The Future of Exhibition Catalogs?

An assortment of catalogs from Art Quilt compeitions.

A couple weeks ago I wrote a piece about criteria you might consider when entering juried exhibitions. In the list of considerations I included whether or not the sponsors publish a catalog.

When I began entering art quilt shows I was totally surprised by how many shows printed catalogs. I felt and do feel this is an important element but as our world continues to move toward doing everything digitally I've been thinking this may quickly become a perk of the past.

During the last year I was in one show which in previous years had published a catalog but this year they opted to make a CD instead. I am also aware of some sponsors setting up catalogs online. If you want a catalog you pay and print directly from the online service. I have not done this myself but I have to say this is preferable to no publication.

It's wonderful to be able to go back a few years and look at what work and which artists were in a specific exhibition. I'm thinking now that an additional option or feature could be a permanent online archive of work from shows. Not just juried shows but any show that wanted to participate. This could be done by individual museums, galleries etc. or there might be some organization that wanted to become the "national archive" of art quilt shows and competitions. I know there are organizations which are collecting images of work as a general archive of what is being done with art quilts but this would be a different angle. There could even be a option where you could select and print a catalog from this kind of archive. This could possibily be another avenue for museums or organization to generate income.

OK entreperneurs! What do you think?

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A Revolutionary System

Index Cards, File Dividers and a Plastic Box

Recently I wrote about issues relating to the complexity of preparing show entries and found that many of you share my feelings about the process. One of the issues I did not touch on is how I plan my entries so I thought I would share just a bit about that.

The first year (about 4 years ago) that I decided to enter multiple shows, the scene in my studio was total confusion as I prepared by entries. I had not been keeping an inventory so I did not have a listing of when I made a specific work, it's title, it's size, a price list or anything else. I simply had work. No images either.

I began to review the information for each of the shows I planned to enter and was immediately confronted with conflicting dates, overlapping dates and all the issues about formating images etc. Fortunately my photographer is also my husband, Tom, and he kindly stepped in and we got the work photographed, CD's made and shipped and I only messed-up one entry (that I know of) and that venue allowed me to just re-submit.....if they are reading this, Thank You! (I had listed one work and sent an image of a different work.)

From that point I realized that I needed an inventory, ongoing photography and some way to track where the work was entered, if it was accepted, and when it needed to be shipped and returned. I looked a many software programs to see if any would satisfy my needs and while many had very good features I ultimately came up with a "Mixed" system designed by Terry.

So here's what I do.

• I have a folder marked: Prospectus. I download and print information and forms for any show I think I might like to enter. The hard copy goes in the folder and I save a digital copy in a digital Prospectus folder.

• I have an index card for each piece On this card I note the title, date of completion, size, processes and materials used and price. I list any show in which the piece is entered, acceptance or rejection, date work is to be shipped and returned...I love being able to look through my box and find that information.

• I make a card for each show I enter and list the entries on that card and what is accepted or rejected. This is very helpful in succeeding years to see what was entered. I also note if the work sells. This is also posted on my Digital Inventory.

• I keep and dated Digital Inventory with title, date, size and price. I try to keep this up to date and delete old inventories as I make changes.

• In my personal datebook I note when work needs to be shippped and dates for openings.

• I keep a large notebook which contains cover sheets for each individual show. As I enter shows, I store the printed prospectus and a copy of the entry form along with shipping forms etc. in that sleeve. At the end of the year I can clearly see what I have done and have everything for each show in one place.

Now when I plan my entries, I first read the material and think about what I have that will be approporiate for a specific show. I begin by viewing my digital images. I then pull the card for each work that I choose and move on from there. If I need to cross-reference dates I pull the prospectus. It seems to be working.

I am not a Luddite. I love my Mac and all the things I can do with it, but I like the physical world of an index card, a notebook, and a folder. For now it seems to be working.

Thank you for spending time at Studio 24-7. Commenting is FREE and I love hearing from you!

More About Show Entries

Dear Reader, I am in a panic today trying to complete several tasks so I'm giving you a link to another blog talking about the topic of Photographing your work for Show Entries.

http://artwithaneedle.blogspot.com/

Thank you for dropping by and hope you enjoy Kathy's post.

The Season of Show Entries - Part II

Maybe Santa could bring you one of these for Christmas.

(clip art from Graphics Fairy)

Last week I wrote an article on the topic of standardization for entries into competitive shows. I received an email from Ohio artist Shelley Brenner Baird relating to taking better digital images and a comment from Christine Mauersberger, another Ohio Artist, specifically concerning jpeg files, that I want to share. I have also decided to write to the venues who sponsor shows I have entered during the past few years requesting consideration of standardization for entries. I am giving names and addresses at the end of today's posting and I invite you to write them or any others who might lend an ear.

***

Email Relating to Standardization

I have been thinking about this topic as well. The lack of a standardization (relating to image preparation ) makes you wonder what is happening at the viewing end of our work. For example, Ohio Arts Council wants resolution at 72, constraining and resampling, under 2 M. I have observed these images projected in a large room and they look fine. Other venues want 300 and it is suggested not to resample. The sizes required vary from 3" to 15". File sizes range from 2-5 Ms. Another pet peeve I have is the use of dpi when that is a printing designation and it should be ppi.

The first problem is that we do not know if all of the jurying is done as projection or if there is computer screen viewing first. (Which of course leads to all sorts of color calibration issues.) It is difficult to assess the quality of our projected images unless we have access to a projector (which is an expensive item). All of the images look fuzzy when zoomed on the computer screen, but appear sharp when projected.

The other issue is that the camera is not the human eye. (I have a MA in photography - from the film era). It is confusing to me why when there are object juries we can not use photo-editing to make our work appear as it does in person. There is also the fact that if you look at your work in different light (gallery vs home vs studio vs outside) it appears different each time. The camera may not record high contrast objects well (due to the light metering). Is bracketing your shots allowed? It appears as biased exposure when the file is opened in some programs. What does that mean to the jury? Digital photography is NOT complete at the camera stage. And in the days of film, filters were used as well as film processing adjustments (pushing the film, etc.).

So I feel that I have to submit work that is untouched, but not the best or most accurate representation of my work. Keeping that in mind, I did look at my work projected and this is how I got the best results in Photoshop Elements (It is ok to use editing for cropping and resizing ONLY.)

Open file, save as TIFF.

Crop.

Image- resize-image size

Change to 300 ppi NO resampling.

Left inches as is or adjusted them if they exceeded rules - did not increase size.

Save as JPG - usually had to select quality 10 or the file was over 5 M.

If you look at http://www.zapplication.org or http://www.callforentry.org you will find another important aspect that is discussed - format equalization. The projected format is horizontal, therefore it you have a vertical or square image your work appears smaller then the horizontal pieces. Rather than explaining it here, if you look at their examples it will be clear.

Make sure you make a duplicate of the original so if you need that file for another entry you do not have a problem with quality loss with subsequent changes. Once you have selected the image you want to use it may be helpful to rename it as "final" but include the file number so that you can find the original file. Then duplicate that and rename as necessary.

As for background color - it is easy for a publisher to change a black background to white - if you are viewing projected images in a properly darkened room (no ambient light please) black backgrounds allow the objects to float in space beautifully without a white or gray "frame" around the image. And if we cannot make "tint" adjustments often the white background appears to be pale blue or pink.

Shelley Brenner Baird

Thank you Shelley. Now let's hear from Christine.

***

Excellent Explanation of JPEG Files.....It's Scary!

Excerpt from Comment posted by Christine Mauersberger: A JPEG; JPG is the abbreviation for Joint Photographic Experts Group. This group defined the standard for file compression. It is a common file name for bitmapped images (i.e. photographs).

A jpeg is a compressed file and are referred to as a "loosy" (meaning some data may be irretrievably lost). Imagine a rake running through your image with each time you save the jpg. It will remove tiny pixels here and there. It's removing what the program thinks you don't need to be able to see while making the file neat and tidy and small enough to send via email or to use on webpages.

Usually you'll find someone asking for a 72 pdi (dots per inch) jpeg to be used on the internet or to be used to project onto a screen.

You can save jpeg files that are large enough and nice quality for print reproduction. (so don't get upset if someone wants a 300 dpi jpg for print, it'll work just fine.)

The caveat is this: More quality is lost every time the JPEG file is compressed and saved again, so editing and saving a JPEG image over and over again is not recommended. Example: if you open a jpe and rename it for show A, then open it again and rename it for show B and so on, it'll continue to lose data.

How to resolve this issue, if you need to save files and give them different names each time? You should retain a high resolution TIF file as a permanent archived record of your images.

A TIFF or TIF is the abbreviation for Tagged Image Format. It is a popular file format for scanned and photographed high resolution images. It will not lose data.

Tiff files don't degrade. Jpegs do with each save. Not each time you close the file, but each time you SAVE the file.

If you're in the habit of opening your jpeg file, naming it, then tweaking the color or removing a smudge, or ropping it to tighten-up the edges and doing this repeatedly, it is better to discard the old JPEG file and start over from your archived TIFF master file saving that change as the new JPEG copy you need.

Thank you Christine. That's great information and gives me a totally different understanding of what a jpeg file is and how it operates.

***

Shelley recommended the following book:

Digital Essentials: the quilt makers must - have guide to digital images, files and more! by Gloria Hanson.

I have ordered the book but have not read it so at this point I can not recommend it from personal experience.

Here are the people and places I am writing in regards to the issue of standardization:

Donna Lamb, Executive Director (Quilts=Art=Quilts)

Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center

205 Genesee Street

Auburn, New York 13021

Kathleen Dawson, Quilt National Director (Quilt National)

The Dairy Barn Arts Center

8000 Dairy Lane

Athens, Ohio 45701

Nancy Campbell, Executive Director (Art Quilt Elements)

The Wayne Arts Center

413 Maplewood Ave.

Wayne, Pa. 19087

Sally Newkirk, Director

The Carnegie Center for Art & History (Form Not Function)

201 East Spring Street

New Albany, Indiana 47150

Gayle Pritchard, Curator (Artist As Quiltmaker)

Artist As Quiltmaker

Firelands Association for the Visual Arts

39 South Main Street

Oberlin, Ohio 44074

Charlotte Byrd, President ( Quilt Visions)

Vision Art Gallery

2825 Dewey Road Suite 100

San Diego, Ca. 92106

You can find a link to the letter I am sending under Pages at the top left of this page.

What do you think? What experiences have you had preparing entries for shows? How would you like to see show entry procedures change or are things working for you as they are? I love hearing from you and thank you for spending time at Studio 24-7.

The Season of Show Entries

No one will ever notice if I just tweak it a little in Photoshop.

During the past 2 weeks I entered 5 competitive exhibitions and I have at least one more entry coming during the next couple of months. Perhaps not as many shows as some enter but enough to make me a little crazy until the forms are completed, the digital images created, checks written and packages mailed or online entries completed.

Some years ago I entered many of this type show but images were sent in as slides. You set up your work, made the photographs, sent them away for processing hoping they would be good and if not you made more photographs .... if you had time.

Now we are in the new age of digital images and this is where things get really scratchy. In many many ways this technology makes it easier and cheaper to photograph your work if you have a decent camera, a couple of good lights (some shoot without them), a wall to hang your work on and a computer and some type of image editing software. Here comes the scratchy part.....The multitude of varying directions presented for you to follow.

One show wants this size, another group wants a different size, one mentions the size of the file, another requests jpegs and tiffs, etc. Wouldn't it be lovely if all of the supporting organizations for the exhibitions got together and created some Standardized Guidelines. Almost everybody does the initial jurying from the digital images and other than working with either the Macintosh or IBM platform what is the reason for all the different image requirements?

If it is because they might need larger and better files for a catalog? If so, why not requests those files from the entrants who are accepted. I'm sure we would be happy to supply them. Is it due to the requirements for online entries? I did one of those this week and it allowed a fairly large size file to be uploaded. Is it because many juries are done by multiply jurors and the museums/galleries are trying to accommodate the jurors as to how fast the files load? I don't know, but imagine this...

A group of informed members of some of the major shows getting together - online of course - and establishing on some standard guidelines. Each institution could have these guidelines online for prospective show participants to download. We could create new image files as we completed work and we could use those same files anytime we wanted to enter the work in a show.....much the way we did when we got a good slide.

Museums, galleries, and art associations get together and communicate and collaborate for their mutual good all the time. I hope one of you is reading this and finds it in your best interest to help us out here and promote this concept.

My second point relates to the preparation of images using Photoshop or some other image editing software to enhance the appearance of our work. This is so strange to me. We can use the software to size the work, we can use lights to show off the work, we can hire a professional photographer to do the work if we can afford that (not many can) but we can't use the very thing that makes having a computer useful....software.

Of course I am not suggesting anyone use these programs to make their work look better than it really is( I just saw the Mona Lisa in Paris and I prefer my version) but if you are looking at your piece on the wall and you are looking at the image you just shot on your computer and they do not match, why is it prohibited to adjust the color to make the image match the work. I sold hand dyed fabric online for a couple of years and there are colors the camera just would not pickup but I could adjust the color and to match the actual fabric. The proof of my success was that after selling hundreds of yards of fabric I never had a single complaint about misrepresentation of color.

If people are silly enough to make adjustments which "improve the quality" of their work, they will be discovered and rejected during the object jury.

This might sound like a rant but everyone I am in contact with and enters more than a couple of shows has expressed the same irritation. If you have any influence with these venues, mention this concept and perhaps this can change.

Thank you for spending time with me and I love to hear from you.