On Saturday, I returned from the International Sculpture Center conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I have been a member of the ISC for several years, but this was the first sculpture conference I attended. It's part of my general move from the art quilt community into the greater art world.
The conference was held on the grounds of the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park and they couldn't have chosen a better location. If you are ever in the area, I suggest you visit the gardens, which has sculpture from some of the best artists in the world. Many of the sculptures are very large scale.
I arrived on Wednesday and that evening, I went to a pre-conference party at the home of a longtime arts advocate in the area. The house was designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright and had a wonderful lake view. The place was so crowded that I was often stuck in a hallway when trying to move around. It wasn't really a problem because it actually gave me the opportunity to talk to some wonderful artists and get to know them as we were stuck there together.
On Thursday morning, there was a preconference panel discussion at the hotel where I was staying. The topic was creating a city dedicated to public art. One sculpture they talked about in particular was a large Alexander Calder sculpture located about two blocks away. At very moment, there was a crowd of about a quarter of a million people surrounding that sculpture listening to a speech by Barack Obama. When I left the hotel to go to the sculpture gardens for the start of the conference, I was caught in the traffic leaving the speech. It was a little strange to see security personnel on the sidewalk just a few feet away from me who were obviously wearing about 60 pounds worth of large weaponry.
The general topic for the conference was public art, which really didn't pertain to me. However, I still learned a lot. The keynote address was given by Jaume Plensa, who creates wonderful sculptures like the Crown Fountain at Millenium Park in Chicago. I was really inspired by the meaning he infuses into his work.
Optional events included the opportunity to participate in an Art Slam. Up to six artists could present their work within the space of an hour. A number of other people turned up to listen to the presentations, too. Here's a picture of me giving my talk. The editor of Sculpture magazine was in the audience and I was glad in many ways that I was showing work that was so different than the others.
The last night of the conference was the monthly gallery hop in Grand Rapids. Here I am with Pam RuBert at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art. It is a great gallery and I plan to submit my portfolio in the near future, hoping to be considered for a show in one of their spaces. The most impressive exhibit was the Big Art Party, a once a year event held in an unused building in Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids Art Museum had recently moved into a new building, so the party was held in their old location. All the marble and wood rooms (and there were a lot of them) were filled with some really impressive contemporary artwork. The music was pumping and the place was crowded. I wish we had an event like that in Wichita.
Overall, I would do it again in a heartbeat.
