By David Seaman | Echo
Is that Dr. Housholder with his sunglasses on fire?
Aaron Housholder, along with other professors and students in strange situations, take part in "The Cataclysmus Cycle," a series of photographs in this year's ArtPrize competition.The artist, assistant professor of art Jamie Miles, will compete in this year's ArtPrize.
ArtPrize started in April 2009 with a radical concept: give away the world's largest art prize based solely on public vote-sort of an "American Idol" for commercial art. The subversive competition, hosted in Grand Rapids, Mich., runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 12.
Miles completed "The Cataclysmus Cycle" in 2012. The "Cycle" contains 16 single and composited photographs. "In both satire and lament, (it) illustrates a series of sixteen scenes and characters in the moment just before apocalypse," according to the ArtPrize website. "The images and captions form a very loose narrative about the the disintegrating paradigm the characters inhabit."
Using custom wood and hardware frames, Miles created a rough storyline both dramatic and melodramatic. A rusty overlay captured from a water leak in Miles's basement lends the photographs a nostalgic and old-fashioned quality.
"It's not abstract. It's narrative. They're almost like little stills out of storybooks or movies, like illustrations," Miles said. "They're real people, but I costumed them and found a location to shoot them on, and I had props and very careful lighting, a lot like what would happen on a film set. Little moments from a larger story."
Despite the apocalyptic themes, Miles says the work is based more on the Sermon on the Mount than the book of Revelation. The Cycle both satirically pokes fun at contemporary culture and laments it.
"I hope that it draws people to the satirical, that it makes people realize how ridiculous we can be. Each image has captions that aren't so obvious and direct that it leaves the viewer with only one interpretation," Miles said. "I hope that people have some sense of my concerns about contemporary culture.
Miles enlisted fellow professors and students in his photos, including assistant professor of English Aaron Housholder.
"We met one morning in the field beside campus-the field they burn every year," Housholder recalled of the shot Miles took of him. "He did say that he envisioned an apocalyptic sky, and some flames, and that he really wanted to incorporate the shape of my head . . . It is probably the coolest picture my head has ever been in."
Fellow art professor Susan Nace was also a model for the "Cycle." "It is both an honor, and thought provoking to be able to be part of a colleague's work," Nace said.
Miles, whose wife's family lives in Grand Rapids, has been a visitor to the festival since its inception in 2009. His visit last year ignited the interest to submit his work.
"I was walking around thinking, 'You know . . . I could do this! I'm at least as good as many of the works that I see here, so what do I have to lose?'" Miles said.
After a few weeks, Miles finally got a few offers. "There was this sub shop that wanted to hang stuff. I would do that rather than not get in at all," Miles admitted. "I wanted to hold out and see if I get a thing more gallery worthy."
Eventually, PaLatte Coffee and Art, a cozy coffee shop on 150 Fulton Street in Grand Rapids, accepted his work. With quite a bit of art space and an open gallery accessible all year long, Miles's photographs will hang alongside 18 other entries.
For three weeks, Grand Rapids is transformed into a "bazaar of art," drawing visitors from all over the world. Nearly 1,600 artists were accepted this year to compete for the $200,000 main prize.
Miles work has migrated from the basement of Metcalf to the big time display. With an increase in publicity comes the ability to speak to a wider audience.
"For most art pieces today, you have to develop a response to it. You may not have an immediate love or hatred, but you grow into it," Miles explained. "If you're walking through a gallery, you may not have the time to bring yourself up to where that artwork is. At ArtPrize, you have one long day and you get very saturated. I just wanted these pieces to be more accessible."
Miles wants his photographs to be "visually salty." Not sugary or bland, but something to savor.
"I love artwork that gives me a payoff," Miles said. "I love to walk into a gallery room and immediately be blown away by the work."
Blessed with wonderful models, a rich theme to work with and tremendous support, Miles proudly represents Taylor with his work at ArtPrize.
For more information, visit artprize.org.
