In addition, the Art Gallery team is working with the Grand Valley
Charter Schools Office to offer an on-demand educational opportunity,
which includes hands-on activity and virtual tours of both sculptures,
said Amanda Carmer Rainey, user experience and learning manager for
the Art Gallery. Students will learn about the pieces, art techniques,
history and more; meanwhile, the website allows anyone to learn more about
the pieces.
A central part of the lessons is exploring the creative process of
Quigno as well as the contributions of indigenious artists to the West
Michigan art scene, Rainey said.
"I also hope students gain insights into how Jason creates
pieces," Rainey said. "His pieces look like they’ve been
formed by precise erosion and not human hands. And then, through the
hands-on activity, I hope they get a sense of the control and
precision needed to even carve just a bar of soap."
Additional representation of Grand Valley at ArtPrize includes
faculty member work on an animated video poem.
The piece, "Time Passing: Passing Time," involved work from
Deanna Morse, GVSU professor emerita of film and video production and
Suzanne Zack, affiliate faculty member in the film and video
production major, along with animators Jim Middleton and Gretchen Vinnedge.
The animation, which is presented in an aquarium with cichlid fishes
watching, was created by the collaborators by using Zoom, according to
the ArtPrize
entry information. Fittingly, the piece's venue is Water Colors
Aquarium Gallery, 435 S. Division Ave.
Also, Nicholas Bromley, associate director of Financial Aid, captured
reflections in Grand River flood waters that had spilled into
Riverside Park in 2020 for a piece titled "The Flood." The
photo metal
print entry is at Atwater Brewery, 201 Michigan St. NW.
“I hope to convey here the transformative nature of the river and its
ever-changing relationship with people who have inhabited this part of
Michigan since time immemorial,” Bromley said of the entry on the ArtPrize.org website.
Another entry connected to GVSU is a piece by Belinda Coronado,
veteran education outreach liaison for GVSU's Veterans Upward Bound.
Her work, "The BeYOUtiful Journey," is part of a
collection of pieces of veterans sharing their healing art at Veterans
Memorial Park in downtown Grand Rapids.
Coronado said this piece is a vision for her recovery and wellness
after experiencing PTSD, depression and suicide ideation following her
tour in Iraq.
“I hope this piece will help those of us who struggle with mental
health issues and their families to start talking about the elephant
in the room,” Coronado said.
Brian Vernellis of the University Communications staff contributed
to this story.
