ArtFlorida’07 Juror, M. Stephen Doherty

The following two excepts are from the publication: "Broward Art Guild Art Florida ’07 Competition Exhibition, A CELEBRATION OF ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE IN FLORIDA, Exhibition June 19 - July 13, 2007."

"It was an honor and a pleasure to review so many diverse entries in the Broward Art Guild competition, including photographs, paintings, drawings, and sculpture. It's clear the creative members of the Guild and the communities it serves are people who are experienced knowledgeable, and trained in a variety of fine-art disciplines.

The organizers of the competition gave me the opportunity to choose a large number of pieces for exhibition, but in the end I selected a much smaller number because I felt it was important to showcase the best work. That is, instead of just filling the gallery space with as many pieces as possible, I thought it would be better to present what I considered to be the most outstanding works of art and allow each of them enough space to be appreciated by viewers of the exhibition.

I tended to be most critical of entries that seemed to lack thought, effort and understanding. That is if the person appeared to be aimlessly pushing paint around on a sheet of paper without much concern for the formal structure of the composition, I rejected the picture. If the person photographed their entry leaning at an angle against backyard furniture, I found it hard to know exactly what the picture was about. And if the artist attempted to draw or paint a human figure but failed to present the anatomical form accurately, I decided not to include it in the show.

I want to emphasize that while I tried to be fair in judging the technical achievement, artistic intentions, aesthetic merits, and unique content of each entry, my decision was ultimately based on my personal standards and taste. The evaluation of art is a subjective process, and no matter how well educated or informed a judge may be, he or she will always rely on a subjective analysis of the entries. The piece I select for the top award might be rejected in another art competition, and the photograph I rejected this year might win the top prize in next year's Broward Art Guild competition.

I want to thank the volunteers who worked hard to make this exhibition possible, to the artists who allowed me to evaluate their work, and to the community for supporting this important resource.

M. Stephen Doherty
Editor-in-Chief American Artist
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About the Juror, M. Stephen Doherty...