ArtPrize Venue: WMU

Sculptures, paintings, pottery, and videos on loop reflect on the moods, history and make up of the human experience at Western Michigan University's Heartside venue.  

As visitor's make their way around the fifth floor gallery they are encouraged to look beyond the surface of what they see.  Ryan Lewis' entry, "Everted Sanctuaries II" is one such piece.  The side by side televisions show a baseball and cantalope at varios stages of disassembly.  At face value it is interesting to watch the transformation but when paired the artistic statement and personal experience, the watcher draws connections to turning into another version of themselves inorder fit an uncomfortable situation.

This is only one example.  The other 32 artists offer their intreptations of the subject by exploring their ancestory, spaces they lose themselves, our connectedness and the shadowy parts of their lives.

WMU's venue lays bare humanity's flaws and triumphs by looking beyond what is visible.