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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Re: ArtPrize
I forgot! Where is it?
ETA: Nevermind, I looked it up.
The top 10 were announced.
http://www.mlive.com/artprize/index.ssf/2011/09/artprize_2011_top_10_finalists_announced_in_the.html
What do you think?
I'm not impressed with this list. I've seen 9 of the 10, but none them really wowed me. I did vote for the bears in the fountain though, just because they are adorable.
Still, I saw -- and voted for -- pieces that I like a lot more than any of these.
Which pieces would be in your top ten?
The ones that I posted about on page one of this thread. And since then, I've seen a couple at GRAM that I really liked too.
I also thought the bears were adorable and voted for them for just that reason. We have not been in the GRAM yet. We went on an education day and the line to get in with the school groups was nuts. So, we've put it off. I know there are great things to see there. The wait probably wouldn't have been long, but seeing a billion (approximately) students out front made us decide to put it off until another day.
Know what I'm loving right now? All of the discussion about the voitng results and timetables, and process. Grand Rapids has bought in to ArtPrize! There is ownership. I think that's cool.
I know that the top 10 aren't "the best" pieces there. I know many artists feel like they never had a shot. I know that some of the smaller piece and 2d artists may be less likely to return... All of these things are really a shame.
But I love the energy (even if it's kind of bitter right now) and the investment that GR has in this -still very young - project.
I'm going to sound like a broken record, but which pieces would you have liked to see in the top ten?
I have to defer that answer until Sunday. Most of my visits were on the fringe, and I've still only been really touched by one piece. That's the trio of paintings about loss in the JW. I have seen beautiful and well crafted pieces, but so far, I've had a pretty flat emotional experience.
Have you answered this question, Hoek?
I haven't seen a ton - so I couldn't list my top ten. However, I will say that so many of the pieces we saw moved me. I must have been really emotional/hormonal the day we went.
For example, the Abe Lincoln in front of the JW. After reading the work statement and looking at the expression on the statue's face, I was overcome. Thinking about the innocence of the child and what his father was sheltering him from brought me to tears. Thinking about the pressure our presidents are under took my breath away. Seriously. I am aware how ridiculous I am. It is just a bronze sculpture, that while technically done well, is really not very creative. But I connected with it.
I could tell similar stories about the plastic bottle flowers and the glass hands in front of the Ford museum. Not exceptional pieces at all, but the subject matter threw me down a stream of consciousness spiral to emotional overload.
And seeing the huge groups of students exploring and being able to talk with the artists left me with huge warm fuzzies. I am sure this influenced what I thought about many of the works we saw.
And I am a voting whore. I voted for more entries than I care to admit.
Thanks for sharing Hoektastic. I really love when the pieces include written statements. It helps open my eyes to the process behind the piece and allows me to see them in a more special way. Usually. Sometimes I'm still baffled, though.
I haven't gotten to the JW yet. We were supposed to do ArtPrizing this evening, but I don't think I'm going to be up to it. (I seem to have a man cold...)
I'm worried about this. I hope that ArtPrize doesn't get a reputation for only being worthwhile for a certain type of art.
You're so optimistic though.
If it is too long of a work statement or it starts getting a little too pretentious, my eyes glaze over and I give up.
I understand, Hoek. The Abe sculpture's statement only increased my admiration of the statue. And watching kids at ArtPrize swayed me too.
I am optimistic, Kasa. I know. I know.
So... voting ends tonight.
If you are/had to vote for one of the top 10, which did/would you choose?
I guess the one at the Public Museum -- "Rain," is it?
What do you think?
I have not seen 3 of the top 10 in person. It's hard for me to pick. Of the 7 I have seen, I like Metaphorest the best, but I don't know that (with all the other context) it deserves to win.
I have not been to see Rain, Temptest II, or Gerald Ford...
Henry and I did see this: http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/93829
I liked the background of the piece.
Wow, that's powerful.
I've seen 9 of the 10. The one I haven't seen is Metaphorest.
Standing next to Metaphorest swayed me. In every 4 square feet is a whole different possible ArtPrize entry. Put together, it's really humbling.
I like the photos of Rain, but I saw the Pegasus in person, and I liked that one better, I think. I should go see Rain.
Meh... I wouldn't say it's worth the trip necessarily. It's just one of the only ones on the top 10 list that I didn't dislike.
Metaphorest does look interesting though.
Oh.
No.
JuliD cracks me up again.
Woah... So, Crucifiction won.
And the artist who created it lost her mom this morning.
I don't think my mind would be able to process both of those things at one.
Despite it's beauty, that was not my favorite piece in the top 10. I am not alone in feeling like her subject matter was pandering to the population.
Really? I didn't know that about her mom. That's so sad.
I guess good for her for winning. She learned her audience and played the game well.
ArtPrize is interestingly political -- what you say (through your art) is just as important as you you say it. You must learn your audience. And high visibility and "campaigning" is crucial.
Ah, well. Even though my favorites weren't even in the top 10, I still really enjoyed ArtPrize. (But now the traffic can vamoose!)
Kasa, I think the genius of ArtPrize is more the community aspect and the discussionabout it over the actual art itself. Maybe in a decade, Mr. Sorkin will come and write something about ArtPrize.
The announcement about her mother wasn't made until after the ceremony.
heh.
I'm with you. I didn't vote for it in either round but I was struck by how beautiful it was. It has light and was executed well. The problem I have with it is that it was not original and at this point, not even very interesting. This scene from one of the best known stories has been interpreted by artists for hundreds of years. I grew up seeing this image everyday at school. I know every part of this story/scene. For me, it has lost some impact. This is part of my disappointment.
I will say the ranting by the public on the ArtPrize FB wall has me rolling my eyes. Really? No artist with any integrity from outside the state will come back to ArtPrize? Stop it. There is more to ArtPrize than the prize money. I know that is what motivates the competition, but I am sure there are many artists that will come back or join for the first time as a way to share their art with the public.
Oye! Sorry, my mispelling was not intentional. I'm really terrible, and spell check let it through.
Hahaha. That is one loaded misspelling. I wasn't sure if you were making a statement or not
Ohhh... this thread just got very interesting. Freudian slips and Aaron Sorkin. Count me in.
I think the whole religion/West Michigan aspect is being overplayed a bit. I think she submitted because she was commissed to do this piece for a church and plans fell through. I don't know at what stage she was at with the piece at that point in time - is she just had the idea or started on the piece. She knew she built up a fan base last year and probably felt like she could go off that. Might as well get something out of that piece.
Also, if you think about it the Crucifixion is a very Catholic image. Someone I know who was raised CRC has issue with the Catholic religion because the use of God and Jesus being protrayed as an image (art, sculptures, knick knacks). It goes against the commandment 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'
Not knowing enough about other religions, I ask this question of others who were raised different faiths....what is your religions views of God, Jesus, or heaven being portrayed.
Hoek - I feel the same way as you. While it was a beautiful piece, she played it safe. But that was because it was a commissioned piece.