Artprize Analysis

At this year’s ArtPrize, I saw hundreds of great works of art, but I decided to vote for Emoh by Loren Naji (62624). I chose this sculpture because it is unique and meaningful. His medium was uncommon because no other artist used materials from abandoned houses. The sculpture also appealed to me because of his message of homelessness awareness. It reminded me all day of the severity of homelessness as I walked around Grand Rapids looking at the different works of art, while at the same time people were sitting with nowhere to go in the cold weather. It also reminded me of previous experiences at the homeless shelter my parents coordinate. My father began overseeing the new South Suburban PADS location in Harvey, Illinois two years ago. My volunteer experiences there increased my consciousness of the reality of homelessness for people of all ages, races and backgrounds. ArtPrize as a whole relates to a class reading through its comparisons to the French Salon. The Art Newspaper recognizes ArtPrize “as the most-attended public art event on the planet” with over 400,000 visitors every year (Artprize.org). The French salon was the “dominant public entertainment in the city” just like ArtPrize is for Grand Rapids (Crow 1). The Salon also brought together a “broad mix of classes and social types” (Crow 1). I passed people of all different ages and backgrounds. Families, couples, the elderly, children, people with disabilities, everyone was there to see the fascinating artwork and talk to the artists. Prior to the eighteenth century and the

I voted for Loren Naji’s sculpture Emoh because of the moving reminder of homelessness and his creativity shown through the craftsmanship. Lastly, ArtPrize altogether relates to our class through its similarities to the French Salon. ArtPrize brings together all different kinds of people and relies on public opinion in order to determine the prize