Why always competitions???

[squidders]

With the recent talk of competition unrest and possible rioting I started thinking... usually I get my girlfriend to slam my head on the desk to prevent this but she\'s not around...

Mini painting is art isn\'t it? I mean, I personally see it as art and in some cases I see it as exquisite art!

I\'ve never heard of people putting the great works of picasso, da vinci etc in to a room and having a panel of judges pick a \"winner\"... silly as they\'re all dead but my thoughts are that most other art is simply displayed in a gallery and appreciated for what it is by punters and fellow artists.

I wonder how much interest there would be in just a huge mini art expo if there was no competition.

Personally I think it would be great to see vast numbers of painted minis with no real rules or categories but simply minis everywhere to enjoy.

I\'m sure there are some real gems out there that don\'t fit neatly in to competition rules and I am also sure it\'s something everyone would be proud to display their minis in as painters rather than competitors.

now... who\'s going to slam my head on my desk first? lol

 

[Highbulp Billy]

Originally posted by squidders
Mini painting is art isn\'t it? I mean, I personally see it as art and in some cases I see it as exquisite art!

I\'ve never heard of people putting the great works of picasso, da vinci etc in to a room and having a panel of judges pick a \"winner\"... silly as they\'re all dead but my thoughts are that most other art is simply displayed in a gallery and appreciated for what it is by punters and fellow artists.

Well, there is the Turner Prize... but as that\'s got nothing at all to do with art I don\'t know why I bothered to mention it

I think competition serves a purpose in that it encourages people to put that extra effort in to their minis and push their personal boudaries. I know it doesn\'t suit everyone but there are those who thrive on the challenge and might othewise lose the impetus to keep painting and improving. For me, the CMON scores and ratings are a kind of competition and I keep trying to improve my rating whenever I eventually paint something and in the meantime CMON acts as a gallery for all to enjoy - make of it what you will.

 

[Rodnik]

I\'ve never heard of people putting the great works of picasso, da vinci etc in to a room and having a panel of judges pick a \"winner\"... silly as they\'re all dead but my thoughts are that most other art is simply displayed in a gallery and appreciated for what it is by punters and fellow artists.

In the \"real\" art world, it goes a step further. Often times, to even get your work considered for a show, you must go before a jury selection...
Basically, a bunch of guys deciding who\'s good enough to even be on display.....

In some shows, you have to go before jury selection before you can put your items up for sale in a particular venue---so, the jury basically says \"Who\'s good enough to sell their art and who\'s not\".
The idea behind this is to keep the quality of the art to the highest standards possible.

Basically, to keep the Boticelli\'s and the kindergarten finger painters out of the same venue.

\"Elitist\" might be a term some would use...

 

[matty1001]

Competition is something to push for, like Billy said.

I remember my first comp it was at a GW store last year. I only found out about it one day before and took an older mini I had out to redo bits. I spent an extra 6 hours or so that night just redoing bits to make them better. After every hour I kept pushing myself to do more and more.
Went to bed at about 5am and almost slept in for the comp, but I got second place so I was pretty chuffed!

 

[Ritual]

Originally posted by squidders
I wonder how much interest there would be in just a huge mini art expo if there was no competition.

To a certain extent, the open system competitions are like this. Sure, there\'s still a competitive element to those shows, but you don\'t compete against each other really. And, mostly, the idea is that each participator brings a collection of minis. This has the effect that most entrants bring all their best minis.

 

[squidders]

they just never seem to be displayed only as works of art... yes, CMON has a huge gallery but it\'s all for comments, suggestions and voting and it\'s not in the flesh.

Self improvement is good yes, it\'s always good to make progress but it\'s no more important than reflection on where you have been.

 

[Sand Rat]

Originally posted by Rodnik
Basically, to keep the Boticelli\'s and the kindergarten finger painters out of the same venue.

\"Elitist\" might be a term some would use...

Umm, have you looked at modern art lately?
We\'ve got a piece pinned to the refrigerator that was done by a 2 yr old that I\'m thinking about selling, cause its as good or better than some modern art in its use of line and color.

 

[lizcam]

The problem is that in order to have a \"just to look at\" venue you have to have a public who \"just likes to look\". The avereage guy on the street won\'t even look at what we do seriously. Because of that we end up with only other painters looking and when that happens we can\'t avoid the \"I could have done that better\" or \"I wonder how that was done\". That leads to this site, comments and rating and eventually competitions.

Untill we are considered something other than odd nerdy people with too much time on our hands that\'s the way it will be. That will be about the time you can sell a good pair of ice skates to Satan.

 

[Rodnik]

Umm, have you looked at modern art lately?
We\'ve got a piece pinned to the refrigerator that was done by a 2 yr old that I\'m thinking about selling, cause its as good or better than some modern art in its use of line and color.

SC..just so we\'re VERY clear---I didn\'t say a word about the relative quality between the two artists.....
This \"separation\" is nothing more than my over-simplificiation of the self-proclaimed purpose of a jury....and not how I see them.

I have my own opinions about the jury process...and my opinions don\'t necessarily support their own self-image...

 

[Dragonsreach]

Squidders: You\'ve obviously never been involved in a Photographic or Art Society.
Their competitions, and the furore around who wins or doesn\'t win, can make the hissy fit over the GenCon look like a genteel ladies tea party.
I used to belong to a Photographic society and won a few competitions and ended up (ie Conned) into becoming a Judge for a couple of smaller clubs.
Now unlike the model painting competitions at conventions where the judging is done \"on the fly\" photo judges usually have at least a week to determine the winner(s), assign points and give critiques to the other entrants.
Didn\'t stop, and I suppose still doesn\'t stop, someone who has a \"Teddy Bear out of the pram\" strop from giving the judge some verbal about why didn\'t they Win or Place. (Happened to me, seen it happen to others)

 

[Roger Bunting]

There are lots of competitions in art, a couple already mentioned. I took part in Images, which is an annual thing by the Association of Illustrators in the UK. I got a painting in Images 24 student category, in the book and in the exhibition, which started at the Royal College of Art and then went on tour around the country. You actually have to pay for it to be in the book; but not everything in it gets to be in the exhibition.