ArtPrize 2014

ArtPrize is an independently organized, international art competition where there are two $200,000 grand prize winners, one decided by public vote and the other by a panel of expert jurors; there are also eight $20,000 category awards given for two-dimensional, three-dimensional, time based, an installation pieces, judged in the same manner, with a total of $560,000 to be awarded to the winners. Artprize is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a wonderful art friendly town in Western Michigan.

Upon arrival at the ArtPrize Hub, we were greeted by enthusiastic volunteers who gave us the event guide and a map, along with free magnets and pins. They had a nice gift shop available for those wanting to buy souvenirs. Although it must take an army to organize the nineteen day event, we were quite overwhelmed trying to figure out where the pieces we were most interested in seeing were located. I wish we had gone to see it earlier, instead of going on the day when the winners were announced. I felt that the sheer amount of people in every exhibit really took away from the experience.

I first heard about ArtPrize from a family member who posted a partial picture of one of the entries, Intersections by Anila Quayyum Agha on Instagram – I knew immediately I had to see this beautiful piece of art with my own eyes.  Only one other time in my life have I been so moved by something; when I walked into the room where it was installed, tears immediately came to my eyes. This piece is located at the Grand Rapids Art Museum in the [DIS]COMFORT ZONES which explores the way artists take risks and bush boundaries, whether through subject matter, process, point of view, they try to make the viewers come out of their comfort zone and see the world differently. The [DIS]COMFORT ZONE had pieces  with issues surrounding religion, cultural customs, war, danger, violence, vulnerability, as well as the body and identity.

Intersections is by far, the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I was so frustrated, because there were so many people in there; I just wanted to be along with it, to take in every detail. I love that not only is it beautiful, but because the artist hung a light inside, the whole room was bathed in the exquisite design. She created the piece from laser cut wood. She states the wooden frieze emulates a pattern from the Alhambra, which was poised at the intersection of history, culture and art and was a place where Islamic and Western discourses, met and co-existed in harmony and served as a testament to the symbiosis of difference, and her intent with this installation was to give substance to mutualism, exploring the binaries of public and private, light and shadow, and static and dynamic. It certainly opened up something inside of me, I want to learn how to laser cut wood, I want to create my own designs and follow in her footsteps.

I spent some time viewing Ingredients, a set of photographs by Amber Yeh, which was also in the [DIS]COMFORT ZONE at the GRAM. There were pictures of bones with mealworms crawling out of them, chicken feet, a black chicken as well as a pig’s ear and jawbone. Ms. Yeh is a first generation American with Chinese heritage; she was inspired from a desire to showcase how different cultures can influence our perception on the foods that we choose to consume. I think I understand what she was trying to say, as Americans would normally view the items in these pictures as garbage, while people in other cultures view them as a delicacy. She stated that she wanted to share her experiences with the viewer, but she also wanted to convey emotions of awe and disgust simultaneously.

Unfortunately we left before the awards ceremony, but I was delighted to hear that Anila Quayyum Agha won the Public Vote Grand Prize of $200,000 and split the Juried Grand Prize with Sonya Clark (who submitted the Haircraft Project which I did not see) each winning $100,000.

 

Intersections by Anila Quayyum Agha