Installation for ArtPrize statues began early Saturday morning on the Pew Campus of Grand Valley State University. Entries include a 32-foot tall figure looking up to the heavens called “Be Still and Know IV” by artist John Merigian.

Merigian said he began working on the statue last year just before the 2010 ArtPrize.

“It is a reflective piece that hopefully will encourage folks to stop and pause and think about what this piece means, the emotion and the internal message that this piece is reflecting,” he said. “It’s also, hopefully, a piece that presents some hope … I think in these times art that presents hope is very much needed.”

The statue is located in Lacks Park at the west end of the Blue Bridge near the Eberhard Center. Merigian said he hopes to keep the statue in its place in the park after ArtPrize is over.

This is Merigian’s third time participating in ArtPrize, but he said choosing a venue was a task in itself.

“There were a lot of venues that contacted me this year and wanted me to do this piece for them.” he said.

Students from Black River Public School in Holland are also entering a six-series piece. One of the pieces was designed by Autumn Shipley-Melon, 12, who said she likes to experiment in her artwork.

“I don’t like to draw things exact — I like to make things weird,” she said. “I thought just drawing a bunch of lines and putting together would be cool.”

The design took about two days to draw and a day to sculpt a sample to be used for the construction of the actual piece. Students worked alongside steel artists Cynthia McKeen and Cyril Lixenberg to create the statues, and art teacher Jamie Roggenbuck entered the series into ArtPrize.

“This has been a really cool experience, [and] I’m glad the kids got to do it,” Roggenbuck said. “…It was a lot of fun to see come together and now we ar at the end at ArtPrize, and it’s really neat to see it come up and be finished.”

The entry will be located in the Frey Courtyard of the DeVos Center.

Black River Public School is authorized by GVSU along with four other schools across the state that will be working with Curator Ellen Sprouls and presenting in ArtPrize. GVSU authorizes a total of 43 schools throughout Michigan.

Other entries for Artprize that were put up include a 36-foot turbine blade organized by Richard Vander with a mural desiinged by artist Glenn Wolff and painted by students from Grand Rapids City high School. The project is called “Win, Win Wind! Protecting our Great Lakes for Future Generations.” There will also be installation for another piece of 100 core tin monkeys hanging from the Blue Bridge over the Grand River on Sept. 19.

Artprize will run from Sept. 21 to Oct. 9. Thirty-one outdoor statues will be presented this year. There will also be live entries at the event. Two artists will be creating their piece in front of the public; Artist James Brandess will be painting scenes of the Grand River alongside the Grand River and Marcia Perry will be sculpting a large wood piece on Front Avenue.

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