[MR] A&S competitions

[David Wendelken]

Lady Glynis Gwynedd,

>Unto all the fair folk of Atlantia, greetings.  I have a 
>question to put to the populace, and it is not directed in 
>specifics at any one person, entry, competition, event, judge, 
>or occurrence.  I am willing to stick my neck out and ask the 
>question I've heard echoed many times in the past few years. 
>These are deliberately vague generalizations, and please take 
>them in the innocent manner in which they are asked - not as 
>attacks on anyone or thing.

The very fact that you felt it necessary to make the above comment is part
of the problem with giving artisans feedback.

I know for a fact that many people who organize these contests have to work
very hard to get enough qualified judges to show up that can also give
feedback in a constructive, helpful and pleasant manner.

You would cringe at some of the truly horrific things people have been told.

Better no feedback at all rather than feedback that slamdunks a new artisan
so hard they never try again!


>
>Regarding A&S competitions, why is it that artisans frequently 
>get _no_ feedback on their work, yet hear commentary about it 
>"through the grapevine" at a later date?  Actual comments to 
>the artisan (or on comment cards left) would help them to hone 
>their talents and produce a better piece for next time.  Shiny 
>baubles and bits (tokens) are nice, and tell the artisan you 
>liked their piece, but wouldn't it be nice to leave just a 
>handwritten bit as well?

I am a programmer, a fighter, a professional writer, and an artisan.  I have
also been an A&S judge on a fairly frequent basis.

As a programmer, if I do it wrong, the compiler will give me a list of
errors, or the program will break or give erroneous results when I run it.
It works right, or I did it wrong, and that's that.  How I feel about it
doesn't matter. Technically, I work alone, but I also work with a compiler,
and I work "for" someone who uses my programs.

As a fighter, I am used to a very direct feedback loop in my chosen martial
art.
If I do it right, the other person gets walloped, and if I do it wrong, I
get walloped.  How I feel about it doesn't matter.  Well, actually, how I
feel about getting a butt-wrap is a really good motivator for changing my
technique so I don't get anymore of them, so I suppose my feelings about it
do matter! :)  Fighting is, by its nature, a activity shared with other
people.

As a professional writer, I get feedback from my editors and technical
reviewers.  I can ignore what they say if I want, but the editors may also
refuse to publish it (and therefore not pay me).  So, I have to do some give
and take on the issue.

As an artist, I rarely get useful feedback.  I get "Gosh, that's neat" from
people who have no knowledge of the craft, and that's about it.  Many
artists also work alone.  (Choirs and bands are a notable exception!)  There
may be little in the way of daily, repetitive, negative feedback.  (There is
for me, I break or mar things all the time!)  Well, actually, there may be
negative feedback, but there is no built-in mechanism for forcing someone to
accept it.  Rose-colored glasses hide a lot of problems to those wearing
them.  People who wear them are often hugely surprised to discover that
everyone else does not agree with their own self-assessed level of talent.
I can only point to the host of American Idol competitors who were (and may
still be!) clueless that they could not sing well.

As a judge who tries very, very, very hard to find upbeat ways to list areas
of improvement, I can only tell you that for some folks, nothing less than
bowing down before their galactic talent would be enough to satisfy them.
Luckily for me, anything I say that doesn't agree with their pre-conceived
notions of greatness will be quickly forgotten.

But there's another group that's much harder to deal with - the ones with
such fragile self-esteem that the slightest comment on something that could
be improved upon will cause a hystrionic outburst and/or a burst of
self-loathing on their part.  That's a great way to get one's weekend
ruined, I can tell you!  

I am certainly **not** saying that all, or most, or even a lot of artists
have emotional problems.  Most people, in most lines of endeavor, have very
little experience with frequent criticism of their work.  Take any
cross-section of people in most professions and start telling them, point by
point, what's wrong with the work they just did - particularly work they put
their heart into doing.  There are plenty of people who cannot take
constructive criticism well, no matter how politely or well it is expressed.


Three of my routine pursuits involve constant negative feedback - I get way
more practice at recieving negative feedback than the general population -
and that still doesn't mean I like getting it.  Or that I don't want to
dispute their points just because my ego just got in the way of recognizing
the truth.  All that practice and I still need to "just get over it" on
occasion!  Are people who get almost no practice at receiving unpleasant
news more, or less likely, to get really upset?

Remember, It only takes one really upset person to ruin an otherwise fine
weekend.  They might be so upset that they never practicing that art again.

So, understandably, some judges do not leap at the chance to tell every
artisan they've just met exactly what is wrong about the artistic work in
detail.  They either need to know the person, or meet with them to assess
how much the person can handle.

Add to this the fact that A&S events are typically sandwiched in between
other activities that take precedence over the facilities the contests are
being judged in, and the fact that a single judge might have a dozen entries
to check out, and they are rushed for time.  

My best advice is to get to know the judges, and make sure that they learn
to trust your ability to handle constructive criticism well.  Look them up
before or after the event, talk to them about your common interests, and
give them several  opportunities to assess how well you take criticism
before they start making extended comments.  You may have known a boss who
wanted to be told the truth until they actually were honestly informed - who
then got really nasty!  So don't expect people to take you at face value on
this point.  Give them time.

That's just my opinion, of course.  Your mileage will almost certainly vary.
:)

andras salamandra