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By Kyle Twardowski<\/strong> \/ Triton’s Call Staff<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Guam Art Exhibit is not only a place to see and appreciate local art and talk to some of the artists on their experience, but in another aspect, it\u2019s a bridge for local artists to cross over and display their works of art for the community and other artists to appreciate.\u00a0 To get your work out there and to get recognized by someone is on the top of any artist\u2019s wishlist.\u00a0 I would know.\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to make it out to fame just like everybody else.<\/p>\n

The Guam Art Exhibit is in its eighth showing with this year\u2019s theme being \u201cThe Portrait\u201d.\u00a0 The exhibit was live from the 19^{th<\/sup> of August to the 7th<\/sup> of September in the Agana Shopping Center.\u00a0 The opening night was filled with the unveiling of the work and also a photobooth, open bar (before the drinks ran out), and closed the night off with a performance from \u201cThe John Dank Show\u201d.<\/p>\n}

Over the course of the few weeks being open, the directors also held live art displays and classes where artists can bring in their work and receive tips from the staff and other artists on improvement of their art.\u00a0 The final night was showcased around spoken word, where poets, songwriters, musicians, and rappers showcased their skills to end the 8^{th<\/sup> Guam Art Exhibit.<\/p>\n}

For the weeks coming up to the Guam Art Exhibit, any artist interested in submitting work was asked to do so.\u00a0 The invite was publicized and everything, for open submissions.\u00a0 I was one of those artists who went out on a limb to submit some work in hope of getting an acceptance email.<\/p>\n

Well I didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Sadly, I wasn\u2019t accepted to participate, which is fine.\u00a0 I was a little irritated at first, but hey, I got over it.\u00a0 But there are a few things that did irritate me about the whole altercation with GAX.<\/p>\n

Not only was my work not accepted, I received an email with a description on how to make my work better and then maybe they might consider my work to be viewed.\u00a0 \u201cI feel what is necessary is either heavy Photoshop work to bring the production value higher or possibly a reshoot\u201d read the email I received from a GAX coordinator.\u00a0 This is the golden rule that you should not break when dealing with an artist, unless they ask for it.\u00a0 If I said \u201coh hey, here\u2019s my submission, I\u2019d also like some constructive criticism while you\u2019re at it\u201d, then ok I asked for it.\u00a0 But of course I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

They told an artist, how to make his own art.\u00a0 Everything I put into my work is for a reason.\u00a0 If I wanted it to look a certain way, that\u2019s what I wanted the piece to look like.\u00a0 Don\u2019t tell me what it wrong with it, because it\u2019s not wrong to me.\u00a0 That\u2019s what it means to be an artist.\u00a0 I can do what I want with my work, I\u2019m free.\u00a0 That\u2019s the beauty of it.\u00a0 What I\u2019m saying is that they pretty much lost an artist over this, me.<\/p>\n

The other issue I had was that there were visible budget cuts.\u00a0 But who am I?\u00a0 Don\u2019t take my word for it, this is just my opinion, but that\u2019s what it seemed like.\u00a0 My point is that the facility was not fit for something like this.\u00a0 A bigger facility should have been sought out to hold this event to allow for more submissions to be displayed.\u00a0 I know this is easier said than done, however, this is part of throwing an event like this.\u00a0 Be prepared.<\/p>\n

To go along with the facility issue, I also felt that some pieces, especially some of the photographs, were a crazy size for display.\u00a0 Using all of that space for three photos, takes away from the allowance of more submissions.\u00a0 \u201cWe have a bit of a smaller space than previous GAX shows so we have to be very selective of what\u2019s going to show\u201d read the email I received from a GAX coordinator.\u00a0 So we\u2019re going to limit pieces for acceptance so we can put up monstrous pieces?\u00a0\u00a0 A possible limit on piece size for submission could have been in order to help fit other\u2019s needs.\u00a0 And I\u2019m not even talking about the giant wall sized painting in the back that covered about six or seven feet up and down.\u00a0 That\u2019s just too much.<\/p>\n

With these things being presented, there are visible flaws that do need to be worked out, but overall the Guam Art Exhibit experience is still for the community.\u00a0 The events held through the GAX do shine a different light on the community and act as inspiration for upcoming artists.\u00a0 However, my outlook has been changed through the event of not being accepted.\u00a0 But it has taught me a couple things.\u00a0 To stay hungry and to not care what other people think.\u00a0 It\u2019s now seared into my brain, thanks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kyle Twardowski \/ Triton’s Call Staff The Guam Art Exhibit is not only a place to see and appreciate local art and talk to some of the artists on their experience, but in another aspect, it\u2019s a bridge for local artists to cross over and display their works of art for the community and … <\/p>\n

Read more “TC staff member critiques GAX”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[248],"yoast_head":"\n