“Art, in itself,
is an attempt to bring
order out of chaos.”
- Stephen Sondheim
Original post date: 20 July 2014 (updated 24 October 2014)
Posted by Will Pollock, ARTvision Director
You now have an additional week to submit to our jury! Make sure to read our 2014 prospectus, or if you’re ready, go directly to the submission page.
After a great deal of thought, we’ve decided to augment and advance the theme for ARTvision-9. Why? Because we saw an opportunity to add a “call to action” rather than simply a theme to follow. So, here’s the plan:
- Submission deadline is 17 October 2014 (**now 29 October 2014**)
- Any submissions linked to the previous theme incarnation are still welcome and relevant! I’ll connect with you individually to discuss.
- As always, please interpret this theme widely and however you like. We want to see excellent, exclusive pieces from you and if it doesn’t directly relate we can always make it work.
Why did we choose “art20: within the oceans”? Much of our bodies of water around the globe are under severe stress. Some statistics for you:
image courtesy of The Independent
- The Pacific Ocean is the world’s largest, and is home to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—containing 3.5 million tons of trash, roughly the size of Europe.
- Plastics comprise a significant percentage of that trash. What’s more, fish in the Pacific Ocean ingest between 12,000 and 24,000 tons of plastics each year.
- A study of 560 Fulmar birds revealed large amounts of ingested plastics; the stomach of one Fulmar that died was found to contain 1,603 separate pieces of plastic. (read more)
- According to Robert B. Gagosian, President & CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, we’ve only explored 5 to 7 percent of the ocean floor, and only about half a percent of the oceans themselves. (more)
So, “art20: within the oceans” will ask of its artists, “What is our responsibility in protecting our waterways? What do bodies of water mean to you? How does water itself inspire your creative processes? How can we explore the depths of the oceans artistically and with our collective, creative energy?” (In case it’s not immediately clear, “art20” is a mash-up of art and “H20,” the chemical formula for water.) Here is a sampling of some of our submissions so far:
If we can raise even a little awareness to the issues affecting our oceans, then we are, in fact, bringing a measure of order to a chaotic situation.
Again, take this information and allow it to ferment in your mind. If you’ve already started successfully pursuing the previous theme, reach out to me and we’ll talk about how it can be relevant—no problem!
Here’s the previous language describing the first iteration of this year’s theme:
Chaos can sometimes lead to dramatic change, while order can be tenuous and temporary. As both opposites and partners, “Chaos” and “Order” pop up in unexpected ways in our daily lives—at work, in politics, culture and nature.
This dichotomy also is frequently found in art, and it’s from this thread of philosophy that we initiate our artist call for ARTvision Atlanta’s 9th fund-raising season—all to benefit Positive Impact. Are you an artist wanting to give back to your community and have your work make a difference? Please join us!
As in previous years, the “Chaos/Order” theme is merely a suggestion, not a hard-and-fast rule. We encourage artists of all mediums to submit pieces. Your pieces will be due in September, our jury will convene in October, and our event will be held once again at Stone Four Studios in December. (read the 2014 prospectus now)
To date, ARTvision has raised more than $50,000 - the bulk of which has been donated to Positive Impact. For more on this event, go to the About tab or have a look at past years in the Archive section.
If you’re an artist and would like to participate, click over to the 2014 prospectus and artist call. Ready to submit your piece(s)? Go directly to the submission page now!
We hope to hear from you soon! As always, contact us with any questions.
