Art Prize Day 2 Part 1

 

 

Art Prize.

Day 2

 

Things got a little interesting on this day because we had to figure out what we missed and where it was that we missed it. We knew we needed to go to the GRAM (Grand Rapids Art Museum) because three of the Top 10 were located there.

 

  So we got ourselves around and headed over to it just a few blocks away.  This guy was hanging on the corner with us waiting for the light to change.  He was very well done, we thought, and big enough to make an impression.  For scale we took the photo below.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking him over kind of got my brain started and I was excited to get to the GRAM so we left our dragon friend behind and headed to the museum. And it was closed. 

 

I found this odd. Why wouldn't they open early - especially in the last week and they are showing three of the big 10? Didn't make sense but since I am not in charge there is nothing to be done about it. Instead, we decided to walk the river-front and take one of the bridges over to see "the other side". We took The Blue Bridge over. If that is it's proper title, I have no idea. Anyway, this is what we saw there.

 

 

This was also in the Top 10. It's made entirely of sticks except for the metal post anchoring the pieces in the river.

 

Walking through a corner of Grand Valley State we came upon these lovely ladies.  They were titled as "Friends" but they look so much alike in the face, we re dubbed them "Sisters".  Besides,how many of your friends dress just like you do?  ;)

 

 

 

Then we came upon one of my favorite.  It's a mosaic piece of stained glass titled "Return to Eden".  It too was one of the Top 10.  The detail work was fantastic.  This piece stands about 6 to 8 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet long.  I am awful with measurements, thus the broad scope of possible size.

 

 

 

 

 

Those little ducks are too cute!

 

 

A very sweet dandelion sculpture waited around the corner.  This is made of glass and steel.  It was not for sale, but if it was, I'm sure it would have sold early in the show.  This could go just about anywhere - private or public.  They even had the seeds sitting on the foliage to the right of it - as if blown by the wind.  There are two in the last picture.

 

 

This guy (below) was right next to the exit into Downtown Grand Rapids off of 131.  Welcome to Art Prize!  He wasn't fabulous, but he was a treat to see.  Notice the scale of it with the people in the area.

 

 

Some playful chainsaw art...

 

From here we took a coffee break and then headed over to The B.O.B. (Big Old Building) to see what me missed the first time we ventured inside.

 

My goodness we were ...speechless.  Should we be afraid or appalled or what?

 

This next piece is one of those that I appreciate for the vision involved to make the piece.  This is a self portrait made up entirely of caps.  beer caps, milk just caps, deodorant caps, etc...  wow - a lot of caps!

 

More inside the B.O.B

 

 

This one was called "The Joker".  It portrayed the three actors that have played The Joker on Batman (TV and movie) using decks of playing cards.  The farther back you stood, the clearer you could see the face.

 





Below -  Think Piata.
This is symbolic to the affects of junk food and obesity.



 

In this instance, it's the little picture you need to look at....with a magnifying glass (which were available ).  The entire background of this picture (and I only took this one shot of it) is a million tiny pictures. 

 

 

 

We finally get into the GRAM and are wowed right off the bat with this piece.  It's a million or more ceramic 'tubes' of various shape all stacked on top of each other and framed in.  Crazy! (goes with the hair, tho, right?)

 

At this point I am skipping past some of them because there are just too many to put on here.  Yes, I am editing and to what I like, no less.  How often do you get to do that?  (a blog CAN be fun, yes?)

 

This one is my all-time fav and turned out to be the winner and it's titled "Elephants".  The piece had to be 15 feet long and 8 feet tall.  It is all done in pencil and there are so many things to see that you don't know where to look!  These elephants were so charming (yes, charming) with their sewn ears and all the little hitchhikers on them! If you could see the bottom you could see that they are various stages of sitting and standing.  Being elephants, the ones that are sitting are cute in a chubby sort of way.  This is a very happy piece that makes you curious and wanting to see more.  The artist is a young woman with tons of talent ( get it? ;] ) !!  The pictures came out pretty clear considering that a flash was not allowed to be used while photographing.

 

This next piece, around the corner, was a little unsettling after the fun and whimsy of the elephants and friends.  At first I thought my vision was blurred.  I found myself astonished at what some people can create.  If I am not mistaken, this was made of a plastic and cut with (I'm guessing) either laser or perhaps a plasma cutter?  Can't remember, dang it!  A little blurry again due to no flash.

 

 

 

You know those collapsible silicone colanders on the market now?  Picture it ten times it's size and made of shiny stainless steel and you get this~

 

In the next room, was a real treat and another of the Top 10.  it's title is "Origami".  You walk into the space and see all these bright squares on the wall and at the same time, see that the squares all have creases in them.  The a light comes up on the left side and from the right side of the square - the side that is bent and creased - come human facial profiles.  How cool is that? 

If you look closely you can see each one is different - different race, sex, hairstyle, etc.  The light would turn on and up and then down and out so that you saw the profiles appear and then disappear.  Pretty neat stuff.

 

Look closer and you can see ear marks or bends (or creases), eyebrows, and hairlines in the squares.

 

 

 Below - 3x5 framed pictures of the same little boy with different backgrounds in each frame.  They come together in a big picture of the same man 60 years later.

 

Next up, and last up for this blog installation, is another of the Top 10 titled "City Band"  It is a life size drawing of a photograph of the artists grandfather as a young man in a City Band.  This artist (Chris LaPorte) won Art Prize 2010 with a life size drawing of American Cavalrymen in 1921.

 

 

 

And that the last of Day 2 Part 1.  Hopefully I will find some time to finish out the last two parts.  I will be happy to see the end of this.  I get tired all over again when I look back on it through this blog.  We did a whole lot of walking!

'Til next time~

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