ArtPrize

With ArtPrize officially starting yesterday, I thought I might post a few of my thoughts about this popular Grand Rapids art competition.  Here at Grand Valley, you hear a lot of different views about ArtPrize; some argue that it takes artists and their work lightly, allowing anything to pass as an entry, while others are encouraged by the publicity it gives to art and artists.

For me, I find myself somewhere in between.  While I know that ArtPrize does not always represent art in the best light, mixing serious artists with the arts and crafts world, I also think that it is allowing for much more discussion about the arts in Grand Rapids than there ever was before.  I think that sometimes you have to dig for the really creative work, the pieces that challenge you and reveal something new to you, but that digging can help you learn the difference between great and not-so-great works of art.  I think any future art educator can benefit from that.

When I make it downtown to look around at the pieces this year, I fully intend to look at each piece critically, with a teacher's eye.  If I am able to critique all the different pieces you find at ArtPrize, it can give me a little insight into how to approach the critique of a student's work.  I am sure that I will see a wide variety of art forms in my classroom someday, so being able to look at a work of art critically at an event like ArtPrize can prepare me a little for what I might face as a teacher.