ArtPrize 10 brings opera to life again this year. Here are 10 opera-themed exhibits to include in your ArtPrize tour before you attend the Opera Grand Rapids Season Kick-Off Party on September 28. Most notable is a nod to our premiere opera this fall, Mozart ‘s The Magic Flute. The “Queen of the Night” aria is depicted in three watercolor abstracts by Peg Sandin at the Venue Tower Apartments.
ArtPrize is an open, independently organized international art competition that takes place in Grand Rapids over 19 days every other fall. Rapids. More than $500,000 in prizes are awarded each year, which include a $200,000 prize awarded entirely by public vote and another $200,000 prize awarded by a jury of art experts.
1. Queen of the Night: The excitement of the opera “The Magic Flute” is captured in lively 2-D watercolors on display at the Venue Tower Apartments.
2. First Flute: This welded metal wall composition, inspired by the idea of primal music being forged by the forces of Nature, can be seen at the Monroe Community Church.
3. Flute with Attitude: This 2-D oil painting is a celebration of whimsical music located at the B.O.B.
4. Opera Offering: Inspired by the Metropolitan Opera and composers Philip Glass, Terry Riley and Arturo Toscanini, this large scale 2-D laser print is combined with the surprise of sound and located at Grand Rapids City Hall.
5. The Last Bird on a Rainy Twilight: Existentialism is on display in this oil paintingdepicting “the last flying of the bird (of its own race) in a rainy morning is a warning for 21st-century thoughtful man” at Sweet House.
6. Silent Chorus: Showing at the Fountain Street Church, this sculpture uses the tragic chorus in classic theater – where the collective stood for the personal and was used to discuss issues affecting individuals and state – to depict the silent voices of women victims.
7. Society: This acrylic on silk painting of gray cinder blocks represent“a collection of similar, but unique, individuals that come together for a common purpose.” For some viewing it at the DeVos Place Convention Center, it may connote a “society of secrets” and the geometrical and architectural theme of Freemasonry.
8. 1934: This portrait of a young President Gerald Ford – a freemason – and Willis Ward is made up of 1934 thousand pieces of ripped paper and reference images from 1934. It is displayed at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
9. Satellite Collective’s Echo & Narcissus: Song, words and images come together in this 10-minute vocal and hand projected performance – an aria to illuminate the unrest and discord of our moment is featured at SiTE:LAB.
10. Orpheus: This is a mix of ancient Greek legend, Austro-Italian opera and German poetry, blended with the crafts of photography, song, poetry, recitation, translation and technology. The closing lyrics are thought to be the first time the aria has been sung in Greek. View it at the The ArtRanger – Mobile Art, Performance and Augmented Reality Experience.