Anodyne
Saturday, May 07, 2005
 
Striking a Blow for Complexity

"Dear [CURATOR'S NAME],

I received email from [EDITOR] at [INTERNATIONAL ART MAGAZINE].

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to review the exhibition for them. Their word limit is firm at 400 words, which is more of a glorified blurb than a review, and, in my judgement, more than a little embarrassing for a multi artist group exhibition. This is less space than that provided for a single artist show in the Georgia Straight, which itself is not exactly October magazine.

I hope that I will have the opportunity to write about exhibitions at [LOCAL ART EXHIBITION SPACE] at more length in the near future, and that you will continue to send me notices of upcoming exhibitions. But, after several unhappy experiences writing bad, forgettable "blurb reviews" for folks like Art on Paper and Canadian Art, I've come to conclude that I despise the format, and I'm not going to do it any more. 400 words on 4 or more artists is like a sweater on a poodle; both dog and onlookers are embarrassed.

Best, CJB."
- posted by cjb @ 7:49 AM


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