Art-Competition: It is almost an oxymoron. Who does an artist compete against besides himself? Maybe those that are technique driven or a few anal detail chasers view others as competitors, but the endeavor of making art is inherently not about one person pitted against another. Yet, striving for a prize is the driver, and the public vote determines the winners in the ArtPrize.
An interesting dilemma comes. I have been told by some pretty fine artists that I should not speak so much about my work. It should be interpreted by each viewer and the mysteries within it should remain to be discovered. But what about those who haven't a handle on art in general and are desperately seeking clues so they can apply their minds to what is in front of them?
For these masses of folks I talked incessantly until I had it honed to a 15 second elevator speech. The relief and delight espoused continuously from the viewers encouraged me to do more for them.
And I think a decent composition prompted them to ask and the cliff notes helped them vote. I stayed in the top 25 from the beginning of the tally. It is an honor to talk art with the public and, even more so, to be acknowledged by them for a creation.
The Artprize folks will not reveal how close I came to the top 10. Was I #11 by 2 votes? Or #25 removed by hundreds from #24? I guess I’ll never know. But like the apostle Paul I hope I ran the race with integrity, pressing toward the mark with all diligence.
Like Love- better to have tried and lost than never to have tried at all. But also like love- Why not me? Am I bad? Not desirable? Silly? Nah, just an artist pitted against himself. I’ll get em next time.
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