In all cases, you have to wonder what, if any, instructions were given to the jurors by the show directors. And you have to wonder why those particular people were chosen to jury. If anyone has similar stories, please send them to me.

When a photographer didn’t get accepted to a show, he asked for feedback on his jury images. The director told the photographer that a juror was distracted by the mats and frames he was using in his booth image. Has the visual of gallery wrapped canvases become so pervasive that traditionally matted and framed photographs look wrong to a juror? This is something that should get any painter or photographer upset.

An artist jurying a show on Juried Art Services commented to another artist that the lack of black borders on the jury images were distracting. Didn’t the artist juror understand that black borders aren’t necessary because with JAS, the jurors see the images on a gray background. And the black borders might be considered a distraction on gray.

A juror who is an exhibiting artist commented that he didn’t like the booth image of a particular artist so he rejected him. And then when the same artist applied to another show the same artist was jurying he was rejected again because of the same booth image. I asked the juror whether or not he had contacted the artist to suggest doing a new booth picture. I was told no, he hadn’t. But I said, this was the perfect opportunity for an artist to learn from the jury process. Wouldn’t you have wanted that consideration if you had been jurying for that show and had been rejected?

All of these situations would probably not occur if the jurors were in the same room and able to discuss the images.