In the days leading up to the opening of the Masterworks Museum's 2010 Charman Prize Exhibition, much buzz was created, what with announcements and articles in the media. Thus, at the opening ceremony, you could hardly move for the many people crowding into the gallery. This made it almost impossible to actually see the show and some, I hear, tried to get in but couldn't because of the crowds and gave up. Fortunately, I had a sneak preview just hours before the opening ceremony.

The Charman Prize is, as the catalogue declares, Bermuda's most prestigious art prize, but truthfully, as far as I know, it is the only local art prize. Nevertheless, it is a significant award and needs to be considered as such. That said, I also have to be honest and report that this year's Exhibition is a disappointment. It is not a strong show, especially when compared to last year's exhibition. Even the number of entries are down substantially, from 112 last year to 70 this year . A significant number of local artists chose not to participate, for varying reasons, however, I gather, from the talk making the rounds in the art community, that the deadlines for entering both the Charman Prize Exhibition and the National Gallery Biennial, being only days apart, created difficulty for some.

Some artists, because of time constraints, found it necessary to choose which exhibition to enter and for the more experienced, there was no question that the Biennial is considered a more serious exhibition and they opted for that. When I say the Biennial is thought a more serious show, consider the fact that, when it comes to jurying, the Biennial requires a high standard of excellence and thus not all who submit works for consideration, get selected. Call it elitist if you will, however, no one is denied the right to submit works, but, as with applying for admission to university, only those deemed good enough, are chosen.

The Charman Prize Exhibition is unrestricted - everyone who submits work, is included in the show. Masterworks, in their attempt to be egalitarian, has created an exhibition that, to put it bluntly, is an indiscriminate mixture of any and everything. The jury selects the prize winners; they have no say as to who gets to exhibit. Essentially, it is an unjuried show. I am afraid, however, that this may be putting out a regrettable, albeit unintentional message, that everything is of equal quality and skill and, this, we all know, is not the case. It follows that for those concerned about excellence, the Charman Prize competition is becoming increasingly less attractive, which is unfortunate for such an important exhibition.

Of course, having a concern for beginners and the untrained is commendable and indeed, occasionally, an unschooled visionary comes along with amazing insights, that needs to be shared, perhaps even in the Charman Prize Exhibition. For most beginners, the need to exhibit is provided for, by such organizations as the Bermuda Society of Arts, the Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard and the Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation, as well as Masterworks' own, "Artist in the Garden" series of exhibitions. The Charman Prize Exhibition is, in my opinion, not the venue for a completely open, unjuried show.

The criteria for selecting the prize winners of this contest, are, innovation, use of materials, distinctive and convincing style and lastly, a social commentary of serious intent. The latter category is somewhat confusing and it is the reason, I am told, some artists where put off from entering the contest. Clarification of this point would be helpful, since it could be argued, quite successfully, I believe, that all art is, to some degree, socially relevant - what is a social commentary of serious intent, supposed to look like?

A catalogue has been provided for this current exhibition, which is quite helpful, but because so many submissions are new-comers to the Bermuda art scene, a brief bio on each artist would have been useful. Also, I know that several and possibly more, found it unnecessarily offensive to single out for mention, those who are "special needs adults." If the work is good enough to be included, why make mention of any kind of possible handicap.

I hope that Masterworks will find my points useful when it comes to carrying out a "post-mortem". I make them to be constructive and helpful. The arts are very important to me, as they are for the Masterworks management. I must add here that I was persuaded to take on the role of art critic, solely for the purpose of encouraging and improving the arts in Bermuda.

It is necessary to point out, also, that although I found the exhibition generally weak, I would not have you believe that all work in the show is of poor quality. it isn't. On the contrary, there are a few outstanding submissions and this years grand prize winner, the welded sculpture, "Raw Gombey" by Sabrina Powell, is a case in point. Although the Gombey theme has become a greatly overworked cliche in Bermudian art and may even have replaced the "pink cottage" in popularity, Ms. Powell looks at the Gombey through fresh eyes and presents us with a Gombey's headdress in raw, unpolished and sharply-cut steel. This brings to mind, what I remember of Gombeys when I was young, back in the 1930 and 40's. I recall them as far more ragged and fearsome than todays "touristic Gombeys."

A notable work by Antoine Hunt, is a cyanotype called, "Pickled-Prothoplastus of Plures". It is a photograph of the "Deliverance," in a pickle bottle. it is a large work in the characteristic blue of the cyanotype technique. There is also another, more controversial cyanotype in the show, which is all about censorship, indeed, the piece is stuck, upstairs in a corner, making it necessary to push past a barrier, in order to see the main thrust of the work, thus effectively censoring, "ICensor Therefore IDistort." It is actually about transvestites. This cyanotype is by Guluzar Ritchie.

Vaughan Evans exhibits a powerful and likewise controversial relief print called "Bermuda?" Depicted are two individuals, one black, the other white and both are at each others throats. As such, it is a highly provocative work, but it is not the Bermuda I ever encounter - not yet and hopefully never. It is skillfully rendered, however, which makes it all the more graphic, causing us to question our relationships with one another.

Sunell van der Westhuysen's oil on canvas, is likewise, graphically executed, describing the foibles of humankind, by the use of both words and pictures. It is called "Bus Slaves." One woman is talking on her cell phone, as is another man on the far right who is saying, "Yo man, whe' you at?"

In the middle somewhere, a poor soul is attempting a conversation and shouting, "You know wha'dim sayin?" It a great piece, which never got a mention in the prize line-up. Indeed, it was hung off to the side somewhere and very low. You might possibly miss it, if not careful.

Christine Hutchings' "Bermuda Map with Signal Flag,You are Running into Danger," is an enigma. Although the title is about a Bermuda map. there is no evidence of anything resembling Bermuda in the picture. There is instead, a flat, slate gray ground with a crisscrossing of white lines, somewhat resembling the markings on some antique nautical maps. In this instance, inevitably, triangles of varying sizes are created, bringing to mind that ridiculous and tiresome Bermuda triangle.

To the side there is a maritime red and white signal flag that signifies "you are running into danger." Is this reference to danger, again, about that cursed triangle?

This is a mixed media painting that includes gouache, pencil, oil paint and yacht enamel on plywood. It is the largest, most sophisticated painting in the show.

Most of the art in this show is two-dimensional; most being paintings but with a good representation of photography as well. The installation by Susan A. Pearson stands out, therefore, as an out-of-the-ordinary, three dimensional structure. It is a mobile-like construction called "Circling Space...Discovering One's place". Additionally, it is made from a most unusual material - used parking vouchers. Hanging from the ceiling on numerous strings are fish-like origami inspired paper foldings, mostly in silver, blue-gray. There is one exception, however. There is one, lone, red fish. This is the none-comformist in the group. I wonder where Ms. Pearson found a red parking voucher.

Ian Macdonald-Smith is known for his stunning photographs of water reflections, but he extends the one in this show to another level, for imbedded within are the words, "peep-show." Mind you, it is not all that obvious; you will have to search for it, but it is there, repeated a couple times, even. As you might expect, the title of the piece is "Peep Show."

Considering the stress on egalitarianism and keeping in mind that this is the third Charman Prize Exhibition, it is surprising that it has not attracted many of the craft artists in our midst. Lynn Morrell's textile wall hanging is the one craft object in this show and it comes with a profound question. It is about plants, especially trees and thus the title and the question is, How Many is "Enough"? The answer seems to be, never enough!

For me, the most poignant work in this exhibition is Scott Stallard's "Gorilla Beringei." This is again, one of Mr. Stallards large, complex photomontages, but its message is one of grave concern for the very existence of this exceptional animal. I was most stirred, almost to the point of tears, by this work and that is saying something. I remember reading a book by James Elkins called. " Pictures and Tears." It is about those, who, when confronting certain works of art, found themselves moved to tears and I remember thinking - I have never, ever come close to this experience - but Scott Stallard's work effected me so powerfully, I almost lost my composure. The face of the gorilla in his picture is so exceedingly human and to think we are murdering this noble creature and for what?

Given Bermuda's current gun climate, it was expected that, somehow, somewhere, guns would crop up in this show, especially given the stress on art with social intent. It was the easy and obvious answer to that requirement, but I had hoped it would be otherwise. That said, there was less than might have been, as only two artists actually made use of that subject - John Legere and Caroline Troncossi. Both artists brought a degree of sophistication to the subject, however.

Until this year, the Charman Prize Exhibition was held in the Rick Faries and the Rose Garden Galleries, but because of popular demand and in order to accommodate the many visitors to the exhibition, the show, this year, has been moved to the larger Butterfield Family Gallery. Additionally, the exhibition's dates have also been extended. The opening date was February 5. The Exhibition closes on April 24, 2010.