Jurors' Shortlist Announcement narrows selection for ArtPrize winners

Video courtesy of WOOD TV8

At last night’s Jurors’ Shortlist Announcement, the top five juror picks from the categories two-dimensional, three-dimensional, time-based, installation and outstanding venue were announced to a live audience and via broadcast on Wood TV8. As the jurors announced their choices, they discussed what about each selection captured their attention and their appreciation for public involvement.

The first to announce her picks was Justine Ludwig, the Director of Exhibitions and Senior Curator at Dallas Contemporary, who chose for the two-dimensional submissions. Ludwig chose “GANGRENE” by John Haverty, “Guryong Village in Seoul” by Soohyun Kim, “A Fearless Brother Project Presents: Realistic Neglects- A Graphic Series” by Akibang Monroe O’Bryant, “Fireside Chats” by Britt Spencer and “Fragile Environments” by Diana Wege.

“All the pieces on this list,” said Ludwig, “are things that sort of stuck with me and came back over and over again. This is a series that kept me up at night- literally.”

“There’s such a range of work…” Ludwig went on. “It really is quite challenging.”

The next juror, Sarah Urist Green of The Art Assignment, chose the three-dimensional short list. Urist Green chose “Mimesis” by Kunihiro Akinaga, “Uplift” by Jarrod Beck, “The Last Supper” by Julie Green, “Relic” by Tamara Kostianovsky and “Anishinaabensag Biimskowebshkigewag (Native Kids Ride Bikes)” by Dylan Miner.

“It was very clear,” said Urist Green of “The Last Supper” at Kendall College’s venue. She says the work does a good job of putting the viewer there in the moment. “Any time someone walked into that room that they were sucked in and spent a long time there.”

For the time-based category, Sundance Film Festival’s Shari Frilot chose from the submissions. Frilot picked “For the Toward” by BOOMERANG, “T-Rex” by Drea Cooper and Zach Canepari, “Higher Ground” by Kate Gilmore, “Whisper” by Emily Kennerk and “That Was Then” by Prince Thomas.

“This is what I love about ArtPrize,” said Frilot when asked about pieces at the SiTE:LAB venue. “All the streets are animated with the show. And people’s faces are full of openness and wonder.”

Editor and Art Critic Robin Cembalest chose from the installation pieces. She chose “Constructing on Deconstructing” by Carolina Borja and Amy Toscani, “Stripes for St. Joseph” by Nick Kline, “the sculptural painting” by Jovanni Luna, “In Our Element” by Ruben Ubiera and “Something Old Something New” by Lisa Williamson.

“Installation gives you that opportunity to walk inside the art,” commented Steven Matijcio of Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center. “[It] allows you to surround yourself with art: to inhabit it, to live along with it, inside of it.”

Finally, Matijcio chose five selections of outstanding venues. He picked Kendall College of Art and Design, Processing Fiber at 250 Monroe, SiTE:LAB/The Rumsey Street Project, Spiral and Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts.

This year’s selection covered an array of artists, mediums and venues, but what surprised listeners most was that 19 of the 20 pieces chosen were created by first time ArtPrize participants. In the days to come, there will be three lectures by art critics from the area, and starting next week is the Why These Finalists? discussion with the public.

“You don’t have to know about art to enjoy it.” Frilot commented. “What the artistic engagement is is watching yourself respond to a piece of art. Perhaps you don’t know all about a piece of art or a painting, but you certainly have your own responses to it, and those are always valid. That’s really what the art is trying to do: to crack open a response or a dialogue and help you think about your world and surroundings in a different way.”