ArtPrize Eight

This year was ArtPrize Eight, and it's hard for me to believe that the event has been going on for that long. The first year of ArtPrize, I was in grad school. One of my classmates had heard about this art competition with pieces scattered throughout downtown and wanted me to check it out with her during a break between classes. I readily agreed; some fresh air and a break from classwork was welcome. We ended up thoroughly enjoying ourselves and went back a few more times together. It helped that we could easily walk from the Center for Health Sciences to most of the venues. So that was the start of ArtPrize for me. I continued to attend every year after (except last year when we were in Australia). And, ArtPrize has continued to grow in size, scope, and reputation over the past years. 

Since we had missed last year, Brandon and I were especially devoted to attending ArtPrize this year. We weren't working yet at the time, so we managed to go on some afternoons when attendance was lighter. Our favorite pieces were in the basement of the Women's City Club, but there were definitely a few other exhibits we enjoyed as well scattered throughout the city. 

One of the first pieces we saw. We liked that it was interactive; you could balance the lever. 

This was probably our favorite. The description beside it explained that the piece represents a memory that is partially lost or obscured and becomes fragmented or blurred in the process of trying to remember.  

How can you not like all these cute cats? 

The colors and vibrancy of this just drew us in

This portrait was constructed from all different shades of faded sheet music

"Father Time" a working clock statue with the hands of the clock looking like the man's mustache

A working fish bicycle! 

A home the artist constructed and was living in during ArtPrize. It was made out of the remains of condemned, demolished homes in Detroit and other cities. 

Rube Goldberg type pieces always capture our attention 

This huge piece with it's transition of the seasons was spectacular 

A huge window mural installation at the Devos Place

We liked that all these paintings told a collective story

1,234 handmade bronze butterflies

This is made out of different shades of screws screwed in different depths

This tribute to wounded war dogs, beautifully crafted out of wood, ended up winning the people's choice grand prize

The colors of these piece with the blue bridge in the background was lively

Brandon's favorite medium: duct tape

A permanent suspended glass installation for Mary Free Bed 

An impressive photograph that made you feel like you were at the beach

Interesting chair and thread exhibit with a felted piece in the background 

This installation made us think of packing up and moving forward on our sabbatical 

Those are just a sample of all the artwork we were able to see. We'll be looking forward to the return of ArtPrize next year.