This week,
ArtPrize begins in Grand Rapids. This is like the ultimate in talent, so I felt it a good time to share some photos from last year's ArtPrize.
ArtPrize is a HUGE art competition, using all sorts of artwork- from paintings to sculptures, and so much more.
Last year was the first year, and it drew hundreds of artists from all around the world. This year, it's even bigger. My favorite part? The sculptures and murals have made for some fantastic photo backdrops this year, and quite a few of them became permanently added to beautify the city.
First up, here are some that stuck around, which I've used as settings for some portrait sessions:
This sculpture did not become permanent, but I loved it. It was a great place to take photos- very visually interesting.
This water wheel was installed in an existing water fountain in front of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. It's still there, and it's also a nice back drop for photos. I've done several shoots with this as a back drop now.
This mural is fantastic. It's made with mirrors, tiles, paint, and photos on tile. It's huge, and lines the side of the children's museum. It's also got some 3-D aspects to it, and makes a fantastic photo backdrop.
Here are some photos taken during Art Prize last year:
(this? It was HUGE! That's a vehicle bridge it's straddling- it was up through the winter and Spring- we saw it again over Spring Break, but then when we were over there in June, it was gone)
This was fantastic- it's a sculpture of Francis of Asissi, which is surrounded by druid like monks, circling it. This was in the lobby of a building. The artwork is all over the city- in parks, on sidewalks, falling from the sky (one guy released almost a million paper airplanes all at once from the top of a building), and more.
The show is judged- by the public. Each entry has a number, and people can do text votes as they walk around. The top ten are then juror voted on, and there are huge cash prizes for the winners.
One of the favorites from last year, I never found, though the photos were gorgeous, especially at night:
These piles are made of salt, with sepia toned images of people from the Grand Rapids area photographed on top of them. Dangling over top of each one is a bare, clear light bulb. The artist was from New York, if I recall correctly, and because it was an inside event, it wasn't seen or heavily voted on for the first half of the voting. The design is called
"salt & earth" by Young Kim.
It finally got a HUGE upswing in votes near the end as more and more people started talking about it, and it got an honorable mention prize, but did not win the competition.
Anyway, the competition is huge, and the talent is remarkable. Some of these are people who do all of their art in their spare time, what little they have. Others devote their entire lives to creating art. The artists are out and about, talking to people about their art as you go through to see it. If you are in Michigan, I strongly recommend spending a day just walking through Grand Rapids for this.
And on to your own Talents!
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