echo{less} - thoughts that fall upon deaf ears

The voting is over. Let the beatings begin. While I’m disappointed that a lot of great work got ignored, I’m even more disappointed about a some of the entries that made it into the top twenty five. I decided to make a list. This list is the ultimate doomsday scenario. Imagine if the top 10 looks like the list below?

My ranking is based on the possibility of a Zombie Apocalypse occurring immediately after the winner is announced. If #1 is picked, get out your shotguns, Zombie Apocalypse is imminent. #10, cloudy with a chance of Apocalypse.

Let’s hope then official top 10 list looks nothing like this.

#1 - Robert Shangle - “Lights, Camera, Action”

Medium - “Guy painted gold who stands really still”

http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/1993

This is the second year that I’ve been disappointed by the ranking of this guy. Talented? Yes. Could I find the same Shtick on the Boardwalk at Atlantic City? Definitely!”

#2 - Wander Martich - “Helping mom one penny at a time”

Medium - “pennies…”

http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/49655

How clever. A giant penny made of… pennies. This photo makes it look like a pretty good representation of Honest Abe. However, get a little closer and it looks like Abraham Lincoln’s lesser known brother, Herschel. Herschel got kicked in the head by a mule and was never the same. :) You can also make your own at http://www.pennyportrait.com/ (thanks ArtPrizeWorst).

#3 - Keith Coleman - “Dragon”

Medium - “D&D meets scrap metal”

http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/1993

Hey look, a giant dragon made of scrap metal!

#4 - Lou Rodriquez - “A Dragon for Jonas”

Medium - “D&D meets scrap metal”

http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/49539

Hey look, a worse looking giant dragon made out of scrap metal!

#5 - John OHearn - “The Grand Pixel”

Medium - “Photoshop, Plastic Balls”

http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/50571

Pushpins, toothpicks, mugs, toothpicks. But wait, I want to do something truly unique. I’m going to use colored balls. And golly does that Photoshop make it easy turn a photo into a grid. Also, not to make accusations, but I’ve seen this photo before. Just sayin’.Anyone remember this photo?

#6 - Janice Arnold - “Chroma Passage”

Medium - “tie-died felt, lint(?), ugly curtains”

http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/49090

#7 - Suzi Furtwangler - “The Seven Days of Creation”

Billed as the world’s largest tie-dyed curtains, it will soon be on display at Ripley’s Believe it or Not! next to the worlds largest killer clam.

Medium - “discarded crayons”

http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/48868

I don’t loathe this entry, but top 25? Come on. As a kid, I used to melt crayons on the furnace register to make sweet shapes. I wish I would have kept them!

#8 - Gregory Lewis - “Pamlico - The Mermaid”

Medium - “87,000 toothpicks!”

http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/49258

Doesn’t anyone use traditional materials anymore? I found the mermaid’s proportions to be somewhat mutant-esque. And the crap they put around the mermaid actually made it worse.

#9 - Scott Gunderson - “Grace”

Medium - “discarded wine corks”

http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/4263

Again, been there, done that. Saw the cork portrait at San Chez last year. It’s not that this is bad, it’s well done, but still, falls into the whole category of “look, I can build shit with shit!” :)

#10 - Bill Secunda - “Dancing with Lions”

Medium - “Welded Nails”

http://www.artprize.org/artists/public-profile/2866

Lions, nails. My feelings about this entry are conflicted. It’s much like the moose last year. I think it’s well done (I mean, it’s frickin’ nails!) but is so good that it’s worth the $250,000 top prize. I don’t think so.

What are your thoughts? Too harsh? Off base? Let me know!