Art on the Grandest Scale

THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 34, Number 39 Thursday, October 4, 2018 Art on the Grandest Scale by Linda Weigel The world’s largest art competition has again over downtown Grand Rapids and splitting it into transformed downtown Grand Rapids, Mich., into zones. The result is one gigantic art extravaganza. one massive indoor-outdoor art gallery. For the half- Held Sept. 19 through Oct. 7, visitors immerse million curious art lovers, this event signals the themselves in art, discovering through more than coming of fall, and the opportunity to stroll casu- 1,200 entries a wide range of artistic styles and me- “Stream,” the installation involving cinder blocks and mirrors by Gustavo Prado of Brooklyn. All photos by Linda Weigel ally, lingering among dia. One hundred sixty-six host venues scattered the extensive venues throughout fi ve zones — museums, parks, theaters, while voting to select community centers, restaurants, bars, hotel lobbies, their favorite visual coffee shops — await your visit. Artists may come artists. from anywhere in the world. ArtPrize, which This year, more than 1,400 artists from 41 states marks its 10th an- and 40 countries created more than 1,260 works. niversary, celebrates Applying artists completed required forms, submit- art and creativity ting them directly to their selected venue(s) — each on a large scale. The and every venue separately — in hopes of receiving open, independently an acceptance. organized interna- As a viewer and eventual voter, you can discuss tional event unfolds and debate the merits of what defi nes good art be- over 19 days, taking Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 October 4, 2018 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 %HDFKHU&RPSDQ\'LUHFWRU\ e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] 'RQDQG7RP0RQWJRPHU\ 2ZQHUV email: Classifieds - [email protected] $QGUHZ7DOODFNVRQ (GLWRU http://www.thebeacher.com/ 'UHZ:KLWH 3ULQW6DOHVPDQ PRINTE ITH Published and Printed by -DQHW%DLQHV ,QVLGH6DOHV&XVWRPHU6HUYLFH T %HFN\:LUHEDXJK 7\SHVHWWHU'HVLJQHU T A S A THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS 5DQG\.D\VHU 3UHVVPDQ 'RUD.D\VHU %LQGHU\ Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is 0LNH%RUDZVNL+RSH&RVWHOOR&KHU\O-RSSHN 3URGXFWLRQ also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. -RKQ%DLQHV.DUHQ*HKU&KULV.D\VHU'HQQLV0D\EHUU\ 'HOLYHU\ Art on the… Continued from Page 1 fore making a decision. This is important, because as a visitor, you vote using your smartphone to select your favorite works within several categories. The stakes are high, with more than $500,000 in prizes, including a juror’s grand prize of $200,000 and a public-vote grand prize of $200,000. Entrepreneur Rick DeVos helped establish the citywide event in 2009. It included more than 150 venues and 1,262 artists from 40 states and a dozen countries. His idea of creating an art competition open to any and all artists, with the largest mon- etary award in the world, where the public had a Brian Lacey’s “To Advance God’s Kingdom (Rose Colored Glasses),” clear say in the major winners, opened the door to an installation involving paint on corten shipping container. what the event has become today. In contrast to the materials and sense of expand- As ArtPrize evolved, changes ensued. In 2010, it ed space Prado uses, Brian Lacey’s corten shipping introduced an international jury of artists, critics, container, “To Advance God’s Kingdom (Rose Col- curators and museum directors. By 2014, additional ored Glasses),” espoused a different viewpoint, us- category prizes offered the voting public a chance ing symbolism, abstraction and a contained space to compare votes in four categories (two dimension- “to celebrate Grand Rapids and Western Michigan’s al, three dimensional, installation and time-based rich history of arts, crafts and design and the impor- work) with art experts. Also that year, the two grand tant role public education plays in furthering the prizes of $200,000 each – one by popular vote, and advancement of such discipline.” one by juror vote — launched the event into one of the world’s best art competitions. Atwater Brewery, 201 Michigan St. No question about it. Making art is hard. It is A visit to Atwater Brewery on Michigan Street re- a process that takes time and care. Some artists vealed 12 original entries, including one by profes- may spend years on a single piece. The results are sional artist Dorothy Graden, Valparaiso, who is a personal, unique and may perhaps represent false member of Lubeznik Center for the Arts and Area starts combined with a careful exploration of mul- Artists Association. tiple materials. Graden has attended numerous art classes since Clearly, the artists juried into this event are out- her teens, later incorporating college art classes, standing within their selected media. The creativ- art history classes, continuing educational stud- ity, design originality and conceptual ideas incorpo- ies in watercolor and Chinese calligraphy into her rated within many of the pieces clearly refl ect the expanded repertoire. She studied under individual times we live in and the concerns we share. artists while her work continued to evolve, becom- ing highly exploratory and driven by self-discovery. Calder Plaza, 300 Monroe St. For more than 30 years, she has hiked in canyons, I began my exploration on Sunday, Sept. 23, fi rst traversed arroyos and clambered up mountains locating a convenient parking garage on Ottawa searching out ancient prehistoric rock art. She has Street. Then, I immediately discovered Gustavo traveled from the Rio Grande to central Montana, Prado’s “Stream” set against the massive perma- and every state in between. nent outdoor work “La Grande Vitesse” by the great “What’s interesting about it is the rock art varies 20th century sculptor Alexander Calder. Prado’s depending on the time period, culture and location,” work explores “various aspects of space – whether she said. “I take thousands of pictures. I took 600 real or formal – and the complexities inherent in pictures just this past May on a trip to Utah and the act of gazing.” Colorado.” THE October 4, 2018 Page 3 KQEHDAKhjaf_*()1 LJMFCK@GO Kmf\Yq$G[lgZ]j/l` “Sky Spirits.” Her art truly represents a fusion )(G>> of multiple media, resulting in work L`]=flaj]Egfl`g^G[lgZ]j that holds great depth, color, form and mystery. She begins by making sheets Dorothy Graden. of handmade paper, generally 15 to 20 sheets at a time. While the paper is still damp, she applies color and/or stencils to achieve specifi c design pat- 6<03/,635,1*7581.6+2: terns. Next, she inventories her photos and deter- 6HDWLQJVDWDP SP(67 mines which images would look best on her newly 6$03/(6,16725(WKURXJK &$//)256($7,1*5(6(59$7,216 made papers. Lastly, she uses watercolor, India ink RUSULYDWHVKRZLQJ and pastels to enhance those images. After much encouragement, she submitted a work last year to ArtPrize, which was accepted and 6:KLWWDNHU6W1HZ%XIIDOR0, later sold. “The exposure is unbelievable!,” she said of the event. $118$/)$//6$/( Homewood Suites by Hilton, &217,18(6:,7+&+$1*(6 161 Ottawa Ave. Catherine a n d Company Exiting the Atwater, I continued my explorations, popping in and out of venues and discovering enu- /DPSVKDGH6SHFLDOW\6KRSSH merable exciting works, including a pair of three-dimensional works at the Homewood Suites by Hilton /DPSV at Waters Center on Ottawa Avenue. 9LQWDJH 0RGHUQ Grand Rapids Art Museum, 101 Monroe Center St. 2II6WRUHZLGH 6WDLQHG*ODVV The Grand Rapids ,Q6WRFNWKUX2FW Art Museum never fails to host thought- /DPSVKDGHV )LQLDOV1LJKW/LJKWV ful, serious works. 'RPHVWLFVDQG,PSRUWV *LIW,WHPV This year, it spon- 6LONV sored eight artists, +DZDLL,VODQG$UW +DUG%DFNV among which Sarah 3DSHUZHLJKWV3RWWHU\ Fitzsimmons “Pacif- +LGH ic Quilt” and Conrad %DVNHWVPDGHIURP Egyir’s “The Labor 3DOP6KHDWKV 3OHDVHEULQJ/DPS of Love” were timely .RD/DPSV WREH6KDGHG and deeply, thought- fully inspired. &XVWRP2UGHUV3ODFHGE\2FWREHUWKDUULYHE\7KDQNVJLYLQJ Fitzsimmons’ cre- ation assumes the )UL6DW6XQ0RQ 0,7LPH 2U%\$SSRLQWPHQW form of a giant quilt “Pacifi c Quilt,” fabric, batting and thread :%XIIDOR6W 86 1HZ%XIIDOR Continued on Page 4 by Sarah Fitzsimmons. THE Page 4 October 4, 2018 and ornamentation. The blue layer is Chinese, the Art on the… Continued from Page 3 red Italian Renaissance, the yellow Egyptian and the black layer Gothic. with varying shades of blue fabric meant to “con- Much like Dorothy Graden, Ligocki primarily is vey underwater topography, and quilting lines to a self-taught artist who also pursued individual col- describe surface currents.” I found her work poetic, lege classes, studied with accomplished professional peaceful and cautionary, reminding us of the impor- artists and did additional work in printmaking and tance of our oceans and fresh waters. three-dimensional art. Egyir’s “The Labor of Love” was executed as a triptych (in three parts) and based on Labor Day and the day Emmett Till lost his life. “On both sides of the central painting are allegories of what present day or future interpretations of labor and love might “The Labor of Love” by Conrad Egyir, mean.” Egyir also has part three of a triptych — oil, mounted incorporated West Af- Plexiglas and wood on canvas. rican adinkra symbols The blue layer, with Chinese symbols in process. fl anking the portraits. I was fascinated by his ma- “I have done huge bodies of work of social and terials use, and the method by which he combined emotional commentaries in years past,” she said.

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