You've Got Your Stories to Tell

One of the themes of my blog is the difficulty I've had transitioning to my new life.  While I adore my daughter, I still have moments when I wonder how it all went off the rails, so to speak.  It's not that I miss my old  life - I don't - I just have so many times where I wonder how my personality changed so radically.  I saw that girl the other day - pack of Camels in one back pocket, wallet in the other, engrossed in music. Where did I see her?  She was watching History of the Eagles on Showtime.  Now, I was only able to do this because my Bebe was sleeping and I was sick on the couch.  It was fun for a second, though.  Just watching a documentary about something I'm really passionate about (70s music) made me miss that hippie girl for about a minute and a half.  And then I snap back into reality.  My husband is awesome.  My daughter is beautiful.  I have a good life.  I grew into myself, if that makes sense.  The "rock chick" thing was fun when I was 20.  I'm not 20 anymore.

The moment I picked up my daughter after her nap I realized that I'm in the right place.  Now if only I had been born sooner . . .

Art Prize 2013 Wrap-Up: A Critical Discourse

While this is my blog, I saw an interesting piece of insight from the husband regarding this year's Grand Rapids Art Prize.  My sister sent him an mLive article from the curator of the Meijer Gardens exhibit, and he had such a thoughtful response, that I wanted to share it.  Art Prize is a passion and love of our family, and it's something that I hope we can share with each other for years to come.  The words of my husband:

I have to agree that this year's total crop of entries was weaker than last year, but I'm not sure that matters in the larger scheme of things.  It depends on what the event strives to be - is it truly about the common man having a voice?  If so, then as long as foot traffic and votes are up, the event is on the right track.  Your average Joe shouldn't be expected to have the same critical eye as a professional art critic, especially as they are viewing hundreds of pieces each day within a huge mass of people.  As we know all too well, it is nearly impossible to stop and contemplate each piece on its merits on the DeVos Place skywalk.

 

It's also worth remembering that there is no vote limit in the first round.  People are not voting for their absolute favorites, just any pieces they happen to like as they stroll around town.  Each voter may have their own personal favorite, or even top 10, but every vote counts equally, so the one that would be #100 on their list gets the same weight in their voting as their favorite.  This means that the eventual top 10 may not actually have anyone's favorite, just an aggregation of pieces that many thought were simply good enough.  That's my theory on why the most interesting pieces usually fail to make the top 10, even from high traffic venues.

 

I do agree, though, that the populist nature of the top winners holds the event back in terms of stature in the art community.  That is why they added the juried awards, so that the entire event did not just become about large installations of duct tape and dryer lint.  The biggest challenge for the event directors, in my opinion, is making sure that the potential rewards are great enough to keep luring truly unique and challenging pieces to the exhibition, understanding that those may struggle to get into the public top 10.  I think we can agree that some of our favorites were at venues with a curated presentation, such as Kendall College and UICA.  Having a few more of those wouldn't hurt, especially outside of the immediate downtown.  A top artist will bring a piece to Meijer Gardens, but would probably not be interested in Joe-Bob's thrift shop.  Additional curated venues would give those artists more chances to find a place to exhibit and (hopefully) tip the scales back toward quality pieces.  There is a fine line to walk, though, as the point of the event is to include everyone in the conversation.  Part of the fun of the event is seeing an outstanding set of entries at a place like Kendall College, then passing by crazy Jesus in the bookstore down the street.  One of the big draws of the event is it's inclusiveness; I always talk about how great our first year was when we simply wandered around town without a plan, finding art at every corner.  This is an event where the Auto Fixit Body Shop can sit right alongside the GRAM, and I like that.  Part of that inclusiveness means accepting the fact that much of the art will be things like the giant made out of compost, or the penny made from pennies, or Jimmy Carter in peanut shells.  Those pieces are not going to get my vote, but they still make me smile and should always have a place in Artprize. 

I guess that sums up Art Prize 2013.  I realize that it took me about a week and a half to do so, but I have a toddler and a million monsters to make over the next two weeks.  Give a mom a break . . . because I truly have a special place in my heart for the Auto Fixit Body Shop.