It’s been how many weeks now and there’s still no official-official announcement of the Best Customs Contest winners on the BreyerFest Blog. Don’t they usually have it up by now?
Part of the reason I keep putting off my discussion of it is because I wanted to a have an easily accessible set of photos to refer to, rather than talk about it in the abstract, but I guess I’ll just have to jump in and “do it live”, because I am tired of this topic living in my head.
So here we go.
My argument, which should not be controversial at this point, is this: the BreyerFest Best Customs Contest is broken.
Let us begin with the elephant in the room: the Most Extreme Custom division.
Customs that completely obliterate the original, rendering it either an armature, or (even worse) merely filler, contain a rather cynical and nihilistic subtext: the model that we used to build this thing has no worth other than as an armature or filler.
Needless to say, I am not a fan of this particular line of thinking. Not only is it antithetical to my conception of customs as a whole, it does not serve the ultimate goal of Breyer promoting it in the first place.
I think of customizing as a collaborative art form, a conversation between the original sculptor and the customizing artist. The best Customs, in my mind, are the ones that take the base model in unexpected or innovative directions, but still have it retain the essence of the original sculpture.
That’s what I had hoped this contest would evolve into: why else would Breyer sponsor it, but to ultimate promote their product?
Imagine if a pie-filling company sponsored a pie baking contest, but the winner of said contest was a cake with a scoop of pie filling in it. Just because it’s a baked good that contains pie filling does not make it a pie. A giant lump of epoxy with a piece of a Breyer in it is not a custom.
The other sections of the contest are also problematic, albeit in slightly different ways. The Fantasy division has basically evolved into a different flavor of the Extreme Custom division; the Performance Excellence division is the Giant Freestyle Diorama Contest, where bigger is apparently always better...
The Excellence in Finishwork division – the most popular division, in terms of the sheer number of entries – tends to reward certain styles, colors and techniques over others. My problem with this is that technical proficiency doesn’t necessarily go hand-in-hand with artistic merit, and some of them (like the hair-by-hair technique) aren’t even particularly realistic at certain scales.
The Theme division is a mixed bag. I like the concept in theory – I think I was one of the early advocates of it – but the Theme class this year was not… a Customs class. It was a Tackmakers Class. Tackmakers deserve their own yearly contest rather than have one shoehorned into another.
I know there’s been some talk of creating a “Novice” division, or altering the rules to exclude hobbyists and artists who have done work for Breyer either directly, or indirectly. While well-intentioned, I think both ideas are a little off the mark.
For one, both are hard to define and (ultimately) police.
Take me, for example.
I’ve been doing customs, on and off, since the early 1980s, but I’ve only just recently started taking it seriously again. I did do some customs for money back then, and sold a few others from my personal showstring, too. At least one of them ended up getting either a Best or Reserve Best Overall at a live show, and this little girl did extremely well for me, too, actually beating out pros like Liz Bouras at Model Horse Congress:
(Yes, she started life as a G1 Arabian Mare.)
I also do work for Reeves on occasion, though obviously it doesn’t involve sculpting.
My situation is far from unique. So how would you write the rules and exceptions for those of us that fall in those gray areas? Threading that needle would not only be difficult, but probably pointless: hobbyists would find the loopholes and technicalities pretty quickly.
My solution would be to revamp both the categories and criteria in a way that would be more inclusive of the greater world of customizing, rather than a narrow subset of it. There also needs to be a division – or divisions – outside of Fantasy where a greater emphasis should be on experimentation and creativity than on technical mastery.
Craftsmanship is not artistry: it is only a component. I’ve seen lots of artwork – not just Customs, but other mediums and hobbies – that in spite of their masterful technique were dry, boring and tedious.
And on the flip side, I’ve also seen artwork that breaks every conventional rule – artistic, anatomical, technical – that spoke to me on a profound level.
The perfect custom would be a blend of both, but (in my mind) I think way too much emphasis has been placed on the technical aspects in this contest.
I am not saying that we eliminate craftsmanship as a criteria. What I am saying is that if you want to encourage more people to participate in this contest, focusing on experimentation and creativity is the way to do that. That’s how most people get started at any given artistic enterprise: they have a spark, and they need to express it.
So, how would we go about that?
It’s a math problem, really: it’s just a matter of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.
Since it really has devolved into an original sculpture class, I’d either get rid of the Extreme Custom division, or change the judging criteria so that there’s slightly less incentive to sculpt ten pounds of epoxy around two legs and a head.
If they want to have an original sculpture contest, either make it its own contest, or create a division just for that.
For one, I’d love to see a “Vintage” class: not for Customs made 20 or 30 years ago, but for Customs made from Vintage molds, preferably Hess ones. The model would still have to recognizable as the foundation model; enhancements that were popular in the 1970s and 1980s – like hairing, flocking, glass eyes, horseshoes et al – could be encouraged.
While there were artists selling their work and doing work for hire back then, a lot of hobbyists did their own customs out of necessity, and a class like this would hearken back to that pioneering, DYI spirit.
In 2022, the Theme class was devoted to a single mold, the Geronimo: I want to see a class devoted to a specific mold every year. Something vintage, something new, scale doesn’t matter. I think this would be a great way to promote the Freedom/Classic molds, since there’s always a nice assortment available on the web site for people to buy if needed, and it would be a great way to encourage newbie customizers focusing on Stablemates to level up and push their boundaries.
Other division ideas could include Decorative Finishwork (like Excellence in Finishwork, but with unrealistic colors and designs), splitting the Fantasy division into Equids (Pegasi, Unicorns, Seahorses) and Artistic Interpretations (either based on literary, art historical or archaeological inspiration, or something entirely novel), and adding a Freestyle Diorama section (as a subset of Performance Excellence?)
I wouldn’t expand the divisions beyond ten – actually, ten would be a good number, because then the overall quantities of prize models would be at a relative parity with things like the Diorama Contest and even the Open Show. It would also bring the value of the prizes down a notch, and make the contest a little less appealing as a potential financial windfall for the professionals out there.
Having more divisions, or divisions that focus more on the creative aspects than the technical ones, does not devalue the prizes won in other divisions, any more than it does in live shows. If anything, it may even enhance them: even though I know the prize is the same for every class at a live show, winning a class with a lot of entries means more to me than winning a less populous one.
This is only a start; I could talk about this all day. As for those of you who think that things cannot change, let us be reminded of what eventually happened to the Child/Youth Show at BreyerFest: changes were eventually made that made the situation less toxic, and brought it more in line with the original intent of the show, which was to foster participation and a love of live showing.
I know the stated purpose of the Best Customs Contest is “to honor the best in Breyer model horse customizing”, but with just a few tweaks – maybe some of mine, or yours, or someone else’s – we can also do to the Best Customs Contest what was done to the Child/Youth Show.
Instead of making it purely a cash grab for ultra-rare models – which, in turn, creates some rather ugly behaviors – it could also be used as a way to foster participation in and a love for customizing, diffuse some of the toxicity that has built up around the culture of customizing in recent years, and maybe even become the springboard for future Big Name Artists.
In the end, I think that’s really all what many potential (but intimidated) entrants are asking for when it comes to revamping the Best Customs Contest. Great artwork isn’t always about great technique: sometimes it has a spark that transcends it. And almost anybody, regardless of the where they are on the road to being an artist, can possess that spark.
I’ve rambled enough, I suppose; I’ll be offline the rest of the weekend to watch kaiju films, pull weeds, and play with epoxy.
14 comments:
The Custom Contest is nothing but a showcase for artists that work for Breyer. I’ve seen a list of all the finalists & winners & it’s the same small group over & over again & most have created new molds for Breyer. When other businesses sponsor contests there’s usually the caveat that employees & their families can’t enter. The businesses that have these contests want to make sure the public sees it as fair & impartial which is impossible when employees & their families enter & win. All Breyer needs to do is implement something similar. Anyone who has done work for Breyer & received any form compensation for that work in the previous 3 years cannot enter the Best Custom Contest. Add in the rule that the Breyer model can’t be used as “filler” & 1/2 of the model must be visible in the final piece would be a good start.
I don't show for a reason - the custom I bought years ago simply isn't fancy enough to place. He's a beautiful blue roan Ethereal that I touched up/fixed (and one day I'll turn him into a snowcap appaloosa), but he's not drastic. He would be overlooked on the table compared to the models that are basically sculptures. Even my vintage test color would be overlooked because she's very plain and not at all flashy. The current showing situation really isn't fair, especially when it comes to customs. I feel like the treating it all as a way for artists to get $$$ has taken all the fun out of it. I don't know how I'd fix the situation, though.
Big hair and horseshoes! I love “vintage” RRHs - in part because the Breyer was recognizable, when molds were released in only a few colors, you got to see what else they could be.
It’s cool to see how far things have come and that there’s so many artists and sculptors out there, but I don’t think they belong in Breyer shows. For prizes, they should do rosettes only.
L. Robinson, there is that clause in the rules. Employees and family cannot enter.
But these hired artists aren't technically employees they are i forget the term a sort of contract agent and that is how they get away with that.
I think that’s where “received any form of compensation” would come in since the artist are paid by Breyer despite being contractors.
I also feel that finalists in any of the Best Customs, especially Champs should not then also go to show at Breyer Live shows.
Basically that's who also then goes to clean up at the Live Show.
Yes! So they can win more prize models they can sell to OF collectors! The BCC has the fewest prize models of any BF contest and die hard OF collectors have zero shot at winning them (making the broad assumption that the BCC winners are not OF rarity collectors). The counter argument that’s been brought up by folks is people don’t like to pay artists what they are worth, so by devaluing the prize models (by creating more categories), it’s insulting to the artists. Sigh.
I don't mind extreme customs but I do get my nose out of joint when people scoop up early SRs of new molds and immediately customize them, especially if they follow it up with, "But we're making it more rare!" Just wait a year or two for the regular run rather than destroying a first-run OF, OK? Those are the ones that make it clear that OFs are just fodder. I don't care if somebody takes a mangled Misty's Twilight and makes it . . . something very different. Heck, I'm impressed that they can do that.
But just let the OF collectors have the first round.
I believe as the current rules are, whomever wins one category is then unable to enter that same category for (I think?) around 1-3 years.
I've honestly thought that things may need to change for a while too, but I do not want to make it about people as that is definitely a sensitive topic, and I am friends with many of the people who enter. Amateur vs professional for example, is too ambiguous, for example (even if there are "clear" rules, someone will find a way to make an argument for either way). I also agree with the notion that "best" customs means best of the best, and unless Breyer is going to change the definition or add categories for less experienced artists (again, I think that is kind of a can of worms, and I could see it going the same way the Adult Novice Halter division did at BFL), it is not fair to exclude anyone who technically is eligible to participate under the current guidelines.
Breyer changing the rules and definitions of each category is the only route I can see to resolve the current tensions and mis-match of entries that come in vs. the spirit of the assignment. I will say that I love seeing the creativity and the artistry of all of the entries that end up on the finalists table each year (I even own a resin edition of one of the extreme customs division finalists/winners), I am not placing any negative judgement upon any of those models or the people who created them. It is merely a question of "scope creep" to borrow a term from work. Are these entries truly within the boundaries of the intention of the contest? And if they are not, Breyer needs to be providing additional guidance on what the acceptable boundaries are. Maybe have Heather P create a few "examples" when the contest is announced to have a photo reference of "hey, that's what 10% of original Breyer means" or whatever the given parameters are.
THANK YOU. Finally somebody says it!
The way to make it truly a "novice division" is to be like a real horse show, except maybe take it a step further: entrant must not have ever won a ribbon in any custom division at any sanctioned show, nor received compensation above a nominal amount (say $50) for any work sold. This would allow the entrant the ability to sell off bodies, failed attempts, etc without disqualifying themselves.
As it stands, I'm pretty sick of the whole best customs contest, I don't even look at it anymore. All it looks like to me is attention-grabbing by Breyer artists. My perception of the contest was that it was to encourage people to try customizing and buy product toward that end, not to convince people that the crappy PC models are going to look like what Breyer's favorite artists put in the contest.
And you have a point, Andrea: what is the purpose of customizing something to the point that it no longer has any hint as to what it actually was? You know, I can take a loaf of bread and call it whatever kind of bread I want to, but if you don't see me actually bake it, you have no idea if I did it or pulled it from a wrapper. I no longer find this contest even remotely entertaining or interesting for this exact reason.
Although I admire its ballsiness, the gigantic rearing plushie horse with one chunk of a Breyer inside it is a "customized Breyer" the same way Damien Hirst's dead shark in a tank of formaldehyde is a piece of art your grandparents would be comfortable having in their living room. My opinion only, of course.
I don't enter the contest, I have never entered the contest. I do sell my customs for money but am not a big name artist. But anyway, despite selling my work, I do miss the "home grown" feel of early 80's customizing. I started out customizing because I couldn't afford the fancy stuff, and now I am making the fancy stuff. But part of the magic is making your own fancy stuff. I guess I just miss the era where more people made and competed their own customs. Or maybe it never really was that way, and it's only my perception. Because even back then, the big name artists had their sales and the rest of us just drooled over the ads. Anyway, I just sort of miss the regular joes having fun and creating their own customs. I know they are still out there. But there has been a big trend, for years, to reward only the very best of the best, and that sort of stifles creativity for people who aren't as skilled as the big name artists (yet!) but are still working their way up in skill level. Not everything HAS to be LSQ, but there is such an emphasis on that, that even for upper level artists it puts more pressure on and takes away some of the fun of creating......I think anyway. I mean, some folks are so good, you don't even want to compete in the same class as them......you just feel like you don't even have a chance.
Yeah....if they currently work for Breyer they're not allowed to compete. The same ppl (not always true) the make finalist are the BEST OF THE BEST. Hence the contest title. Complaints like this (and similar ones) come across as sour grapes. Granted I though the rearing pony was an abomination, but the other 2 finalist were stunning.
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