The Value of Peer Review

I’ll call her Jane. She was in a one-day class that I teach at Emily Carr University (CEPD 250) – a “Professional Assessment” class. In CEPD 250, we address a conundrum in your practice; each student is seeking a different outcome. Jane wanted feedback about the retail value of her work.

Normally, each student presents a brief overview of her or his practice – at least those aspects of their practice that are relevant to the issue they propose to discuss, but knowing what Jane wanted from us, I asked her to say nothing and to simply put her three pieces on display for the class to see. Then I asked her to write down what she hoped to get for each piece of her works on a piece of paper, to put her name on the paper and then to give it to me. Next, I asked everyone else in the class to write down what they would pay for each work on a piece of paper and to give the paper to me.

When I had all the pieces, I wrote out all the values of the class members (plus my evaluation) on the blackboard; the prices ranged from $800 to $3,000 for each piece! Then, I passed around Jane’s self-assessment (bearing her signature) to the class. Her expectation was $300 for each work. There was certainly a lot to talk about in the classroom after that experience.

The opposite has happened as well. I have witnessed several students in my professional assessment courses reveal unbelievable discord between the self-perceived value of their work and an objective evaluation. One student who comes to mind thought the value of her work was approximately 800% higher than the highest objective appraisal in the classroom.

Another student wanted ideas from our class about places to market her work and insight into marketing methodologies. In her classroom introduction, she described her career in captivating terms and we were all ready to provide feedback when, at the conclusion of her talk, she showed us her work. There was almost an audible gasp in the room. I don’t know what to say about what we saw. It made all of us in the room uncomfortable and challenged me, as the teacher, in a way I never expected. There was a strong sexual element.

My point in referencing her experience is that she referenced career-long approval of her work by those who had seen it, and that she had never exhibited. She was taken aback by the feedback that she got; those who spoke all felt that the work would never be exhibited in any gallery. She handled herself graciously, but was clearly shocked by the response.

Self-misperception – whether positive or negative – is avoidable if you are involved with your peers and if you create opportunities to get objective feedback. The greatest benefit of a visual art education, according to most artists I have interviewed and taught, is in the critiques and cafeterias that facilitate conversations with peers and mentors about your work and process.

Artists who get their only critical feedback from people who see their art by invitation tend to be overexposed to the opinions of friends and relatives. They see your work in your presence and are bound by rules of politeness to find a way to make a positive response. They cannot be objective – some can, certainly, but they are not the correct audience for important career advice. All artists need objective peer/mentor response to their work. But beyond aesthetics, artists can also benefit from a discussion about the business of being an artist if they create a forum for such a discussion. Both technique and business sessions with peers are easy and inexpensive to organize. The trick is to assemble a group of worthy participants – peers are people who are working at the same “level” as you. A peer review session is not worthwhile without knowledgeable leadership; your local art educator, gallery director or curator, or a professional artist in your community can be an ideal facilitator. And local arts councils, schools, colleges, libraries or galleries will often provide the space.

We are all familiar with a book club; well, an “art club” of peers that meets infrequently is easy to organize. You don’t want to meet too often or familiarity will corrode the objectivity that is so important to a professional session. With social media and the Internet at our disposal, there is no excuse not to make peer assembly part of your professional practice. It is easier than ever to identify your peers.

I find artists on the web and write to them about their work, and that often leads to phone calls and then meetings. It has been very easy for me to organize small groups of artists to talk about their careers. Of course, my role with this newsletter and my teaching at Emily Carr make introductions comfortable, but it can be just as easy for you if you can provide the people to whom you write with a link to a web or blog that tells them who you are. And a good peer session can happen anywhere.

If you are disinclined to form your own group, you can join a college extension or continuing studies class, or join an artists’ collective such as Basic Inquiry, Malaspina Printmakers, the Federation of Canadian Artists, etc. Peer review sessions – focused on both business and aesthetics – can be both practical, and fun.

PS: Hey faithful readers, visit my blog to read about my adventure and its philanthropic side effect while I walked from Paris to the Mediterranean.