I did not win $200,000

ArtPrize Seven announced the top five 2-D entries by public vote today. I was not one of them. And, I have to say it was no surprise.  Even though, in my wildest dreams, I could think of ways to make that prize money work for me and my community, the field was broad and full of worthy pieces. 

I did learn a lot from this opportunity.

  • I am uncomfortable getting praise. It just plain makes me nervous. I don't want to appear egotistical but at the same time I don't want to seem like I don't trust myself and my work. I usually say thank you with a sincere look into the person's eyes and hope that the subject will change soon.
  • I do like it when people come to me with their ideas of what my work means to them. It's so much easier to respond to that. The dialog is ongoing in my head and any extra tidbits from others just makes my vision more whole. And isn't that the point? Isn't that the main reason I do this stuff? To elicit response, to open my thoughts to others, to bring my point of view to the public arena, to let the work be bare naked in the spotlight? I love it when it works.

  • I don't like competitions (and this also goes for openings), I met a number of artists who were avidly marketing their work. Others were very passive or invisible. Though I admire the self-confidence of some of the more glib artists I am of the second group. I am not a garrulous person. It is truly uncomfortable for me to be in a space where I need to "sell" my work to others. I have often thought that the perfect experience for me during an opening or within a competition would be through webcam.

My best wishes to these worthy artists. I wish them all the best in the coming week when Grand Rapids will name the winner. I have added the top five public picks below and a link to their work. Judge for yourself, and contact the artist to tell them what their works mean to you. I know they would appreciate it. Better yet, go to Grand Rapids and vote for them. Make their dreams a reality.

Top Five by public vote - Two-Dimensional

  • As Above at Grand Rapids Art Museum, by Judith Braun from New York, New York
  • Triple Play at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, by Anni Crouter from Flint, Michigan, winner of the 2nd Place $75,000 public vote award at ArtPrize 2013
  • michigan petoskey stone at DeVos Place Convention Center, by Randall Libby from Manistee, Michigan
  • Northwood Awakening at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, by Loveless PhotoFiber from Frankfort, Michigan, winner of the $200,000 ArtPrize 2013 Public Vote Grand Prize
  • In a Promised Land… at DeVos Place Convention Center, by Shawn Michael Warren from Harvey, Illinois

head spinning

OK, I gotta admit yesterday was pretty thrilling. As an ArtPrize Seven participant, I am one of many artists looking for the love. And, I am one of the extremely lucky ones because I was invited to show at the prestigious Grand Rapids Art Museum, smack dab in the middle of all the ruckus. (Thank you Ron Platt, American Craft Magazine, and the winds of chance that blow through our universe.)

Round one voting began last Wednesday and extends until Saturday of this week. The top 20 finalists (the top five in each of 4 categories) will be announced on Sunday, Oct. 4. Then Round 2 voting begins. The public will vote for their favorite and prizes will be awarded on Oct. 9. Top prize is $200,000.

Now back to yesterday. The ArtPrize website keeps a running tally of the votes and which pieces are leading the group in terms of the popular vote (so far 220,963 votes have been cast). The folks in Grand Rapids can vote for as many artists as they like in this round one vote session. And it looks like, as of yesterday, that I qualified for the top 25 list in the 2-D category. Though I know that the list will change each day running up to the announcement on Saturday, the fact that I made it into that group once is enough. Thank you, Grand Rapids.

Be still my beating heart.

Heartfelt, stands at the beginning of the display at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. The piece was inspired by my mother, who would be cheering on the sidelines if she was with us today.

Grand Rapids ArtPrize exhibit

ArtPrize® is a radically open, independently organized international art competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The opportunity to be featured at the Grand Rapids Art Museum is a huge honor. If you are within driving distance of this lovely city, I recommend that you stay a few days to witness the pulsating quality of a city enraptured with art, dance, music, theater and installations for the next three weeks. The weather is glorious this time of year and the city has over 1500 works of art competing for the grand prizes.

Ron Platt, the curator at the Grand Rapids Art Museum started with the theme of Nature/Nurture.

Ron Platt, the curator at the Grand Rapids Art Museum started with the theme of Nature/Nurture.

We returned from our whirlwind tour of Grand Rapids last night about midnight. And let me tell you, 12 hours on the road does not allow enough time to sort out all the feelings I went through this past week. Anticipation, doubt, happiness, pride, gratitude, joy, worry, amazement, confusion, giddiness and uneasiness to name a few.

The folks at the Grand Rapids Art Museum were gracious and welcoming. They invited us to a number of pre-opening events highlighting the work. The exhibit itself made me proud to be counted as one of the 15 artists within. I particularly liked the works by Judith Braun, Parisa Ghaderi, Stephen Dean and Shannon Plumb. Check out the link to see some spectacular work by these artists.

The Grand Rapids Art Museum sits in the center of Grand Rapids, a very lovely city in Michigan.

The Grand Rapids Art Museum sits in the center of Grand Rapids, a very lovely city in Michigan.

My work spanned a long hallway that allowed the five pieces to stand alone and isolated within the space. I have never seen my work in such a spacious museum setting. Some of the pieces looked a bit dwarfed in this setting. Seeing the piece I did in honor of my mother was such a treat. Wish she was here to witness it.

I was nervous when I was introduced to this crowd of lawyers, judges, city administrators and business execs at one of the pre-opening events. Turned out they were all friendly and eager to learn more about my work.

I was nervous when I was introduced to this crowd of lawyers, judges, city administrators and business execs at one of the pre-opening events. Turned out they were all friendly and eager to learn more about my work.

There was a steady stream of visitors pausing to consider my work.  People at the museum said that over 140,000 people visited the museum ArtPrize show last year.