The Billboard Art Project in Chicago OUTSIDE White Walls

Consuming Identity used as an image for The Billboard Art Project

The Billboard Art Project "opened" in Chicago on Monday, September 26, 2011.  The show ran for four weeks with a selection of artists appearing each week.

 
Consuming Identity © 2001
Recycled tin cans
Artist: Harriete Estel Berman
Photo Credit: Philip Cohen

As an alternative to the white walls of the gallery or museum, the show was on a digital billboard. Yes, a billboard. Isn't that the most extraordinary thing ever!

Instead of trying to get people to visit the traditional art world venues, these digital billboards bring art and craft to a new and larger audience.

 

 

Billboard image from my CD catalog is shown here as animation.

On Saturday and Sunday, ALL participants' work was shown in a weekend rotation.

Monday through Friday each week featured new artists. My work was one of the featured artists starting Monday, October 3 through Friday, October 7.

 

RECYCLED Fushia Bracelet © 2011 used for The Billboard Art Project
Post-Consumer recycled plastic
Artist: Harriete Estel Berman
Photo Credit: Alyssa Endo

 

The location of The Billboard Art Project took place at Eastbound Interstate 90 just after the highway crosses over Oakton Street, Chicago, Illinois.

Harriete

This post was updated on February 11, 2022.

Behind the CaFE Curtain: Submit Images Early to Improve Your CaFE Application

Submit your images early to CaFE!

Submit your images early to any juried situation!

I have long held the opinion that the simple act of submitting images early to a juried situation can be a significant factor in a juried situation.

After my experience with CaFE, this opinion is stronger than ever. 

On CaFE, the images were reviewed in sequential order - no option. The order appeared to be the order that people submitted their images.

Every time that I looked at the images, I had to start from the beginning of ALL THE IMAGES and look through EVERY image, no skipping ahead, no fast forward.

What this means is that the jurors will be “fresh” when they begin the review process. They may be looking at early arrivals first and be more open to the work shown. After a few hours and a few hundred images, the jurors will have seen a tremendous amount of work including a lot of very good choices suitable for the situation.

Just Imagine....how would you feel if you had to look at 1,000 images, or 3,000 images? 

In a different situation (not using CaFE), the sequence is likely the same. If the exhibition sponsor has been organizing the images as they arrive in an effort to keep them neat and organized, the early submissions will be closer to the beginning and last-minute arrivals will be at the end.

For this reason, if at all possible, avoid sending in your prospectus and images at the last minute before the deadline.

This principle of submitting your work early to any juried situation is TIP #9.  PLAN CAREFULLY TO MEET ALL DEADLINES from the TOP TEN TIPS for Getting Into a Juried Exhibition, Craft Show, Book, or Magazine. 

Improve your artistic and business success by following the  Professional Guidelines.

Harriete

This post was updated on February 11, 2022.

Winning the Race with Time Brooch
Harriete Estel Berman

Behind the CaFE Curtain: Tips to Improve Your Statement Information

For jurors, the text on CaFE (callforentry.org) is miserably difficult to read. It is white text on black background, one of the worst possible combinations to read on the Internet.

To illustrate the experience (as best as I can remember), the rest of this post will be white text on black.

A few suggestions to improve your CaFE Artist Statement are included, but the principles suggested here could be used anytime. 

There is one more very important issue regarding statements for a blind juried situation such as CaFE.

 

DO NOT include your name in the statement or as a closing signature. The jury is supposed to be evaluating the work without the identity of the maker/artist. Including your name in an artist statement for a juried situation that is supposed to be "blind" or anonymous is absolutely inappropriate.  Although I have rarely heard of anyone being formally disqualified for breaking this rule, I can assure you that it doesn't help to be openly identified as rude or uninformed.

I hope these suggestions enhance your application on CaFE. Applying these formatting suggestions to any artist statement could also be an improvement. While images of the work submitted are the most important factor, an informative artist statement may influence the juror's decision.

Stay tuned for a few more suggestions for improving your application on CaFE. A few readers have also asked a couple of questions and issues with jury submissions to be discussed in upcoming posts.

Harriete

This post was updated on February 11, 2022.

CaFE, Behind the Curtain: Tips for Improving Your CaFE Juried Application Starting With Photos

Getting to be a juror for an exhibition that used CaFE for review of the submissions was a new experience for me. It was a real eye-opener to be on the other side of the CaFE curtain as I discussed in previous posts.

In the next few posts, I will make specific suggestions to help artists improve their juried application on CaFE.

The Professional Guidelines include a document titled: TOP TEN TIPS for Getting Into a Juried Exhibition, Show, Book, or Magazine. I talked about this many times but the first four tips are critical to success.

TIP #1. DAZZLE THE JURY WITH AMAZING IMAGES!  
TIP #2. DYNAMIC DETAIL IMAGES ARE KEY.
TIP #3. DO NOT SEND A BAD IMAGE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
TIP #4. CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE ARRANGEMENT OR ORDER OF THE IMAGES CHOSEN.

Read the TOP TEN TIPS for Getting Into a Juried Exhibition, Show, Book, or Magazine for more explanation.

The first two tips seem obvious. Fabulous photos are your most important step to success. I've talked myself blue in the face....but why would anyone waste money on jury fees with bad images.

Detail images need to offer information, information, information. The detail should not be confusing. The juror should be able to tell in a fraction of a second that this is a detail image.  If they have to figure it out, you've lost them.

Make sure that the detail image will be shown after the full view. This is where TIP #4. is sooooo.... important.  CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE ARRANGEMENT OR ORDER OF THE IMAGES CHOSEN.

Don't count on the juror being able to look back and forth with the previous image on CaFE. The juror may be unable to compare images. Your close-up needs to directly relate to the full view, yet still be a fantastic image all by itself. A mediocre detail image is a wasted opportunity to impress the juror.

This ties into TIP #3.    DO NOT SEND A BAD IMAGE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. If you don't have enough good images, don't include a bad image just to fill your quota in your juried application. A bad image is a rotten apple. It spoils the juror's impression of ALL your work.

CaFE offers guidelines for uploading images. It is very specific. All images must be formatted to the following specifications in order to upload successfully into the system.

    Dimensions: 1920 x 1920 pixels
    File Format: Save all images as BASELINE Standard
         JPEG.  Do not save as a Progressive JPEG.
    File Size: JPEGs must be under 5 MB.
    Color space: Save images in an RGB color space,
        preferably sRGB.

THE VERY UNFORTUNATE REALITY when I was a juror was that I was looking at 500 x 500 pixel images. This is very small. Why in the world are artists required to upload 1920 x 1920 pixels if the jurors only see a 500 pixel maximum. Insult after injury!

All images are required to have black masks unless the image takes up the entire 1920x1920-pixel CaFÉ™ format. So I recommend submitting an image that is 1920 x 1920 if you can.This gives the artist a slightly larger image.

To the left is a vertical image with a black mask.

 

To the right below is a horizontal image with black mask. Both images were taken from the CaFE site.

 

The reason that CaFE asks for black borders is that the background for their site is completely black. Thus the edges of the black mask run into the black background seamlessly.

For very dark images this was very bad. The edge of the photo melted into the background. As a juror, a dark image on a black background was confusing. It was hard to tell where the photo stopped and the black mask started.

I recommend keeping your images lighter and brighter with clear edges for CaFE applications. A lighter background for your image might look better on CaFE.

One more thing, do not submit images with messy masks. (I created the example image on the left.) This seems so obvious, but I saw images with white slopping into the black mask.

 

Summary of recommendations when submitting images to CaFE:

Submit an image that is 1920 x 1920 (without a black mask on the edge.)

Submit images that are properly lit with clearly defined edges.

A lighter background for your image might look better than a dark background on CaFE.

If you need to create a black mask for your CaFE images the edges should be solid black.

TIP #1.  DAZZLE THE JURY WITH AMAZING IMAGES!  
TIP #2.  DYNAMIC DETAIL IMAGES ARE KEY.
TIP #3.  DO NOT SEND A BAD IMAGE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
TIP #4.  CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE ARRANGEMENT OR ORDER OF THE IMAGES CHOSEN.

Harriete

This post was updated on February 10, 2022.

CaFE, Behind the Curtain: Challenges for a Juror Using CaFE

In the previous post, I described two challenges using CaFE from the Juror's perspective. There were more challenges for the jurors.

From my experience as a juror, CaFE offers a sub-quality jury review. Jurors and artists need to know. CaFE needs to change!

Reading this post, voicing your opinion, and the power of the marketplace can be a voice of change.

Juror Challenge #3.
Image review is a nightmare.
Image review was possible in three different methods - all bad! When reviewing images in the "Preview Slideshow" mode, "Thumbnail Scorecard" mode, or the "Slideshow Scorecard" the juror could only go forward. The juror could only advance the images on the monitor to the next images.

The impact was that you looked at the images submitted early (the ones at the beginning of the review) over and over, and over.  The images at the end of the slide review were seen fewer times.

Eventually, almost by accident, I finally realized after the jurying was over that the left and right arrows on my keyboard could be used to go back and forth while in the "Slideshow" mode.  But in the "Thumbnail" mode, you have to use the BACK button.  Not even the same button. There were no explanations or indications for these options on the screen.

The other juror had the same problem. Neither of us figured out the keyboard options for reviewing the previous images. There are no clues or cues on the screen for how to look at a prior image. For comparison, Flickr and Facebook albums have arrows, next or back, buttons on-screen near the images.

Juror Challenge #4.
Scorecard was confusing.
The review for the scorecard was effectively encrypted, i.e. hard to decipher and confusing.  Images were described by a 6 digit number. There were no options for sorting the jury ranking of the submitted images.  Also, the scorecard did not include a thumbnail of each image to remind the juror which six-digit number was which image. 

The juror is presented with a scorecard with columns of 6 digit numbers (above right image).  How would you feel as the juror?  How can you possibly remember an image by a six-digit number? Talk about burning the brains of visually-oriented people. 

I went to the trouble of transferring the scorecard data to an Excel spreadsheet, re-ranked the images by the score column, and reviewed my results. It probably took me longer to review my preliminary selection than it took for initially ranking the work. Bad, bad, bad news for jurors and artists.

Juror Challenge #5.
Artist's statement
The artist's statement on the application form is for one text statement only, and it is not associated or tied to the images. Thus a statement for each image was not available. 

The impact was that the artists' statements seemed generic and not specific to the images. The artist's statements were not informative. I will tell you my recommendations for getting around this in future posts.

Conclusion

The juror review took hours and hours; much longer than necessary due to ineffective and inefficient handling of the content.  I reviewed work on successive nights from beginning to end, looking at every image at least once each night so that they would be fresh in my mind.

In the big picture, it is the greatest of honors to be asked to make juror decisions.  I respect the process and take the responsibility very seriously.  In this event, I tried very hard to provide my best decisions, but I also came to realize that this CaFE system has room for improvement, to put it mildly. The lack of intuitive interaction caused uneven review which offends my sense of justice. I am enthusiastic about using the Internet, but the current structure and interface of this online service is a hindrance to the arts and crafts community.

If we don't talk about this out loud, it will never be fixed. I hope I am not blacklisted forever for revealing this disturbing little secret.

CaFE needs to improve its site, or I recommend finding another method for reviewing images.   

The next posts on ASK Harriete will cover recommendations for artists and makers to improve their chances of selection if your artwork is juried on CaFE.

Harriete

This post was updated on February 10, 2022.

CaFE, Behind the Curtain: Insights as a Juror Using CaFE

I had the opportunity to be a juror for a show. The jury submissions and review used CaFE, an online jury review service.

While I have used CaFE as an artist many times to submit my work for a juried situation, this was my first time as a juror using this service.

Today's post will reveal the "behind the scenes" difficulties and challenges for a juror using CaFE. Future posts will continue with concerns and suggest options for artists to improve their juried application on CaFE.

First, let's start with my overall assessment of CaFE, then a detailed explanation.

CaFE does a great disservice to the artists, makers, and jurors. The website does not offer what I would consider the minimum features.

The formatting /programming for this online service is below the current standards for social networking and photo viewing such as Flickr or Facebook. I have not used other online jury review systems, but I think there is definitely room for improvement in CaFE. If I was giving the CaFE website a review it would get one star." 

CaFE is a market leader in the online jury review business which is why the issues listed below bother me so much.

Juror Challenge #1.
Reading the information and statement.
The information presented to the juror was white text on black. White text on black is a nightmare. (Don't use this color scheme for your website, blog, or any social networking format). White on black is hard to read, unpleasant and tiresome. 

If the text information is influencing a juror's decision, the formatting of white text on a black background isn't helping your chances of selection. White text on black isn't artful, it's antagonizing.

Juror Challenge #2.
The images are surprisingly small.
I would have liked to look at an image that filled my screen. I mean maybe 1,000 by 1,000 at 72 dpi or even BIGGER!

As a juror, it would be nice to be able to click on the image and get a larger view, or magnifying window. This was not possible.

The images that the juror looked at are much too small. I am not talking about the "thumbnail images". I am saying that the jurors are looking at images that were 500 by 500 pixels or smaller to make their decisions.

Some are even "less", because if the image was not square to use up the 500px x 500px, the maximum dimension was 500px in one direction.  Consequently, any remaining area was just "fill" (for example, the right image using my work as a guinea pig).

There was no way to even look at a bigger view either. That was it! This is hardly ideal and a real downside to using CaFE. 

CaFE management says they are working on an enhancement to display images at a maximum of 700 x 700 pixels. This is a little bigger but not full-screen. That would be an improvement, but in my opinion, not enough. This issue really offends my sense of justice. Juried decisions should be based on larger photos!

I have three more challenges with CaFE, but am not going to overwhelm you in one day. The next three Juror "challenges" (image review, the scorecard, and the Artists' Statements) will be described in the next post. 

After that ASK Harriete will take several posts to review how artists can improve their CaFE submissions.

Stay tuned.

Harriete

This post was updated on February 10, 2022.     

 

Is it ethical for a gallery to put consignment items in storage?

A reader of ASK Harriete asks:
Is it ethical for a gallery to put consignment items in storage? And if yes, is it ethical to do so without notifying the artist?

PAM All Natural Butter Flower © 2011
Post Consumer recycled plastic and tin
cans
Artist: Harriete Estel Berman

Galleries and stores that call themselves "galleries" rarely can exhibit everything they have in inventory. This is especially true for a venue that wants to present a more refined, organized, and uncluttered appearance. Most likely it is necessary to put some work in drawers, boxes, or in racks behind the scenes.

Galleries often have a storage room off-limits to customers where they keep extra work. This allows the gallery to dedicate most of the exhibition space to the artists in the current show.

  Password Revealing Glasses Flower Pin
  Harriete Estel Berman © 2011
  Post-consumer recycled tin cans

A well-informed staff will bring out work from storage for clients interested in a specific artist or style of work.

So the answers to the questions:
YES, YES......However, I would like to add some provisos to the "YES".

The staff should always offer to bring out more work that may be in drawers, shelves, or storage.

Work behind the scenes should be organized and accessible so the staff can find it easily.

Amaretti Flower Pin      © 2011
Post consumer recycled tins
Artist: Harriete Estel Berman

I don't think that work on consignment (and presumably for sale) should be dirty, covered with fingerprints, or tarnished. Framed items should be handled carefully in the racks. The frame and glass should not be dirty. 

 

If you are concerned that your work is not on display, I would speak with the gallery or store before leaving more work. This can be really difficult to do, but present your concerns in a polite manner. Ask questions rather than make accusations.
 
Perhaps, the gallery/store routinely circulates work on consignment into the display area.  If you live nearby, you could update items at the gallery, leaving recent photographs, paintings, etc. representing new work, and take home the "older" artwork. Maybe the gallery will give your work more visibility if they have "new" work to show their customers.

 

 Red Hot Flower Pin © 2011
 Post recycled tin cans
 Artist: Harriete Estel Berman

If you live far from the gallery, frequent interaction may be difficult. Shipping work can be expensive for the artist and the gallery. Call in advance and ask if they would like fresh work before shipping new work . . . and make sure that they plan to return the older work in their consignment inventory.

Keep accurate records.  Update inventory records of work on consignment.

The best galleries and stores send an updated Inventory Record on a regular basis.  If your gallery/store hasn't done this in a while, send them two copies of your Inventory Record with a request to verify inventory and mail/email back a signed, dated copy so that everyone is on the same page. If the gallery/store does not honor your request for an updated inventory record (every 3 - 6 months) for art or craft on consignment, I recommend that you request they return all artwork to you within a  reasonable length of time (e.g. two weeks).

This may sound like a harsh recommendation, but if artists keep leaving work on consignment without the minimum inventory accounting, you are just asking for Trouble (with a capital T).  Too many sad stories start with poor inventory management.

Does this answer help you?

Harriete

This post was updated on February 10, 2022.

Finding Exhibition Opportunities - Instructions for Unpacking, Assembly, Display, and Re-Packing

Proper packing for an exhibition is more than just protecting the work until delivery.  Anticipating what the exhibition staff needs to properly unpack, assemble, display, and ultimately repack can earn you a reputation, good or bad, for subsequent exhibitions. 

When your work arrives at an exhibition packed professionally, it earns the respect of the exhibition staff.  You gain a reputation as a prepared and professional artist who knows what to do.

Good packing accompanied with instructions and reusable packing materials for repacking helps assure that your work will be returned in the same condition.

In the previous post on ASK Harriete, these five boxes (right photo) were shown. They hold the sculpture titled, Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin. I didn't like the printing on the boxes. It is distracting and looks kind of cheap, in a very bad, NOT good WAY!

RECOMMENDATION: If there is printing on the box, cover it with tape.

Use Gummed Kraft Tape. This is the tape that you make wet with a sponge. I have gummed kraft tape in brown and white. I use the brown color for brown cardboard boxes and white for white boxes.

Remember to weigh your boxes so you can estimate your shipping costs as accurately as possible for the exhibition sponsor. Are you ready with your shipping information?

Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin ships in five boxes; each box is 40" ht. x 12" x 12". Weight for each box: 26lbs., 26lbs., 30 lbs., 25 lbs., 23 lbs. 

Prepare Instructions for Unpacking, Assembly, Display, and RePacking. I glue this to the outside of the box, and/or inside the flap and always put a loose copy in the box. Below is an example for Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin. 

Here are some links to previous posts on packing.

Shipping Boxes for Art or Craft Should Include Instructions

Tips on Packing Your Art or Craft for Shipping to an Exhibition.

How To Ship Large Artwork? Asking ASK Harriete, the artist, a few questions.

Harriete 

Stay tuned for  these Upcoming Posts on ASK Harriete:

• Is it ethical for a gallery to put consignment items in storage?
• Behind the CaFE Curtain: Insights as a Juror Using CaFE
• Behind the CaFE Curtain: Tips for Improving Your CaFE Juried Application

This post was updated on February 10, 2022.

 

Finding Exhibition Opportunities - Photos and Packing

A real-life example:

I recently finished making Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin, and am currently looking for an exhibition space. A previous post offered a few suggestions on how to find exhibitions spaces for your work. This post will show what I am doing step by step to find exhibition opportunities.

First, photos of the finished work are needed.  In this case, because of the size of the work, I need to find a temporary space to install this large sculpture for photography. The artwork is 27 feet wide and 12 feet tall with an installation height minimum of 15 feet.  

A friend has volunteered a large gallery space but only for a weekend.  So, next weekend, my whole family will have to help install the work and take it down in a day and a half.

Great photos are essential to obtain an exhibition commitment.  This has been mentioned many times before (so I won't belabor that point in this post).  But here are some additional issues to resolve early: shipping and storage.

Shipping and storage are significant issues for both the artist and the exhibition sponsor. I recommend making custom packing for one-of-a-kind work as soon as it is finished.  Your work can then be stored as needed and you are ready to ship safely as well.

For Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin I devised a simple method to protect the work with brown paper.  Each of the fifteen feet long stanines roll up into tight bundles. This protects the pencils while providing compact storage and shipping. Before I even started this project five years ago, I planned how it would ship. It was all part of the big plan. Always plan for shipping and storage while you make the work.

You can view every step of the packing process on my Facebook album or in a special Flickr set with step-by-step photos.  It may appear that the packing is simple. REALITY CHECK: It took two people working really hard for 6 and a half hours solid to get this done in one afternoon. We had to replicate this "envelope" for each of the nine stanines.

In the above photo, you can see Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin wrapped tightly in the brown paper in its individual box. It will be surrounded by bubble wrap and peanuts for shipping.

Yes, I know, there is empty space in the box but I want lots of cushioning (bubble wrap and peanuts) to surround my work and don't want the box to be too heavy. People will drop heavy boxes to the floor. I want gentle and careful handling to protect my work.

The pencils stanines are in these boxes. All nine stanines fit in five boxes!

I do not like the printing on the outside of these boxes but the dimensions were perfect. I will cover the writing with brown packing tape and my instruction sheets.  I still have hours of work to further prepare the boxes.

WEIGH YOUR SHIPPING BOXES
Many times exhibition sponsors want an estimate for shipping before making a commitment.  The artist should be ready to estimate the cost for shipping (especially if the exhibition sponsor is paying for shipping). Each box needs to be weighed.

In my exhibition proposal, I will be able to provide the exact number of boxes, dimensions of the boxes, and shipping weight. For example, Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin ships in five boxes, 40" x 12" x 12". Weighing the boxes is work for this morning.

Write Instructions for Unpacking, Display, Installation, Packing, and Shipping.
I know this seems like a lot of advanced work, but all of this advanced preparation provides protection for your artwork and gives exhibition sponsors confidence in showing your work.

Sample Instructions for Unpacking, Display, Installation, Packing, and Shipping will be the next post on ASK Harriete.

Stay tuned.

Harriete

This post was updated on February 10, 2022.

Hula Hooping, Jumping Through Hoops and Improving Your Business Practices

Harriete at the New Jersey Shore. Polar panoramic by Aryn Shelander.

The last days of summer are over.  Our family vacation to the beach was cut even shorter by Hurricane Irene.

The fall season is the time to renew our dedication to our work. The business of art and craft can seem like jumping through hoops. So much to learn, so much to do.  It is just like learning how to hula hoop. It takes practice and a little encouragement to keep that hoop going. 

 

I've learned lots of tricks. So can you, if you practice.

 

The SNAG Professional Development Seminar offers numerous lectures and handouts created especially for Artists and Makers who want to learn how to jump through the hoops of art and craft business practice. Learn from seasoned professionals and go with proven ideas.

 

 

TIME TO OPEN YOUR laptop or tablet to CHECK OUT these resources:  

Digital Images - File Extensions (2011)

Niche Marketing for Artists and Makers (2011)

Photography in Flux - Three Photographers' Opinions (2011)

Photography in Flux - Editors Perspective (2011)

Photoshop Tutorial - How to Build a Better Drop Shadow (2011)

Niche Marketing and Photography in Flux Q&A with Audience/Speakers (2011)

Not Just Another Pricing Lecture Video (2010)

Not Just Another Pricing Lecture Handout (2010)

Submitting Work to Galleries & Retail Establishments Part 1  HANDOUT (2009)

Submitting Work to Galleries & Retail Establishments Part 2 HANDOUT (2009)

Submitting Work to Galleries & Retail Establishments Part 3 HANDOUT (2009)

Submitting Work to Galleries & Retail Establishments Part 4 HANDOUT (2009)

New Marketing Trends Resource List HANDOUT (2008)

Navigating The Web 2.0 HANDOUT (2008)

Artists Opening Galleries HANDOUT (2008)

Commissions HANDOUT(2007)
 

 

I'm doing a hula hoop trick called "Wild West."

Learn lots of tricks for improving your art/craft business practices. Read the archive of ASK Harriete columns in the left column. ASK Harriete your questions.

 

Subscribe to ASK Harriete for automatic updates or be my friend on Facebook.

 

NEXT Tuesday's post on ASK Harriete: Step-by-step examples for how I find exhibition opportunities for Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin.

This post was updated on February 9, 2022.