(no subject)
Last year I had, like, more than a couple of weird run-ins with people who were running the art shows we were doing. IDK if it was me, or, you know, something in the water, but the weirdest was the last show we did in December and the two ladies who run in came into the booth looking to stir shit (because my father complained about how the booth judging is limited to one min and the first judge spent that time chatting me up instead of judging, and he also said that I spelled a word wrong on my sign and I'm pretty sure it was that he didn't know that "objets d'art" is, you know, an actual term), but they didn’t want to come out and say that was why they were there and they weren’t getting anything combative from us so they were grasping at straws and we literally had this conversation.
(now, we’ve each got a sign with our name on it in front of where we’re sitting so buyers know who we are, otherwise people think our last name is one of our first names and it's a mess. we applied as a collaborative team and all the info that they’ve given us, like booth signage and welcome packets and everything, has both our names on it and they should have known that.)
show runner, looking at our signs: it looks like there are two people in this booth.
me: yes, we collaborate.
show runner: you make things together?
me: yes.
show runner: but there are two different names.
me: umm... no? last name is the same.
show runner: these names are different.
me: it’s my father and me. we are separate people.
show runner: two people can not share a booth.
me: we’re not sharing, we applied as a collaborative team.
show runner: you both work on everything in the booth?
me: yes.
show runner: but there are two names here. there are two people in this booth.
me: yes, my father and me, who are different people, who collaborate on the art.
show runner: but the names are different.
me: ...our first names are different? yes? because we’re not the same person.
show runner: right, it looks like there are two different people in this booth.
me: there are??? we’re separate people who collaborate on one body of work??? we have different first names??? because we’re not the same person???
show runner: ...
me: ...
woman: okay, well, I just wanted to let you know that it looks like there are two people sharing a booth.
and then they left and I’m like ???
Like wtf.
The other one was, like, I had to email this show because I had sent in two applications for two different mediums in one booth. And there was a section in the application to explain that that was what you were doing and that as long as you were accepted in both mediums you could show both. So I email to make sure that the show runner understands that I'm only accepting and paying through one of the applications, but am still bringing both mediums. And he's like 'I don't understand' so I email back quoting the section of the application that asks about showing multiple mediums, and what I had said in the section on each application, and that I had been accepted in both mediums, and then asked that I was, you know, just double checking that he had it down that I was going to be showing in two mediums even though I was only accepting and paying through one application (it's online so you can only do it once) and he's like 'that's for people who want to also sell jewlery???' and I'm like 'okay, well, pro tip, you actually have to say that in your application if you want that to be true because all it says is multiple mediums' and he never responded until we got to the show and was like 'oh yeah, you emailed me about that' like he was not at all confused and never had been. But that whole show was a mess, so.
I don't know why knowing what you've put as information is so confusing to people? Like, I'm constantly asking about something for clarity and they're like ??? and I literally go and repeat what they've said word for word on their application or rules or whatever and it's like... 'oh I've never heard of that in my life and don't know why you'd even look at the part of the application???' Like half the time I ask about something and they're like 'oh no, that doesn't matter' and I'm like 'then why is it there???' And my father thinks I'm being too picky and obsessed with rules or what things say or how they're said, but, like, I mean... this isn't a casual convo, this is a written document that lays out instructions and rules and people just, idk, throw things in without thinking about them or meaning them and it's like why? If you don't need it, if you don't mean it, if it's not true, or if you actually mean something else... don't have it in there, esp if you're going to act surprised or confused when someone asks a not at all difficult question about it.