ArtPrize 2010
.jpg)
Designed as a very different art competition, the goal of ArtPrize is for the general public and artists to collide, exchange ideas and come away changed.
ArtPrize 2010 entry by Anna Donahue: "Free" a sculpture of an adolescent boy holding a giant moth.
This is what people had to say about FREE at ArtPrize:
“I love the way the boy is holding the moth; as if he may or may not let it go. I think he will let it go free.”
“Man constrains the world around him but life takes over and has other plans.”
“The spirit cannot be caged.”
“It’s a picture of life and the beauty of God’s creations. It shows how man can have compassion.”
“The feet are cool. Look at the way the toes bend and grip the rock.”
“What’s he going to do with that moth? If it was me I might not let it go.”
The bronze sculpture was exhibited at WMCAT , West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology on Fulton Street.
For information about purchasing this sculpture or another commissioned work by Anna Donahue, contact her at 616-292-3930 anna@annadonahue.com
ArtPrize Sculpture Dedicated at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
By Rachael Recker | The Grand Rapids Press
April 12, 2010, 12:34PM
GRAND RAPIDS -- A CAT scan at age 1 revealed that now-28-year-old Emily Donahue suffered a stroke at about 2 months old. A bronzed ArtPrize sculpture depicting Donahue, dedicated Monday morning to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, reveals a sense of hope and inspiration to future patients.
"I felt that any patient to be wheeled into this area ... they would think, 'If she can do it, I can do it," said Betsy Mathiesen, a Mary Free Bed Guild member who headed the fundraising campaign on behalf of the guild to purchase the $18,000 ArtPrize '09 sculpture with private donations.
"Rain," created by Emily's aunt -- Grand Rapids artist Anna Donahue -- was bronzed and re-positioned in the same location in which it was displayed during the inaugural art competition. Mary Free Bed will be an ArtPrize venue again this year.
The outdoor sculpture of a young female holding a leaf in her bent right arm -- Emily's paralyzed arm -- can been seen on the lawn off the hospital's main entrance off Wealthy Street. Emily, of Comstock Park, received physical therapy treatments at Mary Free Bed at age 3, 8 and 16.
"I think it's more beautiful," Anna Donahue said about the sculpture being bronzed -- a $10,000 endeavor -- for its permanent home at the hospital. "The coloring is more natural."
ArtPrize founder Rick DeVos spoke at the dedication, expressing surprise at the stories that continue to emerge from the not-yet-year-old art competition.
"It's amazing to see everything that has come out of it," DeVos said. "I'm just happy that we could be a catalyst for this."
For more information, visit artprize.org or The Press' ArtPrize site.
