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The contest Jury was composed of ten excellent fractal artists, who formed a varied group by styles and tastes, so to create a fair and balanced voting panel for the winners. The members of the jury are working in all sorts of fractal generators: purists and post-processed, "wet" one layer method and "dry" multi-layered constructions, mixed media, 3d programs and non-fractals natural fractals captured by camera or sculptured materials.
Here is the Jury Panel in alphabetical order:
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Prior to the voting process the jury panel had many discussions to the way the voting should be done. Many ideas were raised, weighted and considered. Art the end a 3 rounds voting system was accepted, as the best way to select the the winners in each category.
It was further decided, that jurors who were participating in the contest, would not be allowed to vote for their own works. This put jurors works in a preliminary disadvantage, as the maximum points they could get was 9 points (instead of 10). The subtraction of one point was a critical factor in a tie-breaking conditions, working against the jurors. In spite of this "penalty process" it was argued by the jury, whether it would be best in future contests not to let jurors participate actively in the contest, but to display in the "non competing" category. I would appreciate your opinions on this point. The first round In the 1st round each juror selected the best 10 fractals by his opinion in each contest category. Thus each juror has selected his best 80 fractals of the entire contest scope. The accumulated results amounted to 800 items, which were processed in a computerized database to classify and arrange the results. Any mentioned picture could have achieved any score between 1 and 10, according to the number of jurors, that have selected this specific item. (No picture got 10 points :) but all first prizes got 9-6 points, meaning that at least 6 jurors (out of 10) voted for this specific item. In all cases the first prizes were determined clearly and sharply, with no hesitations.) The jury decided to select 6 pictures with the highest scores in each category from the first round, to be transferred to the 2nd voting round. If the highest score included more then 6 items then all entrees with that same score were transferred as well. The second round In the 2nd round, after a lot of discussions, the jurors were requested, by their own decision, to select 3 best fractals in each contest category. This round was supposed to determine the entrees by scores, and point to the winners. Indeed this method was good enough in most cases, but still many others have created a tie, which should be dissolved. After additional discussions by the Jury, it was decided that there would be a third voting round - a "tie breaker". All pictures from 2nd round, which had the same score, were now passed to the 3rd round. The third round The 3rd round was a "tie-breaker". Several groups of pictures were sent once again to the jurors, so they could vote for the best pictures in their opinion in each tied group. This 3rd round indeed performed what was expected of it. The winners were obvious now in the fairest way possible. Thus the 3rd round determined the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes, especially the 2nd and 3rd places. At the same time, all fractals that were submitted to the third voting round and have not won the 3rd prize at least, (10 altogether) were bestowed the "Honor Mention", as their number of points entering the 3rd round was the same as the 3rd price winners in same category. The jury panel tried its best to be honest and fair as humanly possible. I am sure it worked to perfection. From the winners gallery you may see in a glance, that there were no biased decisions. The first prizes were mostly decided by the vast majority of voices, and far ahead of the 2nd place. You will also see, that famous names and known artists of the first line were no guarantee for a prize. Some of the winning artists in all places had their first exposure in this contest! It was further established that the physical place in the contest gallery, the fractal processor used, the style, the methods and the techniques were not material in selecting the winners. This is a great honor for the jury, and no one could have expected any better jury then this one. I hereby send my deepest appreciation and thanks to each one of the jurors! Salute, my friends!! So this ends this year competition. It was a wonderful event. The contest galleries are an on-line exhibition of the best fractals available on the web and the best artists. This is a free competition with equal chance to any fractal artist on the web. No questions asked - only talent counts. Each one of the artists who has an entree in this marvelous exhibition should be proud to be among this exceptional group of fractal artists! Thanks you all for participating in this event, and making it happen! Till next year... Dr. Joseph Trotsky Artis Fractal Gallery April, 2002 |