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THE FEED
The Beerhorst family, a local self-proclaimed “artist version of a circus family”, will be returning to ArtPrize this year with their new piece Perspective Lifters. The exhibit’s installation is housed at MadCap Coffee in the heart of downtown. It features roughly 100 paper houses that have been suspended from the ceiling with accompanying prints and ladders along the walls.
“I see the houses as a symbol of community and the places where we build our lives.The problems that we face, if we can be open with them, can become a catalyst for creating richer community connections as friends begin to step in to help,” Rick Beerhorst says of the inspiration for the piece.
The project’s name came from a devotional he and his wife Brenda Beerhorst were reading one morning that encouraged readers to look at potential problems as “perspective lifters.”
“We have been working with the theme of ladders as a symbolic image that reminds us that with problems come opportunities,” he elaborates in the piece’s summary on the ArtPrize website. “The troubles and frustrations we face in life can become like the rungs of a ladder we climb to get a whole new perspective.”
Exhibiting this piece will be a new experience for the local coffeeshop.Though their walls are frequently adorned with local art, this year will be the business’ first year as an ArtPrize venue.
“I don’t know what to expect,” says cafe manager Miranda Johnson. “I don’t know what effect it will have on business overall. We’re pretty busy already.”
“I like how it changes the space,” Johnson adds of the piece.
Beerhorst also says he’s excited to work with MadCap Coffee this year. In addition to having a pre-existing relationship with MadCap, Beerhorst says he was excited to choose a business that might be open to further collaboration after ArtPrize.
“MadCap is a vibrant and innovative company that is making a significant contribution to the city", says Beerhorst, "and we wanted to come alongside them in that journey.”
Although I originally hail from Northern California's Bay Area, I moved to Grand Rapids in November of last year and have happily installed myself in my new post-grad, East Town life. I work part-time at a local bookstore, and when I'm not in the store peddling their wares I'm usually at home reading them. The Rapidian is my first writing gig, but I've been thoroughly enjoying it and learning a lot, so I hope I can keep throwing things out there to be published, and who knows: maybe I can keep doing this when I grow up. In the meantime I shall continue on in this vein, watching re-runs of Frasier and The West Wing between my article-writing and reading endeavors.
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