Updated: March 27, 2020
A friend asked me to join her on a walk around ArtPrize opening weekend.
What is ArtPrize?
ArtPrize is an open international art competition. The first year of judging was by public voting only. The idea was to get people to come out and see art, and people in Grand Rapids sure did. You cannot see all the art pieces in one day because they are held outdoors and indoors – from traditional venues like the Grand Rapids Art Museum to pubs around the city and beyond its four walls.
With some basic knowledge of my digital camera and my iPhone, Linus and I set off with our friends to see a little bit of art, culture, and our city. Luckily, we found street parking, which led us to our first Art Prize entry:
The kids found this lovely piece very interesting, a large doggy!
But then their attention only lasted for a moment when they saw this beauty.
My friend was showing a cool thing about this sculpture to her boy. What a lovely moment.
But the kids enjoyed a run of the mill hill over art. Kids just want to be kids.
I tried my hand at some Instagram photography. I sat down, and I noticed a quote from Frederick Douglass. I thought what a cool spot to take a picture for Instagram. Then this kid walked by as I took the shot. His walk across the ledge could not have come at a better time. Would you call this a decisive or indecisive moment in photography?
We walked closer to the Gerald R. Ford Museum, and people were busy checking everything out.
There was a huge NOW installation piece.
This one was a bit difficult to accomplish, but the artist made a nice attempt to get people to try their hand at some music. Execution wasn’t that great, but at least kids had a good time running around.
Linus’ favorite piece had to have been these miniature metal people protecting their fort from a huge dragon!
My favorite piece of art
The colors and crowd drew me to this installation. And Linus wanted to hang a strip of paper.
I wonder when the artist takes down her work if she’ll read through all of them. I found this one to be cute.
I think this little girl wanted to add her own as well. Just precious.
There was something for everyone. I didn’t go inside to any of the museums or to the BOB (yet). My professor said seeing artwork at the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) and The BOB is like seeing art on two opposite ends of the spectrum. Can’t wait to check out more ArtPrize entries! Stay tuned for more photos the second weekend it rained four days in a row!
It’s amazing what an iPhone can do to enhance your inner photography skills. Check more photos on Instagram, if you get a chance.
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