Judging Art

I’ve been judging the Drawings in the current Saatchi online ‘Showdown’. There are over 2000 entries and you get to judge which artwork you like the most from pairs of these entries. There are several rounds until a winner is declared. It is a very interesting exercise, in that you have to decide just what it is that you like/dislike in various works of art.

As I have been working through the pairs I have made notes about my judgements.

YES votes for: great skill; simplicity; sense of humour; originality/creativity; interesting ie not boring; balance; line-graduation & contrast; obviously enjoyable to do; contrasts – hard and soft/ worked areas and unworked areas ……..

NO votes for:  copy of a photo;  digitally assisted;  cliché;  too clever;  cute;  overworked;  too many techniques;  needs completion somehow;  obvious clichéd message……..

Have a go! What is your criteria for judging?

Web site is: http://www.saatchionline.com/showdown