juror's statement - jane sauer

I want to thank Melissa Whitwam and the Foundry Art Centre for inviting me to jury IMPACT. The
submissions presented an abundance of riches for me to view. There were so many strong works of art
that choosing approximately 50 pieces was a difficult task. I usually approach the process by identifying
those pieces that I think absolutely qualify to be in the show and then select additional pieces to arrive
at the required number to make a robust exhibition. After the first phase of this process I had 75 plus
pieces in the “must be shown” category. The process became one of painful elimination instead of
additive. I had to create some guidelines for the process. I decided to exhibit only 2 works by any artist
unless each piece was small and made a much stronger statement to be shown as a group. I also
sought to create a balance in materials, media, and process. If your work was not included, please
don’t be discouraged. This would qualify as one of the most competitive shows I have juried.

I also asked of each piece “how successfully does this work of art address the issue of IMPACT?”
Without an artist’s statement, I was forced to judge only the visual. I think this was quite a good method
since a juror can be lead to see what the artist says is in the work of art. I was also delighted to find
most submissions were well photographed. This is still an essential skill an artist must acquire if taking
their own photos. The image is the only language for an artist to communicate with a juror.

What is the motivation of the artist to create? In this body of submissions the primary inspiration for the
art work was nature, second was human emotions and third was social injustice. I found it interesting
that there was very little experimentation with materials even though there was a broad spectrum of
materials used by the artists. In other words the artists that submitted were moved to create by the desire
to illustrate beauty or concern and not to explore materials.

I hope the audience enjoys the show as much as I enjoyed looking at the images and selecting the
exhibition. I was deeply moved by some of the work, was joyed at the beauty of some pieces, and
intellectually challenged by several pieces.