Our ability to vote for any of the Artprize artists ends tonight at midnight. Tomorrow the contest is narrowed down to the top ten vote getters, and then we vote again…one vote per registrant this time. Other than aesthetics, artist types I know are including other criteria in their voting decisions. One who is employed in the Green industry is considering the sustainability of the pieces that draw her, both the materials used, and if it has moving parts, the energy required. Another is trying to consider more entrees made by woman as it appears to her that many in the top are men. A quick glance at the results so far says she’s right. Another who’s done a fair bit of art herself is considering the media used and the difficulty of the materials involved. I’ve been influenced to cast two or three votes because of the messages relayed. All of my votes, first and foremost, are based on what I believe is good. For me that means what is executed well, the effort involved, and the impact it made on me. I’ve cast seventy votes. Before voting began I was going to limit myself to ten, and be really discriminating. That idea was thrown out the window on the first day.

This lunch hour I walked up Division Avenue, The Avenue of the Arts as its becoming known here. Most of the venues don’t open until five, so I had to peak in the windows of some. I discovered Young Kim’s Salt and Earth this way and think it’s one of the more unusual pieces I’ve found. It’s made of salt and local earth and includes portraits taken “by way of chance/fate encounters with residents of the community.” A simple light bulb on a cord hangs from the ceiling over each of the thirty portraits. The entire presentation is very striking. Others where I work have started talking about it today too. I’ve cast my vote and am going back after five to see it up close.

The Avenue is on other side of Fulton Street and has been in measurable transition for the past five years or so. What was dilapidated falling down buildings in a once-thought-unapproachable neighborhood (many of our displaced population reside here) is now full of artist’s lofts and low-income housing, edgy shops, bars, and eateries. Our Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (U.I.C.A.) is in the process of constructing their new building on a key corner here. I’m told there are ninety artists living and working within the main two-block area. The largest most predominant building on the Avenue was just renovated and the apartments upstairs are already full. One of the established first-of-the-true-believers here told me that there’s quite a buzz “out there” about the art scene that Grand Rapids is becoming. He’s met two newcomers from San Francisco and two more from Australia who just moved into the new apartments based on what they’ve heard.

It’s the constant and committed energy of our local artists that has set the stage for events like Artprize. Local artists have dug in their heals and the community is developing a growing appreciation for them. This has all contributed to the explosion that is Artprize.

I’ve decided not to give a thumb’s down vote to the very average painting that sits atop a shameless and paint spattered 65-foot crane/easel. This was to be my only thumbs down. Other than contributing to the controversial list (say “no” to drama), it’s a little unclear what the thumb’s down vote does. And I know that casting even a disapproving vote at it is still throwing attention at it. I have no interest in throwing attention of any sort at this piece. I’m not even going to mention the artist’s name. His standing atop the easel for 14 days is drawing attention enough. Good grief.

I’m tired, yet still compelled to keep going. Artprize is fairly intense so I suspect lots of folks are starting to feel the same. Looking at all this art takes a fair bit of energy, not to mention determination. Yesterday, after seeing 100,000 paper airplanes launched off the top of six buildings on Monroe Avenue, I headed for the countryside. As much as I’m enjoying it, and like eating crackers between sips at a wine tasting, I needed to cleanse my palette of all the activity downtown. It helped, a bit. I’m back at it today. Such an effort by so many is hard to deny.

I’ve seen over 60 venues now, likely more than most people, and still can’t believe there are about 100 more. A few of those are billboards, so a drive-by will make seeing them easier. I’ve made a point of hitting the outskirts. Friday friend Linda and I found our way to the tucked-away Newberry Place intentional community. Tim Lowly’s work always makes her cry, and sure enough did again. His “Culture of Adoration” was perhaps the most loving image I’ve encountered here. It’s of a severely disabled girl (whom Linda says is the artist’s daughter) as the study for a figure drawing class. I trekked over to Tanglefoot on Saturday and especially enjoyed Maureen Nolette’s curb series – who knew street curbs could be executed in such an interesting and refined way. Jeanne and I rode our bikes to the West Side and saw a number of works including the large scrap metal robin whose red breast was made from the hood of an old VW bug. We went up to the 28th floor of Bridgewater Place as well, GRs newest and tallest building. Seeing Denise Milito’s Living Breast series was worth the discomfort I felt at being so high up in the sky.

With feet firmly on the ground yesterday my spirit soared at the sight of the cheering crowd that overflowed the intersection of Pearl and Monroe. They came to see the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple airplanes that were to fill the sky like a rainbow. Bands of musicians showed up to play the brief musical score they knew would be printed on the planes. A man on a ladder was poised to conduct all. Well, the rainbow affect didn’t quite hit its mark. With the tips removed for safety, the planes were aero-dynamically challenged. The crowd loved it just the same. And once the music began organized pandemonium set in. Estimated between 15,000 and 20,000, the crowd cheered the launch and it’s organizer who’s known for making unusual things happen around town. But mostly, we cheered fun. Was it art? Who makes that determination? In that moment I’m not sure it mattered.

Artprize organizer Rick DeVos is quoted as saying Artprize is a “social experiment.” A “remarkable movement” according to the minister of a downtown church. And in its fledgling year, there are plenty of grumblings about what’s not working – there always are with experimentation. I’m tired, it’s fun, and there’s much more to see and experience.

Effort and Output

I’m struck by the amount of effort some of these artists (and in some cases their sponsors) have put forth to install their pieces in this event. I saw a large metal sculpture lying on its side on the bed of an industrial strength truck (not something you see everyday.) Surely a professional driver and installation crew was hired to drive that thing to GR. (I wonder too at the reactions of the people who saw many of these pieces driving down the highway.) There is the giant table and chairs that was lifted atop a bridge by a crane that everyone is talking about (it’s on the controversial list due to the fact it has both many thumbs up and many thumbs down.) A ladder sculptor engaged the community to bring their ladders downtown for him to borrow, and he’s received plenty of them. The tags that include each lender’s name are part of the work. I witnessed the delivery of two of the ladders as well, only with a much smaller and aging pick-up truck and a dad and daughter making the drop. Some of the installations are complex with many parts in need of meticulous suspension or gluing or that include multi-medias requiring electricity, water, or even the artist(s) themselves.

The distances artists have traveled is notable. I suppose the purse brought a number of them, perhaps the adventure - the artists I've talked to so far are having a great time. There's someone from Atlantico, which I never heard of. It's in Nicaragua from what I can tell. And Sonora, which I learned is in northern Mexico. I hope people make a point of seeing the work of the international artists both for the diversity brought and the effort taken.

Artists have really showed up for this.

I picked up an artist’s postcard last night that includes a quote from Einstein, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.” I appreciate the artists who put no boundaries on their imaginations, and keep pursuing the next idea or challenge that is presented them despite the effort. Their collective energies, here, now, are pointing to something(s) yet to be named.

Heard of Artprize yet? It’s happening now in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s more fun than I could have imagined, it’s brought over 1200 artists to our town, it’s got all sorts of people looking, and it’s boosting the moral of my Michigan community. It also comes with a $250,000 prize to the artist whose work is voted best in show. Of course, we all have our own opinions on who that should be and the conversations and who to see and what we all think is creating a great buzz here.

I’m just one of the people buzzing. My name is Beth, and yes, I’m an Artprize geek.

I keep my event map in a plastic sleeve and highlight each venue as I see it. This makes it easier to plan where to go next. I’ve got my official 144-page “Your Guide to Navigating Artprize” paperback and take it with me as I peruse the city. I paid 15 bucks for it and it came with an orange rubber “voter” bracelet that gets me on the city bus for free during the event – bonus. I circle and make notations next to the artists I plan to vote for, and then check them off once I cast my vote. I don’t own a cell phone so texting my votes isn’t an option. Still, it’s satisfying to go to the website and click on the thumbs up or thumbs down. I’m mostly a thumbs up kind of girl allowing for all kinds of expression, although there is one artist that is definitely getting the big thumbs down. More on him later.

There are some real gems here. And some wonderful surprises. Like the black-and-white image of a swimmer projected on the outside of the art museum last night. It reminds me of an old-timie cartoon and it was fun to watch as my friend Linda and I rode by on our bicycle rickshaw. One of the Dufala brothers rode his toilet tricycle downtown during the lunch hour the other day…delightfully, it seemed perfectly natural to me. And I’m “following” an artist whose drawings hang in the lobby of the building were I work. His work is one of the gems I’ve found. His detailed execution is amazingly good.

I’m blessed to have work and also to work pretty much right smack dab in the middle of Artprize. The world headquarters is just across the street. I go out everyday for lunch with a different destination in mind. It’s not my goal to see all 159 venues, although I’ve already seen 42 of them, and it’s only the third day. Part of the beauty of the event is that the venues were volunteered. Restaurants, museums, colleges, city buildings, bridges, street corners, churches, the Grand River, and office buildings are hosting the art. Even a laundromat got in on it. Within a designated boundary, Artprize is pretty much everywhere. If you’re an art lover, and even if you’re not, this is big.