ARTPRIZE

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Grand Rapids held an ARTPRIZE exhibit throughout the city.  There were exhibits like these outside which probably attracted the most attention, and there were many more in buildings EVERY WHERE that you could go into and look at.  One of our favorites was not outside but inside the Civic Theatre and it was a wall hanging depicting the different newspapers and carriers.  I think we liked it because it was self explanatory and you didn’t need to scratch your head and say “I wonder what this one means”.  You could vote on the ones you liked the best and the winner will walk away with a nice big prize for their exhibit.  There were many times we would look at a painting or an exhibit and say “Why?” or “This is ART?”.  Some were beautiful and some were just plain strange.  But then I may not have an ‘artists eye’.  Well, as we made ourselves down by the water-front where it seemed to draw the most attention, and they definitely were more fun to look at, I kept seeing other beautiful sights throughout that area that caught my attention and I kept thinking “what really is TRUE art?”  Is it something generated by man or is it the beauty we find in how our Great God designed so artfully the things He created in nature for our enjoyment? Like the way He designed how this tree would shed it’s bark so beautifully, or the sweetness of a bee finding nectar in just one of the thousands or millions of varieties of flowers He created.

How about the way the water flows over the rocks in a stream or the artful design and beautiful colors He put on the Mallard Ducks you see here.  Of course this picture doesn’t do it justice, but you know what I mean, you’ve all seen the bright green head of a male Mallard Duck.  One thing I didn’t get a picture of, but oh how I think it is a work of art, is how a spider can weave such an intricate web.  Have you seen one on a frosty fall morning where the entire web is defined with a crystal effect? 

Do I appreciate art? Oh, you bet I do, but how much more do I not want to miss the beautiful artwork that God created to bring us enjoyment every day. 

Christi