The Electric Prado

The Google team went inside the Prado museum in Spain, and added ultra-high resolution images of some artwork to Google Earth.

Check out the Video:




How do you think this technology will affect the world of art? Can you imagine being able to access all famous works through the internet? Would it take away from the tangible nature of the museum?

The Big Art Prize

This week, as the competition reaches it's second and final week of voting, we take a look at "the largest art prize in the world." (Above is an entry from Michael Glenn Monroe and is a 20 foot high Steel and cement sculpture of a tree which is holding a kaleidoscope filled with natural items that the visitors can look through.)

Voted on by the public using modern networking technology, the ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids, MI is a very unique experiment in connecting the masses to the scene of contemporary art. Here is a quote from their website:

"At ArtPrize, any artist—from established to emerging—has the chance to show work. Any visitor can vote. The vote will determine who wins the largest art prize in the world. We also took the unusual step to allow people in the city to open a venue and choose the artists to show in their space. There is not one official curator or jury for the competition. The number of venues is fluid, so the number of competing artists is fluid. The possibilities are wide open."

Some tidbits:
Top prize: $250,000
Dates: September 23 - October 10
Winner is determined by public vote
All attendees of the event can vote
Top 10 entries will receive a prize (Totalling $500,000)
Multiple artists can collaborate on an entry
Artists may only submit one entry
Property owners/renters in downtown Grand Rapids can become a venue
Number of artists represented is only limited by number of venues that become available

Here is a clip made by one of the top contenders, Rob Bliss, who gathered 20,000+ people to watch 100,000 paper airplanes falling from the top of large buildings in the city:

SOME OTHER CONTESTANTS:

"The Red Ball": Kurt Perschke
"Through the RedBall Project I utilize my opportunity as an artist to be a catalyst for new encounters within the everyday. Through the magnetic, playful, and charismatic nature of RedBall the work is able to access the imagination embedded in all of us. On the surface, the experience seems to be about the ball itself as an object, but the true power of the project is what it can create for those who experience it. It opens a doorway to imagine what if? As RedBall travels around the world people approach me on the street with excited suggestions about where to put it in their city. In that moment the person is not a spectator but a participant in the act of imagination. I have witnessed it across continents always issuing an invitation. That invitation to engage, to collectively imagine, is the true essence of the project. The larger arc of the project is how each city responds and what the developing story reveals about our individual and cultural imagination."

"Surf - N- Turf": Derek Maxfield
"A live exhibition, and an underwater colored ice and snow sculpture, these unconventional materials are used to create a three-dimensional sculpture with a main focal point being a of a stylized tiger shark swimming through its habitat.

The unique attraction will be set up in a freezer truck. The trucks over all dimensions are 26 feet long, 7.5 feet wide and 11 feet tall. The sculpture will be viewed at the rear of the truck through a window. A 10’X 10’ platform or stage will be used to raise the viewers to look through a 5 foot by 5 foot window into the truck. Sculpting ice at above freezing temperatures will be interesting to see.

I enjoy the idea of turning water into art. The essential ingredient for life itself, H2O covers a staggering 70 percent of earth’s surface. A human body is comprised of 60–70% water and a plant body up to 90%. Sculpting water in it’s solid state then seeing the metamorphosis into a liquid when melted or a gas when it sublimates has always intrigued me."

Check out more at the top 100 list!: http://www.artprize.org/artist-top100List

Art at the White House

The news has been full of art and politics this week.

First, we'll take a look at the presidential tradition of selecting works on loan to be displayed in different areas at the White House. Two big articles covered this story, the NY Times called the choices "bold and modern." The Washington Post analyzed the politics behind each choice. Both articles have great slideshows.

Above, a work on display: Edward Ruscha – I think I’ll . . . – National Gallery of Art·

Here is a list of the presidential picks this year, courtesy of Reuters:

Loaned art in the Residence·
Josef Albers – Homage to the Square: Elected II – Hirshhorn Museum·
Josef Albers – Homage to the Square: Midday – Hirshhorn Museum·
Josef Albers – Study for Homage to the Square: Nacre – Hirshhorn Museum·
George Catlin – A Crow Chief at His Toilette – National Gallery of Art·
George Catlin – Camanchees Lancing a Buffalo Bull – National Gallery of Art·
George Catlin – Grassy Bluffs – National Gallery of Art·
George Catlin – Mired Buffalo and Wolves – National Gallery of Art·
George Catlin – Cheyenne Village – National Gallery of Art·
George Catlin – Grizzly Bears Attacking Buffalo – National Gallery of Art·
George Catlin – Game of the Arrow-Mandan – National Gallery of Art·
George Catlin – A Foot War Party in Council-Mandan – National Gallery of Art· George Catlin – Ball-Play Dance-Choctaw – National Gallery of Art·
George Catlin – Buffalo Chase, with Accidents – National Gallery of Art·
George Catlin – Catlin and Indian Attacking Buffalo – National Gallery of Art·
George Catlin – K’nisteneux Indians Attacking Two Grizzly Bears – National Gallery of Art· Edward Corbett – Washington, D.C. November 1963 III – National Gallery of Art·
Edgar Degas – Dancer Putting on Stocking – Hirshhorn Museum·
Edgar Degas – The Bow – Hirshhorn Museum·
Richard Diebenkorn – Berkeley, No. 52 – National Gallery of Art·
Nicolas De Stael – Nice – Hirshhorn Museum·
Sam Francis – White Line – National Gallery of Art·
Winslow Homer – Sunset – National Gallery of Art·
Jasper Johns – Numerals, 0 through 9 – National Gallery of Art·
William H. Johnson – Booker T. Washington Legend – Smithsonian American Art Museum· William H. Johnson – Children Dance – Smithsonian American Art Museum·
William H. Johnson – Flower to Teacher – Smithsonian American Art Museum·
William H. Johnson – folk Family – Smithsonian American Art Museum·
Glenn Ligon – Black Like Me #2 – Hirshhorn Museum·
Giorgio Morandi – Still Life – National Gallery of Art·
Giorgio Morandi – Still Life – National Gallery of Art·
Louise Nevelson – Model for “Sky Covenant” – National Gallery of Art·
Susan Rothenberg – Butterfly – National Gallery of Art·
Mark Rothko – Red Band – National Gallery of Art·
Edward Ruscha – I think I’ll . . . – National Gallery of Art·
Alma Thomas – Sky Light – Hirshhorn Museum·
Leon Polk Smith – Stretch of Black III – National Gallery of Art·
Unknown Artist – Chief Jumper of the Seminoles – National Gallery of Art

Loaned art in the West Wing·
Frank O. Salisbury – President Harry S. Truman – Harry S. Truman Library, Independence, Missouri – Cabinet Room·
Lucy M. Lewis (Acoma Pueblo) – Vase – National Museum of the American Indian – Oval Office·
Jeri Redcorn (Caddo) – Bottle: Intertwining Scrolls – National Museum of the American Indian – Oval Office·
Steve S. (Iroquois) – Jar – National Museum of the American Indian – Oval Office·
Maria Poveka Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo) – Jar – National Museum of the American Indian – Oval Office·
Samuel F. B. Morse – Telegraph Register patent model – National Museum of American History – Oval Office·
John A. Peer – Gear Cutter patent model – National Museum of American History – Oval Office·
Henry William’s 1877 steamboat feathering paddlewheel patent model – National Museum of American History – Oval Office

Loaned art in the East Wing·
Alma Thomas – Watusi (Hard Edge) – Hirshhorn Museum – East Wing

Not yet placed·
Mark Rothko - No. 17 [or] No. 15 - National Gallery of Art

THE NEA AND THE WHITE HOUSE
The White House was also in the news this week for some controversy surrounding their communication with the NEA. A phone conference between artists and a White House staffer encouraging them to create artwork about their community was interpreted by some as politicizing the NEA. Turns out the person that brought up supporting Obama's policies was an artist, and not a member of the administration. It was and still is a conservative talking point. Here are some articles about it, along with the 44-page transcript of the meeting:

Fox News Coverage

A brief NPR mention

MediaMatters "debunking" the Fox News report

The Full Transcript