On the Last Day of ArtPrize

Well the 2014 ArtPrize has come and gone and I've said essentially nothing about it. The 6th year of ArtPrize was to what I expected.... big crowds, great energy in the city and, overall, underwhelming art. 

The rules were different this year, and I still don't fully understand them, which means I voted incorrectly. Instead of voting for best art in general, we were supposed to vote for best art by category. Which means in the final round, you could vote more than once, and in fact should, per vote at least once per category (i have yet to meet a person that knew this).

I think the public results would have been different had this change been made clear. 

Voting mishaps aside, here's 5 pieces that struck me and I appreciated (it's going to take me a moment to come up with 5....).

1. Intersections: The winner (both public and critic choice) of this year's ArtPrize, it's impossible to forget Intersections. This is one I noticed before I even saw it, people posting about it on facebook led to an intentional hunt. While this is by no means an original concept, the scale and angles at which it hits the walls make this a striking piece. (GRAM)

2. Snow: Love white on white. I love the materials here and I love the dimensionality. I didn't want to walk away, it's so obviously snow, yet the piece is so warm and welcoming. (Women's City Club)

3. 1001 Coffee Cups: This piece is kind of silly, but at the same time, I love taking a piece of daily trash and turning it into a catalog of the places you've been. She writes the date/location of where she had each coffee on the cup and then doodles it up. It's like ticket stubs, but more.... generic?  (Harris Building)

4. Somewhere we've never been: I thought the piece looked cool. And then I read the description and I loved it. (106 Gallery – Calvin Space)

I was sitting by myself in a familiar place when I wrote, "Even the places we didn't go together, but places where I've only thought of you, even those remind me of you." I love the idea that someone can have a memory of a person in a space only because they have thought of them there before.

5. Urban Tumbleweed: This piece is definitely silly. And if it wasn't for the noise it makes, you may not even notice it. But I've never seen people more engrossed in a video entry. I think the video could have been edited better, but the idea is sound. And it's worth talking about. (Catherdral Square)

I could never be disappointed in ArtPrize, I think it's an amazing concept and I love what it does for the city. But I think every year it becomes less about the art and more about the people watching and the hanging out downtown. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm ready for everyone to go home and get out of my city— I want the streets back!