Grand Rapids Art Prize 2014

I had the opportunity and pleasure to visit some of the installations of the 2014 Grand Rapids Art Prize recently, and the things I saw amazed and inspired.

The sites I was able to visit during my short day trip were 

the UICA (Urban Institute for Contemporary Art), 

Kendall College of Art and Design, 

the GRAM (Grand Rapids Art Museum)

 and SiTE:LAB at the Morton-- a gorgeous yet vacant hotel built in 1923, which has been leant to the SiTE:LAB organization to display various artists' works.

Disclaimer: The photos below were indeed taken with my phone camera, so please forgive their less-than professional quality.

{ above: the awe-inspiring 'Intersections', a 6.5' square cube of laser cut wood, with shadows cast 32-35 feet. By artist Anila Quayyum Agha . }

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Below: The Morton Hotel, still glorious in its state of discomposure and decay.  It's rare that a building of this calibre in a condition of half-demolition is open to the public, let alone a scene for viewing sculpture, so mad props to SiTE:LAB for the opportunity.

{ above: The ballroom turned into a psychedelic disco light show. }

{ above: the basement of the hotel, underneath the street, including original bank vault, and more recently a DJ station, behind which is a mini skate park. }

{ above: the basement of the Morton leads into an adjacent building. Upon entering one finds oneself in a room filled with giant biblical sculptures that, I was informed, came from a derelict amusement park. }

{ above: sculptures on the 3rd floor, much of which revolved around piles of rock salt. }

{ above: the exterior of The Morton Hotel. }

{ above: a small portion of a large "wall of bees", an enclosed case filled with panels of wood sporting pencil sketches, upon which thousands of bees were creating their hives. }

 It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and I'm glad I took advantage of it.

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