WIGA 2011
For the second annual What Is Good Art Competition, artists were asked to meditate on the “sublime” and the “beautiful,” two ideas rooted in aesthetic philosophy. Must art harness the sublime—that sense of discomfort when faced with ideas beyond our comprehension—to convey an ethical message? Can we find beauty in the gruesome?
A distinguished panel of judges, made up of experts from both art and ethics-related disciplines at Duke and beyond, awarded $500, $300, and $100 to the first, second, and third place winners, respectively. During the opening gala on April 11, attendees voted for a fourth Gallery Choice prize as well.
The What is Good Art? Exhibition was open Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, April 11 through May 15, 2011.
Panel of Judges:
Christopher Bass, Vice President at Oak Hill Capital Partners, L.P.
William Fick, Visiting Assistant Professor of the Practice of Visual Arts
Margaret Mertz, Director, The Kenan Institute for the Arts
Noah Pickus, Director, The Kenan Institute for Ethics
Kimerly Rorschach, Director, Nasher Museum of Art
Suzanne Shanahan, Associate Director, The Kenan Institute for Ethics
Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Chauncey Stillman Professor in Practical Ethics in the Department of Philosophy and the Kenan Institute for Ethics
Charles Thompson, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Center for Documentary Studies
The winners of the second annual What is Good Art? Competition were:
Sarah Goetz, “Intermittence” (1st place)
Marissa Bergmann, “Inverse Uni*verse” (2nd place)
Abigail Bucher, “Seal, It’s What’s for Dinner” (3rd place)
Chelsea Pieroni, “Manifest SMOKE” (Gallery Choice)
Below, read the full 2011 exhibition statement:
See the rest of the 2011 What Is Good Art? Exhibition below.
Rebecca Kuzemchak, untitlted
Do you feel it? Yes, that: the viciously boiling competitive spirit that lurks just beneath the polished exteriors of so many young women who walk this campus. They push each other down as they themselves try to live up to the myth of the textbook Duke girl: a beautiful, well-dressed, charming, athletic, 4.0-weilding sorority star who runs several campus organizations and volunteers selflessly in her spare time, who is poised to make a six-figure salary immediately following graduation, and who performs this all effortlessly. The myth demands perfection; mere proficiency is not nearly sufficient when competition to be the best is so intense. It perpetuates an environment in which women will do anything to get ahead. They sacrifice their morals, both academically and socially, as they try to force themselves into an unachievable mold. And they won’t succeed. It is humanly impossible to boast natural perfection, and to attempt the feat results only in the sacrifice of one’s own authenticity. As a female Duke student, I’ve had no choice but to confront the myth and take my stance; and I for one am not succumbing. I am not a machine, not a cookie cutter stereotype. I am a human, and I wear my uniquity and flaws proudly. I may be incapable of stippling and stitching together a perfect imitation of a computer or sewing machine’s work, just as I am incapable of convincingly wearing the guise of illusory perfection. But honestly, I have no desire to do either of those things. A machine-made produce – whether it be an object or an analogical description of a person – may seem prettier at first glance what with its sporting no irregularities anywhere on its pristine surface. But it has no personality whatsoever, and subsequently no intrigue. Who wants to be a conformist, anyways?
For more information, contact Christian Ferney.