I kind of make my collages with the mat being the crucial element that crops just what I want to see.  But,  the window of some of my small pieces is a mere 5' x 7', hard to zero in on just that and crop it just right.  Sometimes, the art extends onto the mats and sometimes the frame, to me, is just as much part of the piece.  Is it OK for those elements to be seen.  Back in the day, when I had done all this before with slides and such we had to silver tape out all hints of any frame or matting elements.... What are the rules now on those elements in jury photos?  ( I looked but didn't see this specifically in any other posts- forgive me if it was!)

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  • Hi.  My art is different, but I wondered about the same thing in the past with jury shots.  I make miniature, fine silver vignettes...they are only a bout 3x4, but I mat them and frame them.   I felt that showing the mat in the shot was important to give them context.   Perhaps in Canada our rules are not that stringent (for example, no rules about not showing your name in a booth shot, etc.,), so I just think that however you feel the picture looks best, do it.

    I attached a photo for an example.  Robert Diamante took the shot.

    Sue

    1.jpg

    • That works. It was shot on an angle to show depth with shadows. The only problem is that there is no sense of scale or size. For most jurying, there is not enough time to read the written descriptions so you have to figure out a way to show scale without words, maybe with the booth picture. In slide film days before the ten second juries, a ruler or an egg or a coin was sometimes used for scale. Now it's a distraction.

      I consulted with an artist at the ZAPP conference in October, and then worked on his jury images. He did delicate pencil drawing and created wood frames around them. But the pencil drawing was only 20% of the size of the framed piece, which needed to be included in the jury image. I upscaled his drawings within the frames so they took up more space and the difference gave him a stronger set of jury images. But you wouldn't notice the difference if you walked into his booth.

      There are different ways to show scale, like there are different ways to show depth and texture. You may need to figure out how to make one of your jury images complete the story if it's not evident in the display picture.

      Larry Berman
      http://BermanGraphics.com
      412-401-8100

      • Looking at Suzanne's image on my iPad, the texture and depth of the mat gave a very good sense of scale. But would those things show up less well in a projection situation because the mat is white?
  • there are no rules but to remain competitive, only show the jurors what they need to see to make a decision. Unless the mat is part of the art, don't include it in your jury image. Black masking has replaced silver tape making sure they only see what you want them to see. The display picture is to show how the art is presented but the individual jury images should be just the art and frame filling to make an impression.

    Larry Berman
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100

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