ArtPrize
It looks like there is still something extremely mesmerizing and magical about painting. Ran Ortner just won the $250,000 ArtPrize, the results of which were determined by public vote. Check out the other submissions that made it to the top ten: they are, for the most part, some kind of public installation or sculpture. Interesting that Ortner's ultra-realistic, large-scale painting of an ocean wave, Open Water no. 24 still captivated the attention of voters more than the other works that use more contemporary, nontraditional media. Is this a testament to the power of painting? Does it indicate the value still invested into the skill of painting by the public? Do people just like water? Is public installation or sculpture not understood as art and therefore, unworthy of an art prize? Who was targeted to vote?
Image: Ran Ortner's "Open Water, no.24," at the Old Federal Building.
