Judge not, lest ye be judged...Unless they ask nicely!

I am the director of a small gallery. I can’t believe what people bring in to sell! Cheap plastic frames, nasty edges, garage quality displays. I think one of the most important things I was taught in architecture school was professionalism in presentation.

I no longer mat my colored pencil pieces but, I still feel that the regulation for the Colored Pencil Society of America regarding mats and frames are a little primitive. I’ve had pieces that I wanted to enter but was not willing to reframe them to meet their specifications. I think neutral should be the standard but red can be neutral if you do it right (I’ve never matted in red, I was just making a point).

Having judged a number of shows, I think that most pieces in the shows I judge are up for sale afterwards: This means framing and mats that actually stay in the neutral shades and appeal to the widest audience possible. If it is not multiple matted, it probably will not sell. If the frame is gold (right now) you can forget it. The framers I use for the galleries I sell in never try to over-do the framing or the mats.

Frankly if the art is executed to perfection and the best piece in the show, the matting and frame have little to do with the award. The merit lies in the work, not the extras. However, lately I have been seeing poorly cut mats (the-do-it-yourself crowd) and frames that obviously were purchased at the Goodwill. They do detract from the piece and I believe if there are two pieces in contention for the prize, first should go to the person who spent the money and time to professionally finish the piece.

I have received two private responses from readers who somehow, after reading that post, thought that I was saying that I judged the artwork based on framing. Not sure how they ended up thinking that, after reading the post…but they did. One told me I should be ashamed of myself!!

So just to clarify…I personally do not care much about the framing. I look at the piece. I judge the artwork itself. I suppose if the framing was just incredibly shoddy, banged up, dirty, etc, I would have to take it into consideration….but otherwise, I hone in on the artwork itself and make my choices based on the composition, originality, creativity, technique, values and color choices.

Just wanted to clarify that!

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When some people as these judges that Ann and Sherri Roberts have described attain their position it goes to their head and they become little gods of the art world. They go crazy with power!

Whoever hired them needs to fire them! It’s really to bad we can’t spank adults!

Hi Ann. Thanks so much for this. I’m always surprised that artists, who profess to be serious about their work, offer their pieces in such shoddy ways. I haven’t had the inference that CPSA International has specifications about putting work in white or off-white mats, but maybe that’s because I’ve been going a cappella with my mats for quite awhile, always framing them professionally. Of course they should be neutral and not detract from the work. But some people either can’t read, don’t follow directions, or don’t see how awful their frames are. My daughter, who used to work for a terrific framer, used to echo her boss to say that artists don’t know how to frame their work! And you’ve seen evidence of this.

I applaud you for sticking up for the work unless, of course, the matting and framing are way terrible and don’t deserve recognition. For sure framing can take away from the work—even if done well. I’ve framed one piece twice because the frame doesn’t support the work and it’s still not right! A frame should complement the work encouraging compliments!

Keep up the good work!

I have tried and tried over the years to cut my own mats. I learned in high school to use a simple X-acto knife and a ruler for my straight edge. I’ve upgraded to better and better mat cutter apparatuses over the years. I am just awful at cutting a pristine mat. (I think I was better in high school with the blade and ruler!). I’m even worse at preventing some kind of dust or debris from making it into the framed piece. :-/

I tend to work very large scale (20 × 24 and up), so it generally means poster frames and custom mats most of the time. I’m sure judges must hate that, and I haven’t entered any shows to really find out. I do try to order pre-cut mats when possible, just to save me from the headache of the line that never seems to cut straight for me or the wonky corner cut.

Good to know that this is an issue. Guess I need to start working in conventional sizes and keep going with those standard frame sizes and pre-cut mats.

Speaking as an artist and as someone who has designed, organized, and officiated at art exhibits, I have to say that, in all fairness, if an exhibit or competition specifies a particular presentation method in order to be acceptable, that is the prerogative of the organizer.

It is the prerogative of each artist to decide whether or not those terms are acceptable to them or not and to act accordingly.

The framing on a piece of artwork is no different (in my opinion) than the cover on a novel, CD or DVD. The cover (or frame) and novel, CD or DVD (or artwork) are all parts of a whole that people see in it’s entirety.

First impressions are important in an exhibition/judging situation and, quite often if there are specific framing specifications, it is to create some level of uniformity in the presentation and thereby put the emphasis on the artwork.

So, speaking as a former gallery director, if the people running the show take the time to write up the qualifications, then please, please, please take the time to read them AND follow them.

Thanks for the article, Ann.

And for taking the time to judge an exhibit. That is not an easy thing to do. Nor is it a job quickly done.

Carrie

Thanks for sharing your experiences as a judge, Ann! I’m of the opinion that framing is a matter of taste, provided it’s not a shoddy job! I’m not a fan of gold frames AT ALL, but it’s common for certain media to be framed that way. If I were to judge pieces with gold frames, as long as the framing job was a quality one, I’d have to let go of my personal bias.

I’m a member of a co-op gallery and when we have potential new members bring in 2D work for consideration, I’m a stickler for good framing and will vote “no” on pieces that aren’t presented well. Artists have to learn to present their work properly and professionally. I also feel that simple is better, but to some extent, it depends on where the work will be presented. For example, an art show vs. your booth at an event. A high-end frame job (multiple mats, nice frame, maybe even a fillet) can go a long way toward enhancing the look of a piece to a potential buyer. But it can certainly be distracting in a show-judging situation. It’s also really expensive to do a full-on frame job, so from that perspective, if you can frame a piece simply, yet showcase it well, you’re better off in that regard.

I’m glad you stood your ground with your co-judge. His constraints seemed to be more a matter of taste than of the quality of the work.

I am astonished at the comments about frames! The competition is for drawing, painting, whatever, not who has the best frame. If you want to judge that, then make a new show. Maybe the artist is living on a limited budget and their money goes to their pencils or paints. It is possible that they cannot afford a good frame or professional framers. I would not have even looked at the frame.

Also, this was a state fair – not a premier art show. How about getting off the elitist high horse and cut these artists some slack?

I know there will be many who disagree with me. Fine. I think too many art critics become art snobs when they should be looking at the art, not the frame. Especially at a fair.

Thank You for the valuable information. I just sent a CP drawing into the NW WA fair, and I put it in a simple frame, with off white mat. I knew what CPSA would accept and kind of followed those rules. It is hard to know what to do or expect, but a simple frame and neutral mat should be a safe bet most of the time. What should be simple, often is not.

Thanks for the insights,
ginny eaton