President John Wooller (JW) opened the meeting at 7.30pm and welcomed 13 members and 1 guest, with 4 apologies. Before commencing the presentation, JW explained that the ASV lack of an electronic slide projector and compatible laptop computer had resulted in a manual presentation of photographs. JW stated a belief that an association of professional sculptors needed electronic projection facilities, and proposed thought be devoted to the ASV acquiring the equipment. Members agreed that the ASV also needed a volunteer to check, operate and maintain the said equipment, and ensure no compatibility problems. Gillian Govan has volunteered to initially set up a projection system.
Presentation on Wangaratta Sculpture Biennial, 2008.
JW briefly mentioned the Wangaratta Art Festival as an enjoyable festival spread over about two weeks, with an outdoor sculpture exhibition as the main feature. This year’s sculpture exhibition included 50 entries, with 3 from ASV members, divided into 2 categories:
Permanent outdoor exhibits with 24 entries; a City of Wangaratta first prize of $10,000;
Ephemeral exhibits (that will not last outdoors for any appreciable time) with 25 entries; a first prize of $2,500.
The judge was Geoffrey Bartlett, who was unfortunately not available at award time to comment on the general exhibits or the winning entries.
JW then asked the ASV meeting to assess from the photographs which exhibits fell into which of the two defined categories. The meeting generally agreed with the classification of exhibits actually made in the exhibition, with disagreements over some 2-3 pieces. JW supplemented discussion with reading from selected artists’ statements, many of which had an environmental theme. The meeting agreed there was a very wide variety in type and standard of exhibits. A vote by members on a few pieces indicated a belief by some (not unanimous) that some pieces should not have been admitted. Issues mentioned included artistic merit, intellectual art, and takeaway messages.
JW asked the members in the meeting to act as judges, and for each to assess which was in his or her view the best in each of the two categories of exhibits, and also which was the likely recipient of the people’s choice award. Voting on all three subjects at the meeting indicated a very wide distribution of votes, with nearly everyone voting differently on the Permanent category. He then informed the meeting of the 3 awards actually made in Wangaratta. It was noteworthy that not one ASV member had voted for the winning Permanent exhibit, the winning Ephemeral exhibit, or the winning People’s Choice exhibit.
Discussion was animated, if not heated. There was some agreement, namely that the outcome of exhibitions can be unpredictable, and very dependent on the curator and judge.
The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to JW in overcoming obstacles to produce such a lively meeting.
Geoff Williams
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