Sixth ArtPrize begins

Local artists make their way to Grand Rapids

MANISTEE — ArtPrize attracts artists from around the globe, but especially Michigan artists.

At least four artists from the Manistee area have entered ArtPrize 2014, the sixth annual event. The unorthodox publicly judged contest spans three square miles of downtown Grand Rapids each fall for 19 days, allowing anyone to voice opinions about art.

The competition and voting opened Sept. 24. On Oct. 4, round one voting closes, and the finalists are tabulated to be announced on Oct. 5. Round two voting on finalists continues though Oct. 9, and winners are announced Oct. 10. The event ends at 6 p.m. on Oct. 12.

“It’s a great way to bring art to the public, I think we need to do more of that,” said Mary Wahr, of Manistee. “It’s a great opportunity. How else could I get that many people to look at my work?”

In 2013, more than 400,000 people visited ArtPrize; in 2009 there were 200,000 visitors. In 2013, about 450,000 votes were placed by about 49,000 voters. That year there were artists from all 50 states and 47 countries.

Wahr is an art teacher at Manistee Catholic Central. Her first ArtPrize piece is displayed at the MoDiv building on Monroe Center Street. Blue Nautilus is a three-piece set of fractal paintings, the largest is 3 feet by 4 feet.

Wahr said its a great location since many people use the building as a short cut.

“Getting into ArtPrize is kind of like online dating,” Wahr said. “Artists and venues put up their sites and look at each other, and then contact each other, it’s an interesting process.”

Anyone 18 or older can enter the competition, and art can be hosted in any venue in the ArtPrize district, and artists and venues choose each other through artprize.org.

Wahr said she’ll be in Grand Rapids for the rest of the week to look at the art, and meet other artists and visitors.

About 1,800 artist have entered this year, that’s about 300 more than in 2013 and 600 more than the first event. There are 174 venues.

Dave Vande Vusse will spend a few days in Grand Rapids during the contest as well. His sculpture, Sun With Two Moons, is on display outside at the Calder Plaza Building on Monroe Avenue. This is his second ArtPrize entry; he participated in the first contest in 2009.

Vande Vusse hadn’t planned to enter the competition again because it’s not very artist friendly, he said. Artists pay $50 to enter, and some don’t find venues, and there’s little opportunity for prize money.

There are two sets of prizes; one from the public and one from a jury of art experts. Each has a grand prize of $200,000 and four category prizes of $20,000 each.

Plus, the larger, impractical pieces get the most attention in the public voting, Vande Vusse said. Votes for each piece are also never made public.

“You don’t know if you’re close, or way off,” Vande Vusse said.

He entered this year because a friend let him know there was a shortage of sculptures, and he happened to have one available. The sculpture was named by one of his grandchildren. The piece is 6 feet 6 inches tall and 6 feet 9 inches wide.

“If it’s a good piece of sculpture, when you take a look at it, it should bring a smile to your face,” Vande Vusse said. “(Mine) are fun, they have no deep meaning.”

Few pieces are sold after the show, Vande Vusse added. However, three of the past four sculptures displayed at his venue were sold.

Although, not ideal for artists, he said ArtPrize is good for Grand Rapids as it brings in a lot of money.

An estimated $22.1 million in net new economic activity was due to ArtPrize in 2013, according to artprize.org. Plus, the event helped create 253 jobs.

Sunshine Hall-Durant grew up in Manistee, and now lives in Dearborn. Her painting, The Devil’s Elbow, is displayed at Tavern on the Square on Ionia Avenue. According to her ArtPrize profile the 5 feet 10 inches by 4 feet 8 inches painting was inspired by a spot on the Muskegon River of the same name. The work explores the didactic of good and evil.

“It’s awesome — I’ve been up there three times,” Durant said. “A lot of people in Detroit think it’s hoaxy — but I love that it’s not so snobby.”

One of Durant’s biggest inspirations to become an artist was Ken Cooper, her former art teacher at Manistee High School.

Don Rau, of Thompsonville, is a first-time ArtPrize artist as well. His sculpture, Assembly Line, is displayed outside the Gerald R. Ford Museum. Rau worked on the structure for three years, and more than 700 hours. The finished product a 12 feet tall by 7 feet wide steel and glass sculpture.

“In the last several years, there’s been a lot of winners at the museum,” Rau said. “I was very excited when I found out they were inviting me. It’s an ideal opportunity to meet a lot of people.”

Angela Froncek, formerly of Manistee, has a collection of acrylic paintings hanging at 50 Monroe Ave.

“I made the decision to enter art prize this year so I could be part of one of the worlds largest art competitions,” she said. “This is my first year and definitely won’t be my last. The experience has been very positive from the get-go.”

Her 5-piece collection is heavily influenced by Manistee County, with two depicting the Manistee lighthouse from Fifth Avenue Beach.

The ArtPrize concept is an amazing opportunity, especially for an artist like me who’s just starting out,” Froncek said. “It’s such a fun way to get people out looking at art who wouldn’t normally spend their time going to check out galleries.”

To vote, sign up for an artprize.org account. After setting up an account, voters must register. To do it in person, bring a government-issued photo ID to an ArtPrize voting site downtown Grand Rapids. Or registration can be completed using the ArtPrize mobile app; once downtown Grand Rapids, open the app and it will automatically prompt registration.

After registering, votes can be cast in three ways: online at artprize.org, through the mobile app, or via text message by sending artist vote codes to 808080.