American Dream will show at ArtPrize 2011. The American Idol of Art.

My sculpture American Dream will show at ArtPrize 2011 , at the Monroe Mall next to the Civil War Sculpture and across from the Civic Theater, my venue. American Dream will be in view from September 21 through October 9 and will be viewed by 400,000 people according to local estimates. ArtPrize is an international art competition held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ArtPrize is unusual both for the large size of the top prize ($250,000, combined with other prizes cumulatively amounting to half a million dollars), as well as for the method of judging entries. Unlike traditionally juried competitions, ArtPrize contestants are juried by the public. Visitors register at different places/kiosks all over the city and are later able to vote for their favorite entry. However in 2010, ArtPrize announced a category for traditional juried work as well. The artists present their work to the different venues (locations) and are selected by them. The works are voted on by the public using modern networking technology.

The Dream is full for some, empty for others. As we hear how our standards of living would be lower than our parents, we wonder if our dreams would be FULL or EMPTY. The flag that supposes to represent all Americans is the catalyst of the "Have and Have Not." The viewer is integrated into the work by asking to become part of the experience. “Tweet your American Dream #americandream” as a means of interacting with the art work and creating a thought, or tweet in this case, as a reaction to the viewing. The viewer may act – tweet – or not, but he/she will think about it. Is his/her dream Full or Empty? All these tweets can be collected and accessed by all,it is a community affair as the ArtPrize is. The arrow can be moved to point to the FULL or EMPTY boxes.

Every one of us have a dream...What is your dream, #americandream? Tweet/me your dream @MariaRSchneider #americandream Up: 55821