ANST - Judging and Guidelines (was Looking for the heat)

[Gunnora Hallakarva]

Baron Bors said:
>      OK- this finally addresses the issue.  What exactly are the A&S judges 
>looking for?  Is a entry judged on how  realistically the work recreates a 
>documentented medieval peice, or is an entry judged by how  well it 
>representents a medieval peice as we precieve it in our society? These may 
>seem like they are the same but to the artist, the difinition is a world 
>apart.    

Of course we're always going to be looking at how well the item represents
a medieval piece as we perceive it in our society.  Unless we can import a
true medieval person to judge the pieces, we're always going to be bringing
our modern socialization and prejudices as modern people to the table when
we judge, no matter how well we try to discard them.  This is the same
dilemma that anthropologists face. (For an excellent and enlightening essay
on this dilemma, see Horace Miner "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema."
American Anthropologist 58(3): 1956.  pp. 503-507 -- and I have a copy if
you can't find it and want to read it.)

We are not, however, judging by modern standards.  Which is to say that if
we're judging a chair, we don't judge it by the same standards that we'd
use if we went down to the local Laz-E-Boy showroom and were purchasing a
chair.  We look for medieval materials, techniques, and craftsmanship.  In
two otherwise equal and identical pieces, the one where the artisan used
hand-held chisels will win over one which is visually identical but which
was created using a Dremel tool for the carving.

>Does adaptation or creative license count?

The SCA has never had a standard that suggests that that all A&S should be
a strict and perfect re-creation of some medieval exemplar.  It is
completely valid to show several examples of an item (for instance, the
class of house-shaped reliquary boxes) and create a completely new item
based upon the medieval understanding of that type of thing (to continue
the example, a house-shaped reliquary box that utilizes features of several
comparable boxes from the period but which has no exact medieval exemplar
that it reproduces).  It is even permissible and encouraged to become very
creative within the bounds of documentability (again, same example, using
original artwork for the carving of the house-shaped reliquary box which
utilzes the same type of style and subject material as carving used on
similar reliquaries in period).

> Why doesn't judge A use  the same criteria as judge B?  

Because they are human.  Written criteria won't eliminate that either, as
subjective interpretation of the criteria will also vary.

> The new judging forms are nice, but I still 
>see subjective instead of objectivity in the judging.  Any judge with a 
>FAVORITE  type of work or an ax to grind against an individual looses all 
>objectivity.   

Yes and no.  Most of the Laurels will excuse themselves from judging
certain items.  If I detest a person so badly that I feel that I cannot
judge their work adequately, I ask someone else to judge it instead.  If it
is the work of my apprentices or my spouse, I ask others to judge it since
I may be less than perfectly detached and impartial (plus it does them good
to get feedback from someone other than me).

I have plenty of favorite types of work.  They are usually fields in which
I myself work.  I love judging these -- because it gives me the opportunity
to interact with artisans working within my own fields of expertise, and
these are the people for whom I will tend to have the best, most useful
comments.  It certainly doesn't cause me to judge things which are not my
favorites any differently.  And in fact if I can I will duck judging things
that are outside my field of expertise.

> I feel that a written criteria produced by the Laurels would be nice.  

There are pros and cons to written criteria.  I understand that in some
kingdoms where there are written criteria in use that artists who create an
item for which there are no criteria is penalized and so as a result the
only rewards come for creating items "within the box" drawn by the
criteria, and it stifles experimentation and creativity.

There are also kingdoms that have books of criteria the size of the New
York phone book.  How can one realistically describe EVERY medieval art and
science?

Now don't get me wrong -- I'm a big proponent of criteria (the P.C. term
for which is "guidelines" in Ansteorra - suggests more freewill and less
coercion).  There is a strong minority of the Laurels that want to develop
guidelines and get them in use -- mostly Laurels who have moved to
Ansteorra from areas where guidelines were in use, and also many of the
younger Laurels.  There is a larger majority that thinks
guidelines/criteria are a Bad Thing, and even a few monoliths who think
criteria are the kiss of death and should be burned at the stake, along
with whoever proposed them.

You want guidelines?  Talk to the Laurels you know about them.  People will
cling fiercely to the statuis quo, fearing change.  If the artisans want
guidelines, they need to say so more strongly to the Laurels and the A&S
Ministry or else change will never happen.

> Any apprentice would have a world of information available on 
>judging criteria that we non- apprenticed would never have available, unless 
>we sat at the feet of some Laurel and kept them plied with booze until they 
>were to drunk to speak. 

Not true.  There is no such thing as an artist who doesn't like to talk
about their work.  Basically, the kinds of people who become Laurels are
terrible show-offs -- that's why we always entered those darn A&S
competitions and teach all the time.  Alcohol is not necessary, though
rarely spurned.

If you have questions about an art form, about documentation, about the
best way to do the presentation of your entry, ask a Laurel.  If you don't
know who to ask, ask me... and I will find out who is working in that field
who can help you.  If we don't have an expert in-kingdom, I can even track
doen experts out-of-kingdom and refer you to them via mail or email.

>   Would such a publication produced by the Laurel be too much to ask, or 
>would it reveal to many of their secrets.  I feel that all competitors in
A&S 
>compititions should be on a level playing field.  Is this to much to ask- or 
>is it impossible in our Society?

It happens all the time elsewhere, but if you think written guidelines are
a panacea, think again.  The best hedge against lack of objectivity is
group judging.  When  people judge in groups of three or more, we tend to
balance one another out and the result is better comments for the artisans.  

We could always have better, more objective judging if people who are in
charge of A&S competitions would:

(1) make sure that there is an area where the judges can sit down and get
off their feet occasionally. Better yet if we can drag a chair around with
us as we judge and sit down in front of the widget while we write the
comments.

(2) make sure that there are pens and paper for judges to write comments with

(3) make arrangements for refreshments (even water would be nice) for the
judges,  

(4) explicitly set up the competition so that there will be group judging

(5) arrange ahead of time to have enough judges - perhaps ask for letters
of intent from artisans to be allowed to compete in the first place, then
use the received letters as a guide to how many judges are needed.
Consider how many judges you have, how much time it takes to realistically
think about one item and write intelligent commenst (never less than 5
minutes per item, allowing 15 is better), and get more judges if needed.
Contact the Laurels and other talented artisans BEFORE the event and ask
them to judge.  Maybe even offer a drawing for a "judges doorprize" to help
recruit more judges -- Laurels judge out of sense of duty, but look at Gulf
Wars how few of the Laurels present actually help with the actual judging
because there is so much else to do!

If all those conditions are met, you will get better judging and more
objective commentary.  If you let the judges be harried, hassled,
overworked, hungry, thirsty and on their feet on a concrete floor for 3
hours while fun is going on everywhere else except where they are, you're
going to have a distracted, less than happy, not objective judge. If it is
difficult to write comments, comments will not get written, so always
provide paper and pens and a place to write comments.  If it is physically
painful or too hot or otherwise too uncomfortable, judges won't spend the
time necessary to do a good job.

Remember that unlike the knights, a Laurel's whole life changes when we're
elevated to the peerage.  Suddenly instead of making cool things and
getting tons of attention and praise for them, we're suddenly shut up in a
room waaayyyy away from the rest of the event, judging stuff and getting
nothing but criticism for it for the most part.  Rarely do event organizers
even remember to thank the judges for the time and effort that was
sacrificed to the judging.  This is in stark contrast to the knight, who
gets recognized for their martial arts and gets to continue doing exactly
what they were doing before.  

I just have to wonder how much bad judging is really because the judges'
feet hurt, they were thirsty, hypoglycemic, and hadn't been able to get to
the privy since the judging started since we're rushing to get all these
widgets judged before they have to set up for feast...

>Geting ready to FEEL THE HEAT.




Wæs Þu Hæl (Waes Thu Hael)

::GUNNORA::

Gunnora Hallakarva
Baroness to the Court of Ansteorra
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Ek eigi visa þik hversu oðlask Lofstirrlauf-Kruna heldr hversu na Hersis-Aðal
(Ek eigi thik hversu odhlask Lofstirrlauf-Kruna heldr hversu na Hersis-Adhal)

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