountain of youth in regards to its art vigor. Each year overflows with new arts students, each teaming with potential. The trick is, how to tap into this novice energy; to bring the excitment and learning of a studio experience and mix it with the wisdom of long time practicing artists. I would love to see more of an exchange between these artist groups.
Please describe your experience as a juror, what the role of juror means to you, and what type of shows you have recently juried.
Acting as a juror for this year's Mayor's Art Show is my first formal capacity in the role of a juror. Though I have to admit, I've informally juried several Mayor's Art Shows... in my volunteer shifts as an art handler! Working the volunteer shift of receiving artworks or handing back non-admitted pieces provides a wonderful opportunity for ones own private jurying process. I've even written up lists of artworks that resonnated with me, to compare to the juror's final selection of artworks. Every year I am surprised by the similarities and the differences in the final pick of arts to be in the Mayor's Art Show.
Part of being an artist is the roving eye that takes in everything art related around you. Every art show I attend is "juried" and critiqued in my mind as I view it. Every art journal I read is thoroughly digested and checked against my own internal aesthetic. I continually create and update my own personal aesthetic by digesting the art around me.
What are your aspirations as a juror for the 2005 Mayor's Art Show?
As a juror, I hope to catch some of Lane County's unrealized gems in what is the Mayor's Art Show dragnet. The Mayor's Art Show has many flavors swirling around its reputation... it can reveal new artists, highlight established treasures, create a city-wide chuckle (remember the paint test art work of stripes outed in the Comic News?). It can also push one to try harder for next year; it can invoke the harshest
inner critics of an artist's mind.
I have seen such a variety of reactions to the assembled Mayor's Art Shows of years past. I aspire to be transparent in my selection of artworks with no juror-mystique attached. I can only approach the variety of artworks submitted with my own personal preferences and the goal to work with the other jurors to narrow down the field of entered artworks to a body of work that will fit in the gallery. I hope to share the jurying process with any who are interested so that hopefull artists can see that jurying is not a condemnation of non-selected artworks.
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