"Click! A Crowd-Curated Exhibition" opens Friday at the Brooklyn Museum.The photos in "Click" were selected by ordinary people who rated them using the museum's Web site -- a first for the museum. Also for the first time, all photos considered for the exhibit were submitted over the Internet.
"There was a one-month open call to photographers to submit pictures reflecting 'The Changing Faces of Brooklyn,'" said Shellie Bernstein, CIO for the museum. "They logged on to our Web site, submitted one image and a 100-word statement."
Photos ranged from a shot of the inside of the old Brooklyn Naval Hospital to iron workers on a Jay St. scaffold. Also included was a photo of two elderly men enjoying a conversation at a table on the Coney Island Boardwalk and a picture taken inside the Red Hook dry dock.
A total of 389 photos were submitted.
The idea for "Click" came from "The Wisdom of Crowds," a book by New Yorker columnist James Surowiecki. A diverse crowd, he maintains, is often better at making decisions than expert individuals. The museum decided to see how that idea worked in the realm of visual art.
"...We asked the public to rate how well each image fit our theme," Bernstein said, "and to rate what they thought of the photograph based on its aesthetics. There were no numbers. It was just how people felt."
A total of 3,334 people viewed an average of 135 images; and 575 viewers evaluated all 389 images, Bernstein said. Participants from as near as Prospect Heights and as far away as Australia viewed the photos.
"There was a lot of agreement as to which images should be included," Bernstein said. "The images that did better will be displayed larger."
About 20% of the photos submitted will be on exhibit. Bernstein stressed that "Click" was a study in the judgment of a diverse crowd, not a contest. Still, photographers whose works were chosen were pleased.
"How do you describe the changing face of Brooklyn? It was a good, creative challenge," said photographer Amy Dreher. Her photo, taken on Vanderbilt Ave., reflects changes in the skyline created by the Atlantic Yards project.
Donna Aceto, whose photo of girls riding the Astroland roller coaster was chosen, added, "I'm very excited to be included in this exhibit. I love the Brooklyn Museum."
Link to the Daily News article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2008/06/23/2008-06-23_brooklyn_museum_set_to_open_exhibit_pick.html
