For the Love of Art
| 
Tools
Possibly Related
Tonight at midnight, Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize 2012 competition will close it’s final round of voting, and one lucky artist will take home the $200,000 grand prize. With so much money at stake – something GQ magazine called “a colossal sum in the world of art competitions” in an article published in their September issue – critics of the competition and art lovers alike have voiced concern over the fairness of the voting process. To help quell the outcry, this year ArtPrize added a separate “Juried Awards,” where a panel of art experts will award the grand prizewinner $100,000 and five other artists $20,000 each.
The argument is that the general public, with no formal training behind them in art techniques or values, vote for the flashiest pieces rather than the ones that require the most skilled artist. This has validity, and to a community of members who have spent years cultivating insight on a very beloved craft, it makes sense that the whole process might seem unfair.
But when you think about ArtPrize in those terms, you let the rhetoric dominate a conversation that wasn’t ever intended to turn political. ArtPrize is, essentially, a massive investment by the DeVos family in the long-term development of the city of Grand Rapids. It’s a way to bring people to the city, garner their business, and keep them coming back.
The event has given Grand Rapids national attention, with stories featured in news outlets from the aforementioned GQ magazine and the Detroit Free Press, among others. While GQ magazine referred to ArtPrize event-goers as “appraising works of art like fairgoers sampling sideshows at a carnival,” Detroit Free Press business writer John Gallagher hit at the heart of what Grand Rapids locals and ArtPrize officials have been trying to say all along.
“ArtPrize, the annual public art competition drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to Grand Rapids, (shows) that cultural events can support the bottom line as well as the mind and heart,” Gallagher wrote in a Sept. 27 article.
Despite pumping an estimated $10.1 million in net new-visitor spending into the local economy last year, when it’s ArtPrize season, something about the city comes alive with a sense of wacky comradery.
So, call it what you will – art, entertainment or blasphemy – but let ArtPrize be something good. Let it be movement in the midst of complacency, a vehicle for laughter in a too-serious world; or, if you will, a light in the night.
As you cast your vote for your favorite top 10 piece, don’t let the politics of ArtPrize bleed into it’s purpose; which can be, depending on who you are and where you’re coming from, something as simple as a feeling. Something as simple as a reminder that there still are simple things in a world as complex as ours can start to feel.
- Han Chitti on New organization offers scholarship opportunities
- graduate school personal on GV Writing Center hosts prospective students from young ages
- essay for graduate school on Writing department goes digital for student portfolios
- OneWhoKnows on A love letter to a dying industry: The book business
- Matt Harrington on GVSU Lakers bats come alive in a pair of wins
- Fads aren't always so rad
May 20
Posted in: Equilibrium - This is the time of our lives
May 17
Posted in: Equilibrium - Beat exhaustion with balance of perspective
May 14
Posted in: Equilibrium - Make up or break up
May 10
Posted in: Equilibrium - And runnin', runnin'
May 6
Posted in: Equilibrium
Pictures of the Year 2012-2013
Courtesy Photo/Joe Kargula and Erik Peterson run the Marathon leg of the Ironman Triathlon
GVL / Robert Mathews Quarterback Heath Parling (12) leading the offense past Notre Dame College.
GVL / Eric Coulter Senior Jake Isaacson placed eigth in the Spartan Invitational. Isaacson's time of 25:04 was the highest among Division II athletes.
GVL/Jessica Hollenbeck Student Senate President Jack Iott speaks to the assembly during Thursday's meeting.
Courtesy / gvsu.edu President Haas and Montcalm Community College President Robert C. Ferrentino sign the transfer agreement
Courtesy Photo/ GVSU Athletic Department Sophomore Chris Cunningham lines up a putt at a past match.
Courtesy Photo / GVSULakers.com Andrew Darrell prepares to return the serve earlier this season.
GVL / Jessica Hollenbeck President Haas cooks pancakes during Family Weekend's "Pancakes with Presidents".
GVL / Jessica Hollenbeck President Haas cooks pancakes during Family Weekend's "Pancakes with Presidents".
GVL / Archive Forward Briauna Taylor (31) chases down a lose ball in a game last season
Courtesy Photo / Dean Breest Sophomore Allyson Winchester was named the GLIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year after finishing first with a time of 20:48.8.
GVL / Archive GVSU's Breland Hogan rises and fires over three defenders last season.
GVL/Bo Anderson Briauna Taylor leads the fast break during a game earlier this season.
GVL / Robert Mathews Associate Vice President for Facilities Planning, James Moyer, leading a walk through of the Mary Ideam Pew Library
Courtesy Photo / GVSU DII Men's Hockey Jeremy Christopher chases down a puck during a matchup last season.
GVL / Bo Anderson Students and faculty danced under the spectacular light show in the Devos Place Ballroom
GVL / Robert Mathews Martin L�wenberg, holocaust survivor, speaking at the Genocide Awareness Night presentation in the Grand River Room.
Courtesy / Dean Breest Senior Sam Lockhart finishes her indoor career with two individual national championships in weight throw and shot put at the 2013 National Championships.
Archive / Robert Mathews Giancarlo Brugnoni (40) rounding the bases during a previous game.
GVL/Bo Anderson Seniors Christ Koppenaal, Bill Madsen, and Mitch Weber measure the exterior of the Wesley House as part of an energy audit.
GVL / Robert Mathews Senior Anthony Campanella pitching against Tiffin University during the Lakers double header.
GVL / Eric Coulter Brother Jed Smock, a member of Campus Ministry USA, speaks with fervor to a student. Many students, all with differing views, came to watch the Campus Ministry members speak.
GVL / Sean Mouton A passing walker stops to admire some recently constructed pieces of Art Prize 2012.
GVL Archive Senior Nick Gunthorpe follows through and watches his shot at the Ardenson last year. This weekend the team will be playing in South Haven.
GVL / Bo Anderson GVSU's Katie Martin points to her teammate after safely reaching second base.
GVL / Robert Mathews Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons under construction.
GVL / Archive The Grand Valley Rowing Team during Spring Training in Florida last spring.
GVL / Robert Mathews Judge Glenda Hatchett, keynote guest for Monday's King celebration, speaks in the Grand River Room in Kirkhof.
GVL / Robert Mathews Judge Glenda Hatchett, keynote guest for Monday's King celebration, speaks in the Grand River Room in Kirkhof.
Upcoming Events
11:00 am | GVSU Track & Field at NCAA Championships
No events for Sun
All day | MEMORIAL DAY
10:00 am | SAP Farm Stand
No events for Wed
Classifieds
In Housing / Roommates
- We have a cute condo in need of 2-3 renters for the next school year. Barkwood condominiums ...
In Housing / Roommates
- Subleaser need in Campus View this Summer. Can move in any day. Rent is 335 a month. Contact ...
In Housing / Roommates
- Subleaser need in Campus View this Summer. Can move in any day. Rent is 335 a month. Contact ...
Comments
Comments powered by Disqus
