So last night I made my way through a dozen or so ArtPrize venues in downtown River City. Galleries, bars, restaurants, industrial spaces. It went rather quickly given crowds but then I had the list. So far, I have not been too far off the mark and find myself making it shorter as I go–but that is for another post.
Here are a few remarks, made on location. I want to encourage Connoisseurs and Fans alike to take in the following works these next few days as they deserve more attention than most: http://patulski.is/t/343
ArtPrize is upon us here in River City. For lo these many months, a topical condition has developed that I have come to call the ‘Dilemma of ArtPrize.’
It could be best described with these remarks: ‘Why are they doing it and what is it really for?” or “Hey ArtPrize: I really like what you are doing but you should do it this way” and of course “ArtPrize is great, why do you want it to fail, you must hate our city”.
So why does ArtPrize exist? Is it just ‘a radically open art competition, giving away the world’s largest art prize’? Is it only about viewing and voting for and against visual art in some neo-populist fashion? Is there more to it? What is the audacious, outrageous solution of ArtPrize?
Read on: ArtPrize and Innovation: does Art need either one? Continue reading
Q: Can one see 1262 artworks in 7 days and give the work its due?
A: One can try, but probably no.
As some of you may know, ArtPrize is a new visual arts competition being held in Grand Rapids, MI from September 23 to October 9, 2009. It’s been the talk of the town here in River City since late April of this year. Many posts, comments, chats and an aha moment later, we are now on the cusp of something. With venue and artist matching complete, everyone is building, painting, installing, cleaning up after themselves, twittering and teasing all sorts of minutia; drip, drip, drip — you get the picture.
So, what does the discerning art viewer do to make their way through it all? I started by reviewing each entry online. With a healthy application of Sturgeon’s Law (both of them) I winnowed a list of selections down and I plan to give what work remains the time it deserves.