ArtPrize: 2013

Grand Rapids has this wonderful thing. ArtPrize. It's an open air art contest that is spread out throughout the city. The public is able to wander the streets and view different genres of art and vote on it for the artist to win a grand prize of 200,000 USD. Not to shabby. The contest lasts about two weeks and also has juried selections from art critics and those win cash prizes as well.

This is the fifth year of ArtPrize and it continues to grow and our city receives visitors from all around the world with their art.  My favorite part about ArtPrize is the diversity in the art. There are so many different genres, done in many different mediums, here are a few of my personal favorites.

Disclaimer: I am not any kind of art critic, I have no real understanding of art, these are my personal favorites for various reasons.



Some of my favorite choices this year include, a finger painting from DeVos center. This man paints as therapy for his epilepsy.  It is impossible to tell it was done with his fingers and it's an amazing piece of art with all the colors.  The title is "The Dance" and the artist is William LaGronde Jr.

Another favorite is "The Dog Show" by Michelle Anscombe. She painted it with Acrylics. It has a ton of show dogs in the painting and it's amazing 18.5 Feet of dogs.  Sadly this was in a place where few people saw it, on the Boardwalk Condominiums, they have 47 exhibits and it's in a far off place.








My personal favorite is "Griffin" by Robin Protz. She has entered ArtPrize 3 times. Last year when she entered she was disqualified because of a rule that the entry must be made within the last three years. She made a Dragon and the Dragon was actually made several years before, anyway the rule is now abolished, but the rules say artists can not enter an entry twice. This year is completely new. The last two years her pieces were made of metal, this year she used bamboo.




Next up there is Ann Loveless, she did a sewn piece of sleeping bear sand dunes. It is at the Gerald R. Ford Museum. It looks like a painting until you walk up close to it. I was mesmerized. I was told by several people that the stitching was not that impressive because it kind of like appliqué instead of stitching, but personally I was really impressed. It looks just like a painting until you get up close. I loved the little leaves sewn on for the trees and I loved the fact that it's a truly Michigan landmark.

"Mother Nature Dancing" is another piece that I love. It appears to be drift wood. The artist of this piece has been in the top ten art prize before. He created a work called "Ocean Exodus".  I really didn't care much for it, but now that I see the detail in this piece, I wonder if I didn't look hard enough at the other one, I wonder about all the things I might have missed.  This piece is amazing. As far as I could tell, (This is my interpretation, not the artist's) it looks as if there are two dancing Nymphs and several animals all over the piece. Even the back of it has animals, some of them are tucked away, half hidden, camouflaged by the wood. Every time I look at it I see something different.










There are so many pieces to see I couldn't possibly list them all. There are too many venues to visit. The best venues are usually the ones with less people on the outside of town. It's important to have some quiet. The examine the pieces, to communicate with it and really absorb the meaning. If it makes you cry, or unexplainably happy, or just plain confused. Sometimes when I don't understand the piece and I use the artists statement as a translator, but typically it isn't necessary. Art is interpretation,  the artist has placed it in front of you for a reason. Those reasons vary, but the bottom line is anything in the competition is for the public to look upon and make decisions. Art is to inspire.

Another disclaimer: I began writing this blog before the top ten was announced. I'm really conflicted as I've never liked so many pieces and actually had them make it in the top ten. I'm not sure what to do now. I guess I have to think about it.