Art World Insiders’ Outside Perspective
We brought in Nicole Caruth, frequent contributor to the Art21 blog, to come, observe and respond to ArtPrize. While here, she interviewed four guests from the art world to give their thoughts and help shape the conversation around ArtPrize. Her own thoughts she collected in her “Eyes on the Prize” series.
See excerpts of Nicole’s interviews with:
Peter Murray, Founding Director of Yorkshire Sculpture Park
West Bretton, Wakefield (UK)
Adam D. Weinberg, Director, Whitney Museum of American Art
New York, NY (USA)
Michael M. Kaiser, President, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C. (USA)
Mary Jane Jacob, Professor and Executive Director of Exhibitions and Exhibition Studies
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, IL (USA)
Read Nicole’s observations in her “Eyes on the Prize” series:
Day 1 – “As I wandered the streets of downtown and crept around Twitter on opening night, people were buzzing with excitement about ArtPrize. One comment struck me as being spot on: ‘Unless bad art wins, this will prove to be a monumental event for years to come.’”
Spectacular vs. Spectacle – “Too often artworks seem arbitrarily placed; they could easily move from one storefront, restaurant, parking lot, sidewalk or bank to another. They could even live in another city. There is something to be said for understanding one’s site and medium, and I think that statement is made in Calder Plaza.”
The Collective Experience – “I’ve been exploring the little communities within ArtPrize known as collectives. How do these artist groups further encourage and create community?”
The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Oil – “Aaron Heideman is a regular commenter on this blog. His remarks are thoughtful, but he’s clearly disgruntled. I’ve been tempted to reply: Dude, why are you so angry? But instead, I went to see the artist and his project, The Man in a Van, yesterday afternoon.”
Voting to What End? – “Would you vote for people the same way you vote for works of art? That is, if you were voting for an individual artist as opposed to an object would that change your vote?”
The Future of ArtPrize – “There’s still so much to write about ArtPrize, but the time has come for me to say goodbye…. I leave you with some thoughts, hopes, ideas, and suggestions for the future (knowing that I sometimes contradict myself).”