Talking Art in Belmar

We had the latest edition of the Belmar Critique Group tonight. Only 3 of us showed. The other two artist both brought works that were not quite done, each seeking opinions as to how to resolve the works. Both seemed happy with the suggestions. I brought my just finished supermarket print, so I wasn't looking to change any part of it. Not that they had any suggestions for improving it, but one suggestion was to make sure the full story (which I told them) was known. When I put a single supermarket print in a juried/group show, I'll include the story with the artist statement, but when I show a large group of them, I just give a general statement about the whole series. I don't have a problem with telling people the stories behind them (it's all on the blog after all), but I think there's something to be said for letting the viewer come up with their own stories for all the things I show. I think it makes their involvement more active, helps them form a more personal connection with the print. The same goes for most of my other prints, especially the large format ones of recent years. I can tell people all the stories, but it's also fun to see the viewers discover the little narratives and come up with their own interpretations.

Another suggestion was to publish them in book form. It's a great idea, but I will probably need to be a lot more famous before a publisher is willing to front that expense.

After the group was done, I went to the back room and caught the end of a trustees/coordinators meeting. It seems I am now a coordinator, thanks to the blog I'm doing for the BAC. It doesn't change things too much- I still do the blog as always, but now I go to a monthly meeting to talk to others about it.