ArtPrize is one reason I love the place I live so much. It gets me out into our downtown which is filled with people and energy. For a few short weeks every fall. Public and private icons and buildings become venues for hosting these art pieces.
ArtPrize is an open art contest. Anyone can enter basically anything that could possibly be called art. The art pieces are then voted on by the public to get a Top 10. The final week the public votes on only the Top 10 to award monetary prizes.
I spend hours at ArtPrize every fall. I have already been 3 times this year, and it hasn't even been going on for a week yet. I joke that my non-artist self is trying to cram an entire year's worth of art and art appreciation into less than 3 weeks. Only, I am not really joking. That is my goal.
ArtPrize has always been referred to as a radically open art contest. People from all over the world enter (over 1500 this year) all kinds of things. There are no qualifications as to what is art.
Here's what I've observed about art and myself this year...
-All art is not created equal.
-I personally much prefer realistic rather than abstract art.
-I don't appreciate the nuances of agenda driven art. It really annoys me. Whether about gun control or homelessness or clean water or whatever, I just don't appreciate it. If that is your thing, more power to you. For me, I just feel foisted upon. Again...this is me and my opinion.
-I don't like nudity or dark themes in art. Skulls, blood, etc.. Call me a prude or whatever, but naked men and women seem to devalue the art of the human body, not uplift it.
-Which isn't to say that I can't appreciate the effort and talent that went into some pieces that aren't my preference. Because I can and do. Even if I think the piece is weird.
-All artistic talent is a gift from God, whether the artist believes in God or not.
So, you may call me plebeian or an ostrich, but I find that my tastes don't often match up with the artists'. Surprisingly enough, my favorites are often in the Top 10. Which tells me that the masses' views of art are often more similar to mine than the elite. But, that's okay. I am a Barefoot Hippie, not a Barefoot Yuppie.
My camera batteries were dead, so I didn't get pictures on Monday when we went down. Which means that my new favorite is not in this list. At the GRAM there were 7' tall glass sculptures of orchids and daffodils. It was gorgeous and amazing.
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| this was one painting in a grouping called "an artful home." I would buy any of this woman's works. So detailed and lifelike. |
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| I don't know why, but this bronze sculpture moves me. The strength in the bodies, the fountain aspect, the idea... Probably my second favorite that I've seen. |
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| all out of driftwood. |
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| fun, whimsical, colorful. |
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| this is on the bank of the river. It is huge. And I have a soft spot for both bronze and river entries. |
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| the flags with iconic buildings in the back ground. |
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| a fun set up in our Presidential museum's reflecting pool. |
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| Favorite right here...a 3D griffin made out of spools and thread. Amazing! |
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| ArtPrize aficionados |
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| this quilt was crazy detailed. The woman freestyle quilts it. No long arm machine. No computer. |
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| This one snuck up on me. It made me smile. |
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| A huge heart made up of painted signs with popular sayings painted on them. |
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| If ever I was to learn to do art, I would learn mosaics. |
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| Here we are, the kids and I. |
