From: mwallis@lunacity.com (Michael Wallis)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom
Subject: Re: Boskone Art Show (was Re: Hello Confrancisco?)
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 92 21:55:03 PST
Organization: LunaCity BBS - (Clan Zen Relay Network) Mountain View, CA

ecl@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) writes:

> Unless you're willing to volunteer to serve on Boskone's art show
> staff, this is basically saying, "I want you to assign people to do
> work because *I* want it done."  (And you're not even going to be
> attending!)  Sorry, life (and cons) don't work that way.

While I've been to many Boskones, I'll admit the number is 0 since moving
to California. I HAVE helped with art show set up and tear down at most of
the Bay Area conventions I've been to. (Even when I was Sr Staff of other
areas.) My point to Jim was that other art shows seem to be able to
recruit enough help to handle this; what's the problem? Life and cons,
outside Boston at least, seem to work that way. And yes ... If I'm at a
Boskone early or staying over, I will come and lend a hand with Art Show
now that I'm aware they need help.

> If you don't like the way Boskones are run, you can suggest changes,
> but basically you have two choices: volunteer to do some of the work to
> make your changes happen, or don't attend Boskones.

I was not speaking to Jim in the manner of "You should change Boskone
because it's wrong". I (had thought) we were discussing Jim's contention
that mail-in art was too much of a problem to handle and should be
actively discouraged from worldcons and large regionals. This all grew
out of an artist's post re: ConFrancisco.

> Boskone is not evil
> because they don't do everything for everyone--they're realistic as to
> what they can and can't do.  Better they do what they do well than they
> overextend themselves and end up pleasing no one.

None of this is "evil". This all relates to Jim's posted contention that
Art Shows don't have enough staff to handle mail-in art work and
therefore committees, espeically worldcons, should discourage it. I tried
to point out that this was not the case in my experience, and that such
arbitrary imposition was not required if things were organized better. It
degenerated from there, unfortunately.

Having just watched a very capable art show director be removed by various
East Coast elements because she was deemed not "experienced" enough to
handle a worldcon art show; and then to see Jim posting that because
major East Coast cons couldn't handle mail-in art, that worldcons should
discourage it, just pushed a few too many buttons. Shawn has proven
repeatedly that she CAN handle large art shows, and without this whining
about lack of staff and too much extra work and suddenly appearing problems
like insurance that have, from my experience, never been a problem at
conventions I've been to (and I've been to well over 100).

I just don't see what is so all fired difficult if the rest of the country
can manage it just fine, nor why people have been adjatating for the
removal of a perfectly capable individual who CAN handle the very things
we're discussing.

If Boskone wants to run things their way, that's fine. When Boskone starts
telling everone that they have to change because there's a problem, when
in fact there is not, THEN I have a problem.

        Michael

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Michael Wallis -> mwallis@lunacity.com

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