Better was a unique project that explored the diverse ways that judgments are represented on paper. Participants were invited to submit a single image, text or any other work on paper that showed signs of having been improved. Curated by Executive Director Adam Lerner, the exhibition presented artifacts from a variety of creative processes and a wide range of commercial, professional, domestic and public contexts.

Better raised a range of theoretical and aesthetic issues. By making visible the processes of judgment that are usually invisible in finished works, the project gave visitors access to the creative process and insight into what is considered “better” in a range of fields. Better also allowed creative individuals the opportunity to make their mark, that is, demonstrate their own aesthetic, political or personal judgment on an existing work. Because entries were restricted to a single paper, Better offered meditation on the aesthetic problem of depicting change in a static form. In every case, the project was also designed to encourage visitors to apply their own critical judgments, the visibility of the altercations suggests the question: is this change actually an improvement?