Hi, I am
Peter Ye, the new Academically
Based Service-Learning (ABSL) Student Coordinator for the Natural Sciences and
Mathematics. I want to talk about the seventh ArtPrize event. I went to ArtPrize on October 10th,
one day before the three-week event ended. I started at DeVos Place Convention
Center’s Art Prize venue with four friends at around 7pm and stayed there for
about two and a half hours. I am really not an expert on art, probably because
I am an engineering student. I have been to ArtPrize before, but this time I
actually tried to learn something. I realized that there was such a variety of
art, ranging from different topics, themes, presenting mediums, and
methodologies.
The first
few art entries I saw were outside, near the La Grande Vitesse sculpture
(French, meaning “the great swiftness” or “grand rapids”). One entry is
“Raising the Flag,” 20 ft. by 12 ft. “American flag made up of 6850 acrylic dog
tags in memorial of the soldiers who died in the Iraq and Afghanistan
conflicts. (ARTPRIZE)”
Near the
flag was the “Port of Entry,” a 12’ X 12’ x 12’ structure made of Jarritos
(colorful and iconic Mexican soda). “It was built with the help of volunteers
from the Hispanic Center and the community. It symbolized the community’s
strength through unity. It is a tribute to Michigan’s migrant workers.
(ARTPRIZE)”
One more
entry I want to point out is an oil painting of Calvin’s bridge, “Beltline,” by
a Calvin graduate student. “This work can be considered a metaphor for the
journey of life. The pathway with the strong one-point perspective is a literal
depiction of a place that was extremely formative for the artist. (ARTPRIZE)”
There are so
many entries which I didn’t get a chance to see. The entries that I did get to
see are so varied. As you can see from the entries mentioned above, some focus
on diversity issues, some focus on social justice, some are reflective of life
experiences, some are actual material representations, some use the process of
the constructing the work to express the theme, some are literal, and some are
abstract. ArtPrize is a good learning experience for me. It gives me access to
so many areas which I hardly have any knowledge of. The skills and complexity
of the artists also amaze me. ArtPrize can be a good experience for people who
don’t know much about art, especially for an engineering student like me.
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