Meet the Jurors

juror illustration – ricky allman

Ricky Allman

I am honored to have the chance to be a juror for this show, thank you!

It was exciting for me to see how the student artists here at UMD are interpreting, processing and communicatingtheir experiences of perhaps the craziest year in historical memory. Whether the artwork commented directly or indirectly on events of the year- pandemic, quarantine, BLM protests,anti-mask protests, conspiracy theories, terrorism, natural disasters, and ever growing climate change, just to name a few. Even the more intimate and introspective work seemed to address the ways we are surviving and caring for ourselves and one another through all of this.

There were so many great entries- high quality artwork that didn’t make the show or chosen for recognition. It’s always difficult to cut work and to choose one piece over another, it’s a very subjective undertaking, that makes art feel competitive. Competition in art doesn’t reflect the beauty and honest struggle of making and sharing art with one another, which is the reason most of us are here. Unfortunately rejection is an ever-present component of life as an artist, every artist I know, even the most successful, has received far more rejections than acceptance. Don’t let the results of this show define your career, either positively or negatively, if you are passionate about making art, you are qualified to be an artist.

Despite the intensely personal work of artmaking, this can reveal the universal nature of ourshared experience—the pain, loneliness and isolation that we have all been affected by in thelast year. Reviewing your artwork was enlightening and therapeutic, it helped me to reflect on my own moments of personal trauma and triumph this past year, and reassess where I am now in light of the things I have learned from you, and I thank you all for that.

https://www.rickyallman.com/

Julia Zeltser

I've enjoyed reviewing the work of young painters, designers, filmmakers, sculptors, and illustrators of the University of Minnesota Duluth.

I couldn't help but look back in time and reflect on when I was in art school, where I questioned, experimented, delighted, failed, and persisted. I wondered what it meant to be a young artist in what might be the most difficult, scary, lonely year of students' lives. What was it like to find yourself training for a profession during an uncertain, emotionally charged year? Pondering the dichotomy of 2020, I reviewed submissions through two well-fused lenses: a) how professional is your work? b) how emotional is your work?

 I have been polishing the professional lens by working as a creative director in commercial and non-profit industries for decades. A trained eye takes a fraction of a moment to identify how articulately – through film cuts, brush strokes, or composition angles – an artist tells a visual story. Does an artist communicate a clear message? What is the mastery of the medium? How well is the painting, sculpture, or installation documented in a digital photograph or video? I was as deeply impressed by the technique, craftsmanship, and control of many student's mediums as I was disappointed by others' sloppy execution and lack of care taken in the documentation and presentation of the work. But in the sea of "professional" art, the undeniably moving work was where the emotional story led the way. Some of these works quietly whispered your emotional state, screamed through the lonesomeness of the Covid year, drove us to fight injustice, and asked us to pause and inhale a moment.

 I was inspired and moved by the craft, introspection, vulnerability, and activism in your work. Keep experimenting, pushing, failing, learning from mistakes, and getting up every day to create visual stories from your vantage point. I am honored to have reviewed your work and urge you to keep showing us your unique views of the world because in consistently doing so, you will further hone your craft, deepen your point of view, and inspire others.

https://www.hyperakt.com/

juror illustration – julia zeltser
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