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As to the FISAE 2nd International CGD Ex-libris
Competition
Prof. Hasip Pektas*
It is surprising and a bit worrying that there
were fewer participants in the second FISAE International CGD (Computer
Generated Design) Ex-libris Competition than in the first (2004). It
will be necessary to elucidate the reasons, to ensure that the next
such competition will have a wider echo. One of the key elements
will be to mobilise FISAE societies to increase the information
given to art schools and computer graphics centres.
Ex-libris which were successful in this contest stood out because of
their
good content, original composition and well-chosen and integrated typography. They
drew the attention of the jury and were selected and retained
because they were
successful both technically and aesthetically. Even if there were
numerically less submissions than last time, the good ex-libris
received were sufficient to ensure that the exhibition which will be
shown in Nyon, Barcelona, Ankara and Sint Niklaas will be of high
quality.
If one reviews the eliminated ex-libris, one sees at once that
instructions and advice given to participants are rarely heeded - if
they were, they would be much more successful. Probably, in some
cases, it is a question of language.
The specifications for the competition were not read with due
care. Ex-libris which had a print area larger than 130x130 mm,
items which were made for dead persons such as Yunus Emre, Orhan Kemal, Nazim Hikmet, Fikret Mualla,
or Mikis Teodorakis, or for
cities such as Istanbul were eliminated. Those on which there is no
indication of the person for whom it was made and those with no
information on the artist were also set aside. Homage plates or
pseudo-exlibris have no functionality as bookplates. Of course it is possible for us to design ex-libris to commemorate
someone dead! Simply, beyond "in memoriam Mikis Teodorakis" one
should have a second indication - as to the owner of the ex-libris,
for example "ex libris Hasip Pektas". Moreover,
dates of birth and death of the person commemorated can be included,
but the owner of the bookplate must be a living person or an
existing institution.
Although it is obvious that the bookplate must be designed through digital
technology, a number of ex-libris made by traditional techniques
without digital input were received (intaglio prints,
relief prints,
etc.) and were not taken into account in the competition.
The fact that some of the bookplates were submitted with very low resolution
levels made the recognition of visual elements and scripts harder.
The jury eliminated technically weak ex-libris, ex-libris printed on
bad quality paper and those printed on paper beyond A4 format.
Some of the participants submitted one or two prints of their ex-libris
instead of 5 copies, as the rules required. Some participants forgot
to include their CV’s,
their contact information and jpeg images of their ex-libris. Sadly,
this sort of negligence leads to elimination, when maybe a lot of
work has been put into the work itself.
I suggest that people who are interested in ex-libris should develop
a passion for
this field of art, study hard, be very tough on their appreciation
of their own work
and examine carefully a wide range of materials in this field with due care. There
is no doubt that recipes do not automatically make for success. A person who improves
his work gradually and continually
studies with the same enthusiasm will, with talent and time, be successful. |
