I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty.~Georgia O’Keeffe

For this week’s “scale” photo challenge, I am offering you a glimpse into Art Prize, the annual art competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Imagine this: 1,350 pieces of art, 300,000 visitors, 200 venues, 19 days, and $500,000 in prizes.  Now, you’ve got an idea of the scale of this competition.

Here’s a shot of Hubert Massey’s 30 x 30 foot fresco, honoring Detroit on display for the next two weeks in the DeVos Center Convention Hall.  It’s suspended in front of a wall of windows overlooking the Grand River on a pedestrian walkway high above the convention center lobby.  Created in a style reminiscent of Diego Rivera, Massey’s work “Detroit: Crossroad of Innovation,” highlights the people, symbols, and history of that city, which has overcome its financial woes and has risen from the “ashes” of its industrial demise.

H. Massey’s “Detroit: Crossroad of Innovation.” Art Prize 9, DeVos Convention Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Save

Save

I’ll end with this quote from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, her definition of art–which intensifies and magnifies everyday life.  As always, I hope you find inspiration this week and some calm in this turbulent world.

What is art but life upon the larger scale, the higher. When, graduating up in a spiral line of still expanding and ascending gyres, it pushes toward the intense significance of all things, hungry for the infinite?~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save