ANST - Documentation

[Dory Grace]

Lady Simone wrote:
>Example say that a lady from one barony has done an exceptional Job on an
>Elizabethan Gown, spent the time to makes sure it fit well and was done as
>true as possible to replicate the gown. She had not the time because of her
>mundane life or time ran out to Write the research paper, or did not know
>how to write the research paper needed for documentation.  Takes the Piece
>to A&S and is automatically docked 10 points for no documentation. she
>receives 36 points for the work, which is only 4 points of off the max she
>can get without documentation.
>
>Then a woman from another barony spends most of her time doing the research
>paper for an Elizabethan gown,  The gown is poorly sewn, the gown defiantly
>inferior to the first,  before the documentation she scores a 29 out of 40
>but then receives 8 points for her documentation is added in she scores a
>37. This woman wins

Simone, I've heard this kind of concern before, therefore please understand
that nothing in this letter is directed personally at you, ok?

First off, just as a point of  argument, I would like to submit that if the
second gown is truly poorly enough sewn to be "defiantly inferior", it is
*extremely* unlikely to score so high as a 29 out of 40--this is assuming
an average score per breakdown of 7.25 or, more likely, a combination of
(3) 7's and 1 (8). Even if she uses all period materials and techniques,
she's not likely to get better than 5's or 6's on craftsmanship/skill, and
would certainly not score highly on overall impression.

Now, here are some personal opinions on the whole 'scoring documentation in
a competition' deal. If an individual's intent is to truly compete, to try
to be strong in the running, to score high and place well, that individual
needs to do what's necessary to acheive that goal. If they're not entering
a piece with the intent to compete and all they really care about is
getting some good feedback, then *they won't care* whether a lack of
documentation has cost them points. To enter a competition without all of
one's ducks in a row *and* expect to win or place well is, well, foolish.

Also, I don't think anyone really believes that the highest scoring piece
is necessarily the *singular* most period piece, or the *singular* most
aesthetically pleasing piece, or the *singular* most complex piece. The
highest scoring pieces are the pieces which best reflect the overall
standard/goal for whatever that piece is. Example--in a dog show, the dog
which wins Best of Breed isn't necessarily the singular most intelligent
dog there, or the singular most well-manner dog there, or even the singular
most aesthetically pleasing dog there; it is the dog that best reflects the
*overall* standard for its breed.

>For Art forms that the judging is Subjective such as performing, brewing and
>cooking. I become worried when so much attention is given to the
>documentation, because in lowering the needed skill in these areas because
>of their importance of documentation, we may see overtime a lower standard
>of Quality in their arts,because those with less skill can be determined
>better, because they can write and research better.

I'm sorry, but it just doesn't follow that requiring documentation (ie.
written examples of an technical understanding of one's artform and the
relavence of one's art to the historic period we address) will in any way
negatively affect an artist's skill. An artist who can document his/her
work and is willing to do so is an artist who is likely to continue
learning in their area, and their skill level will be more likely to
improve than diminish.

Soap box rant mode: this is an *educational* organization; someone really
should be learning something along the way. Requiring documentation in
competitions is one thing that helps address this need on a couple
different levels: it incites the artist to learn enough about what they're
doing to be able to show an understanding of it *and* to be able to put it
in a format so as to *pass on* that basic information. If someone enters a
spectacular gown in a competition, but has nothing (no documentation) to
back it up, what good of substance has it brought? Eye candy, sure.
Inspiration for someone to try something similar? Perhaps. Any kind of
information to give that inspired person? No. Any direction to give the
interested observer? No. Any justification for having even entered said
gown in a competition for period-driven, documented art? No. If an
individual wants to only do their art or craft and doesn't want to mess
with competition, fine. He/she should do just that. If they want to display
their art or craft in a public forum for non-competitive feedback, they
should do just that. If they expect to just do their art or craft and enter
and place--let alone win--in a competitive venue without doing the
documentation that they are expected to do and that other competing
entrants have done, they're simply asking too much. If you want to compete,
do your homework. If you want non-competitive feedback, take your work to
non-competitive venues; display rather that enter. Or enter a competition
for feedback with the understanding that you won't get points for what you
haven't done. It's really very simple.

Documentation is really very simple, too. While not everyone lives in
Dallas or Austin or some large city with great libraries, those who are on
line have the virtual world at their fingertips. For those in the boonies
with only tiny local satelite libraries, there is interlibrary loan. Sorry
to sound like the old hard-nose who had to walk to school everyday, in the
snow, year round, uphill both ways, but I entered and won a kingdom
competition with something like 12 or 14 entries, every one of them
documented, with only the resources I could scrounge from the public
library in Idaho Falls, Idaho (population 40,000--salute), and a phone call
to Helmut von Nickel at the MET in New York. Anyone without the inclination
to scribble down a "what it is, how they did it, how I did it, and why"
really has no business complaining about how their score compared to
someone who *was* so inclined.

>I really do not like the new forms as they are, I believe they put more
>focus on documentation than they do the art form.
>
>This is my opinion

And certainly you are entitled to your opinion as all of us are. But, for
crying out loud, the documentation--the part that verifies some
intellectual investment--is only one fifth, only 20% of the entire
score--the rest of the score--a full 80%-- deals directly with the entry
itself. How can that possibly translate to "more focus on documentation"
than the art form?  Knowlege and understanding of an artform is just as
integral a part of creating any work as any of the materials or techniques
going into it; it's all integral.

Don't know where to look for sources? Ask someone. We're all just bursting
at the seams to give advice to folks about things we know something about.
Feel like you have no writing skills? Ask someone for help. It's not that
big a deal once you run through it once or twice; it's a little like
thinking to read the instructions before trying to cook rice the first
time. Have no interest in reading or researching anything? Stick to
displaying your work till you feel the urge to research hit you. I just get
annoyed when folks start complaining and whining about documentation
requirements or scores; whether they mean it to or not, it makes them sound
like they're wanting to drag efforts to support intellectual and scholarly
pursuits into the dark ages just because they don't want to bother with it
themselves. And most of us can benefit by the occassional intellectual or
scholarly challenge now and again.

Well, I've yammered enough on this that I'm sure I've offended a huge chunk
of the list, and if my tone is less than sympathetic, well, it's because I
am less than sympathetic. Hell, I entered last year's Gulf War thingy due
to the prompting of a couple folk. I threw together some sketchy
documentation--with full expectation that any documentation score I got
would be as pitiful as the documentation I'd thrown together. When I got
there, someone told me I really didn't need it if I just filled out the
questionaire/entry form. So I tossed the sketchy documentation in a nearby
recepticle and filled out the form. Later, one of the comments I got
explaining my score said I would have done so much better and easily placed
for Gulf Wars if I'd had even the sketchiest of documentation. Can you say
"irony"? At that moment, I suppose I could have responded a couple
different ways. First, I was confused (not an unfamiliar frame of mind for
me anyway ;->). I could have gotten angry at the person who gave me the
incorrect information, maybe even entertained a fantasy or two that she/he
had set me up for some perverse, obscure reason, etc. Later, though, when
the person who judged my piece and made the comment realized whose piece it
was and came to say she was so sorry she couldn't justify giving me a
higher score because of the lack of documentation, I couldn't help but bust
up laughing. It was funny. It was simply no big deal. I hadn't expected to
score high on documentation before I even got there, and I had absolutely
no reason whatsoever to be so invested in a competition to fume over it. I
chose to learn a leasson instead--always have some documentation, *just in
case*.  ;->  

Small side note, how well or poorly someone scores in a competition has
absolutely *nothing* to do with the quality of the *artist*--it is only a
reflection of how well the artist's *work* has done in a given competition.
How a piece scores in a competiton isn't even necessarily a reflection of
the quality of the artist's skill, we all have great pieces and
not-so-great pieces and we all have artforms we're comfortable with and
artforms that challenge us more than others.

Going to bed now before I p*ss anybody else off,
Aquilanne


Dory Grace***The Inkwell
Austin, TX

"No matter where you go, there you are."
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