Artistic section at AGS shows

[annew]

An email from the AGS about the artistic section, prompted me to reply with this appeal:
Here is something that has frustrated me for YEARS!
1. Photographers are allowed classes 209 and 239 which states 'portrait of alpine plant in close up eg flowers, leaves, berries etc' There is no class for paintings of similar subjects. Most paintings I do nowadays are studies of parts of plants eg flowers, bulbs etc which are not eligible for inclusion in the artistic sections.
2. Photographers are allowed classes 212, 213, 237 which allow creativity in producing manipulated images. There is no similar leeway in allowing creativity in the painting classes, for instance to include 'looser' watercolours, or more graphic representations of alpine plants.
We poor painters are stuck in the early twentieth century, restricted to the straightjacket of classical botanical illustrations, and allowed no creativity. I know other painters feel the same way, and many have said that they would be able to enter many more paintings if we had similar classes to the ones the photographers are privileged with.
I appeal to you, PLEASE set us free with equal rights to camera-wielders - it only takes 5 milliseconds to take a photograph - it takes HOURS to do even a smallish botanical painting.

Please, anyone who feels the same, will you also send your support to: jon.evans@dsl.pipex.com ?

[Maggi Young]

As you may know, the SRGC only has two Photo/Art competitions per year- looking at the rules, I see that there are some restrictions with these,  too, to rock garden subjects.
  This is from the Show Schedule:

"TWICE-YEARLY PHOTOGRAPHIC/ ART COMPETITION:
New rules: entries to classes 1-5 as detailed below
TWICE-YEARLY PHOTOGRAPHIC/ART COMPETITION

Twice-yearly, at Stirling Show and the AGM, members are invited to submit artwork and

photographs in the following categories :-

Class 1

A photographic print of a rock plant, either in cultivation or the wild.

Class 2

A photographic print of an alpine landscape or habitat; should include alpine plants.

Class 3

A digitally manipulated image or design, of, or inspired by, a rock plant or alpine habitat. Include

brief notes to explain the picture.

Class 4

A drawing or painting of a rock plant, may be in colour or black and white.

Class 5

A piece of artwork or craftwork inspired by a rock plant/alpine habitat; may be executed using

conventional art techniques, needlework or other craftwork. Excludes digitally produced images.

The Williamson Cup will be awarded at the AGM for the best entry to Class 5 in any one year. To

be considered for the award, the winning entry from Class 5 at the Stirling Show, should be

exhibited at the following AGM as an overall contender for the Williamson Cup. Note: this does

not exclude the exhibitor from entering Class 5 at the AGM with a new piece of work.

Conditions of Entry

a. Members may make only one entry in each of the classes. Pieces of work should not have

been exhibited at a SRGC show before.

b. Entries may be up to A4 size (approx. 12 x 8 ins). Craft items may be larger, but advance

notice is preferred of larger items/3 dimensional items, for display purposes.

c. All two-dimensional entries to be titled and mounted using card (the final size of entry plus

mount may exceed A4). Glass frames are not permitted in classes 1-4. Competitors

name and address to be on the reverse. Other entries to be accompanied by titles and/or

notes.

d. A photograph is regarded as an image taken on any type of camera and printed either on

computer printer or by conventional means. Digital manipulation of the image beyond the

basics involved in printing/colour balance is not allowed for classes 1 and 2 although digital

images printed from a computer are eligible.

e. Postal entries should be well wrapped and marked “WITH CARE – ART WORK” &

“FRAGILE PLEASE DO NOT BEND”. Please make it clear which class(es) you are

entering.  "

At any show it is possible, if space permits, for a display to be mounted of any sort of  plant related artwork but  I can see that some  extra competition may be desired.

If there is demand for such classes to be added to the SRGC art competitions, please contact  Barry Caudwell ( convenor of show secretaries) and Cathy Caudwell (art comp. organiser) at
f.b.caudwellATfireflyuk.net

[Darren]

An email from the AGS about the artistic section, prompted me to reply with this appeal:
Here is something that has frustrated me for YEARS!
1. Photographers are allowed classes 209 and 239 which states 'portrait of alpine plant in close up eg flowers, leaves, berries etc' There is no class for paintings of similar subjects. Most paintings I do nowadays are studies of parts of plants eg flowers, bulbs etc which are not eligible for inclusion in the artistic sections.
2. Photographers are allowed classes 212, 213, 237 which allow creativity in producing manipulated images. There is no similar leeway in allowing creativity in the painting classes, for instance to include 'looser' watercolours, or more graphic representations of alpine plants.
We poor painters are stuck in the early twentieth century, restricted to the straightjacket of classical botanical illustrations, and allowed no creativity. I know other painters feel the same way, and many have said that they would be able to enter many more paintings if we had similar classes to the ones the photographers are privileged with.
I appeal to you, PLEASE set us free with equal rights to camera-wielders - it only takes 5 milliseconds to take a photograph - it takes HOURS to do even a smallish botanical painting.

Please, anyone who feels the same, will you also send your support to: jon.evans@dsl.pipex.com ?

Quite. It frustrates me that there is no artistic section at all in the joint shows ( i.e. the only ones I usually attend).

[Maggi Young]

I brought this thread to the attention of Barry and Cathy- this is the reply I got late last night from Cathy, who organises the SRGC twice-yearly Photographic and Art competitions :

Hi Maggi

Thanks for posting the photo comp rules.  As you'll see,
Anne wouldn't have a problem entering her more imaginative
portraits with us because Class 5 was specifically created
to encourage this kind of creativity. Class 5 is defined as
"A piece of artwork or craftwork inspired by a rock
plant/alpine habitat; may be executed using conventional art
techniques, needlework or other craftwork. Excludes
digitally produced images".   We would be delighted to
recieve abstract or other styles of painting in this class.
Class 3 "A drawing or painting of a rock plant, may be in
colour or black and white" is totally open to any style of
figurative painting and parts of plants are not specifically
excluded.  Perhaps we should think about changing the
wording in future years to make this clear. 
As far as I understand it, a rock
plant is interpreted in the broadest sense as defined by the
constitution (something like any plant suitable for the
rock, alpine or wild garden).

In the SRGC our
main problem is that there are rather few entries in the art
section and therefore it is not realistic to have more
classes than we have at present.  If we get more entries
then we could think about creating further classes. So where
are they? 

Yours encouragingly

Cathy

[Peter Maguire]

Quite. It frustrates me that there is no artistic section at all in the joint shows ( i.e. the only ones I usually attend).

Darren,

I can't speak for Blackpool, but I know that we have looked at the feasibility of holding the artistic section at one of the NE England shows several times, particularly since the cessation of the former Wirral show in the autumn. There are a few logistical problems:

i) I believe that I am correct in saying that most of the shows that host the artistic competition are either held in schools or a similar venue where display boards are easily available. This does not apply to either of the north-east shows, and therefore we would have to hire display boards (and a good number would be required!). This then would have a bearing on the show finances, likely pushing the Newcastle show into a loss-making exercise.
ii) The AGS have offered us the use of the display boards held at Pershore, however this is a trip of four hours each way from Newcastle with a large capacity car to carry the boards - I wouldn't do this and couldn't really ask anyone else to do it either!
iii) The Hexham show is always paired with the Exeter show because they are at diametrically opposite ends of England. Exeter currently host the artistic section anyway, so the spring option is a non-starter.
iv) As Ponteland is the only sensible option, and the cost of display board hire is prohibitive, the only option would be to use the walls and blue-tack the exhibits to them, as has been done at summer show north in the past. Unfortunately, and having been to the Ponteland venue yourself where the natural daylight is quite good, you will know that there isn't much wall space not occupied by windows. There's not really anywhere to put things on the wall in the numbers required; we could use the exterior walls..... . similar considerations apply to the use of display boards, there's nowhere to put them.
v) The display would need constant stewarding unless it was in the main show hall, it's much easier for flat paintings/drawings/photos to disappear under someone's coat than it is for plants to disappear. We have enough of a struggle to find sufficient volunteers for the other jobs that need to be done.

That's why there is currently no artistic section at two of the joint shows, however if anyone can come up with any good suggestions, we would be delighted to reconsider things. 

[Maggi Young]

This is the lnk to Jon's thread on the AGS site about the Artisitic Section of the AGS Shows: http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/discussion/atshows/Artistic+Section+Classes/17081/

A suggestion about the SRGC model:
Perhaps SRGC  might publish the winning images in a small format (max 800
pixels) on the website, it might encourage people to enter. 
Permission to do this could be made part of the conditions of entry. (The SRGC would not seek copyright of such images, of course.)

This is a good idea  - again, it would require a helper -  someone to take the pictures -
and that brings us up againt the eternal ( infernal?!!) problem of needing volunteers to do all this.

There is seldom a simple solution to any of these problems -  I would encourage as many as possible to support  the existing events.

[annew]

Cathy's reply is music to my ears. Distance is the problem there, I'm not keen on trusting my paintings in the post. I understand not all shows are suitable for an artistic section, just hoping that those that are might give the painters a section like Cathy's.

[Darren]

Darren,

I can't speak for Blackpool, but I know that we have looked at the feasibility of holding the artistic section at one of the NE England shows several times, particularly since the cessation of the former Wirral show in the autumn. There are a few logistical problems:

i) I believe that I am correct in saying that most of the shows that host the artistic competition are either held in schools or a similar venue where display boards are easily available. This does not apply to either of the north-east shows, and therefore we would have to hire display boards (and a good number would be required!). This then would have a bearing on the show finances, likely pushing the Newcastle show into a loss-making exercise.
ii) The AGS have offered us the use of the display boards held at Pershore, however this is a trip of four hours each way from Newcastle with a large capacity car to carry the boards - I wouldn't do this and couldn't really ask anyone else to do it either!
iii) The Hexham show is always paired with the Exeter show because they are at diametrically opposite ends of England. Exeter currently host the artistic section anyway, so the spring option is a non-starter.
iv) As Ponteland is the only sensible option, and the cost of display board hire is prohibitive, the only option would be to use the walls and blue-tack the exhibits to them, as has been done at summer show north in the past. Unfortunately, and having been to the Ponteland venue yourself where the natural daylight is quite good, you will know that there isn't much wall space not occupied by windows. There's not really anywhere to put things on the wall in the numbers required; we could use the exterior walls..... . similar considerations apply to the use of display boards, there's nowhere to put them.
v) The display would need constant stewarding unless it was in the main show hall, it's much easier for flat paintings/drawings/photos to disappear under someone's coat than it is for plants to disappear. We have enough of a struggle to find sufficient volunteers for the other jobs that need to be done.

That's why there is currently no artistic section at two of the joint shows, however if anyone can come up with any good suggestions, we would be delighted to reconsider things. 

All perfectly fair points Peter and thanks for explaining. 

The North Lancs group does have its own set of display boards (plus I have access to a number I can borrow) but they all tend to be used for the photo display staged by Syd Cumbus each year and we would not want to do without that.

[Tim Ingram]

Is there the need to have a fully fledged artistic exhibition at the Shows? A smaller display of people's work without the strong judgemental aspect might allow individuals to express their work, and create a lot of interest. The same could be true of non-competitive displays of plants - many gardeners have their own specialist interests and being able to show this to others without the sense that it is being judged in the same manner as the Shows themselves could encourage more variety. At the moment the Shows are concerned with excellence, but not necessarily to do with education and freedom of expression. Excellence has to be learnt.

[Mick McLoughlin]

I believe there is an Artistic section at the summer show north this year, at Featherstone.
Not sure if any of the classes would be suitable for you Ann, but its certainly nearer.

Mick

[Darren]

Is there the need to have a fully fledged artistic exhibition at the Shows? A smaller display of people's work without the strong judgemental aspect might allow individuals to express their work, and create a lot of interest. The same could be true of non-competitive displays of plants - many gardeners have their own specialist interests and being able to show this to others without the sense that it is being judged in the same manner as the Shows themselves could encourage more variety. At the moment the Shows are concerned with excellence, but not necessarily to do with education and freedom of expression. Excellence has to be learnt.

Absolutely agree with you Tim.

[David Nicholson]

I believe there is an Artistic section at the summer show north this year, at Featherstone.
Not sure if any of the classes would be suitable for you Ann, but its certainly nearer.

Mick

Not often you hear "artistic" and "Featherstone" used in the same sentence

[KentGardener]

many gardeners have their own specialist interests and being able to show this to others without the sense that it is being judged in the same manner as the Shows themselves could encourage more variety. At the moment the Shows are concerned with excellence, but not necessarily to do with education and freedom of expression. Excellence has to be learnt.

I agree 100%

[ChrisB]

Peter, most of the arguments about why we don't do artistic categories are about the display boards required.  However, I recall there were a lot used for Mala's excellent display at Hexham last year, surely some of those could be used for photographs and for unframed art work?  There's certainly no problem with the space at Hexham, and we managed to get the boards in at Ponteland too.  I agree though, with Tim, and if we were to experiment with a non-competitive exhibition it might help us see whether there is room for a competitive one.  People are shy to exhibit art..... me included....

[Peter Maguire]

Chris,

The display boards for Mala's displays would make a start, we would, however need about four times the display space/acreage!
Jon Evans emailed me with details of reasonably-priced display boards, and it's not as if our group could not afford them. The only problem is who is going to store them for for 363 days of the year when they are not in use? Even folded up in their carry-cases, they take up a lot of space. Jon has eight (I think) lots stored in a spare bedroom - his wife must be very understanding.
Agreed, there is the space at Hexham, but all the artistic entries will be in display in Exeter on the same day.
Ponteland - yes, we manage to accommodate Mala's display comfortably - but something four times the size....?