This is VERY LONG! It's about looking how
Landscape Artist of the Year
(LAOTY) might change to provide
- a much more satisfactory experience for all
the artists who participate in it and
- deliver a much better programme to all those who watch it
I think there's some considerable potential for change. So do rather a lot of other
people who I've been discussing this with. They typically fall into two camps
- those who would participate - BUT for the formulaic way it works at the moment where artists are constrained from the outset by the pods
-
those who create art and like watching - but have become more and more
disappointed over the years
There's a third camp - those who know little about art but like the programme
and see nothing wrong with it.
However they are NOT going to be providing future participants!
This post covers:
-
Context: Another perspective or four - about other matters which
are relevant to a rethink of LAOTY - or the development of competition by
another production company.
-
Scope for Solutions? Looking at the broad context of what change
needs to address in terms of weaknesses in the programme
- Structure of the Programme
- Calibre of Artist - Who's the REAL TALENT?
- Wildcards
- Location, Location, Location
- Judges
- Presenters
What's written below is essentially what I've been thinking about for a long
time and more recently. But also, it includes lots of contributions from
people discussing the programme online on my Facebook Page.
Context: Another perspective or four
Landscape Artist of the Year: Time for a Refresh? highlights many of the issues which, in the opinion of me and
rather a lot of other people - need to be changed
Since writing it, four more things have come to my
attention which were not "front of brain" when I wrote the first post
Plein Air Art
-
The first is that somebody reminded me about the practice in the US of having
competitive plein air painting paintouts all over the country. This is normal and routine.
-
In the UK in the last decade, more and more groups have got together to do
something similar - albeit only a few are competitive.
-
My blog post Capturing the Moment - plein air paint out in St James's Park is an example of one such plein air painting group which I was
invited to attend.
-
Plus Urban Sketchers Groups which have developed all over the country in
the last decade are the natural audience for overtures for people to
participate
-
For the record I was
one of the Founders of Urban Sketchers London
back in 2012 and I set up the Facebook Page for
Urban Sketchers UK - Events where you can find out about upcoming events. There are now huge numbers of urban sketchers in the UK. (Minus me - I gave up when I tore the meniscus in my left knee which made
mobilising totally about staying on my feet and very much limited my
ability to carry anything. that then led on to the bone on bone ankle,
then surgery etc etc)
Television and Broadcasting / Streaming
-
The second was I listened to expert commentary about how much broadcast television has changed in recent years and then
went off and looked at the data revealed in e.g. Media Nations 2023: Latest UK viewing and listening trends
-
steep declines in watching broadcast TV - use of video on demand increases
- recent decline in older people watching is the steepest ever
older viewers are diversifying their viewing and becoming more likely to
take up streaming services
-
a steep decline in the number of programmes attracting ‘mass audiences’.
- huge increase in interest in commercial radio and podcasts
- there's more competition than ever for eyes and ears!
-
The third highlighted something which really reinforced my thinking that the current format was well over due for a radical change. I listened to an episode of
"The Rest is Entertainment" podcast
("The Oscars, Ozempic and Wonka"
on my daily walk.
-
The very experienced and incredibly well informed 'telly person'
Richard Osman (who used to be creative director of the television production company Endemol UK), discussed
how much and how fast television programmes have changed in recent
years - from pitch to putting a team together to broadcasting. In
particular, I learned how programmes get made and how things have changed
massively in the last few years - and how agile some of the new programme
makers are at conceiving, making and monetising their output.
-
A lot of this is due to the fact there are
many more small companies are involved in delivering programmes for both broadcast and streaming media - and certain channels who are much more tuned into delivering decisions
fast. Bottom line, they know what people like and what appeals and are
fast and nimble on their feet and speedy with their delivery
timelines.
- If you want an analogy - it's rather similar to how artists went from thinking art as being something that was sold in galleries to realising they can sell for themselves online - and ditching the too heavily corporate model. It connects the artist and the consumer much more directly.
-
The fourth thing was
I had a very big think about other similar programmes - operating in different
fields of endeavour - and what made them successful. I'll reference this further in the Judges and
Presenters section.
Context: What has changed radically in last 10 years
I came away from all of this thinking it made LAOTY look very staid.
So context for any rethink of LAOTY includes the notions:
-
Other models of delivering competition in plein air art are already well
established elsewhere and are developing in the UK
-
the broadcasting industry has changed radically in the last 10 years
-
development and speed of delivery of television programmes has changed
radically in the last 10 years (i.e. lifetime of LAOTY)
-
as a result trends on what people watch have changed radically in the last
10 years - with a major change from broadcast on a regular day / regular
time to much increased consumption of streaming - even by older people.
Niche interests are now catered for.
-
television formats for today need to be based on what is possible - and what connects with the potential audience - rather than what was thought a good idea 10 years ago
By implication, if you're still doing the same thing 10 years later you are a
bit of a dinosaur! Your audience has moved and you need to keep up!
Otherwise there's some considerable scope for others to come along and come
up with a better idea and snatch your audience!
Scope for Solutions?
as the quality of the programme deteriorates, the quality of those
applying does likewise which is then reflected in the pods etc etc etc.
they are on a downward spiral.