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ArtPrize is winding down to the vote of the 10. But as we all know, it’s also a social experiment. That part of the premise has moved to the forefront in this second week of this radically open framework.

Last Thursday, at a public ArtPrize event, Deb Rockman, a working professional artist, shared a concern with the founder of ArtPrize, Rick DeVos, about the impact of ArtPrize on Grand Rapids within the professional Art world. Mr. DeVos was reasonable and polite in his response as was the rest of the panel (at 12:25):
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2261587

Following this public forum, Ms. Rockman was interviewed by Wood TV–you can see the report here:

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/artprize/Could_GR_become_joke_of_art_world

It all seems reasonable. You may not agree but you can say it was civil: ideas and ideals upfront, personalities set aside. Since then, there have been 220+ comments on the WOOD-TV site. 93 of them have been from one person who calls himself MofPointillism. MofPointillism has also been sending negative posts to Deb Rockman’s Facebook page as well. This news report has also lead to others sending Ms. Rockman unkind, personal emails to both her personal and Kendall email addresses. It has reach a point where the admin of KCAD are truly concerned.

You may not agree with anything Ms. Rockman has said and that’s OK. But given the class warfare in many online comments, ArtPrize could be called SpitePrize. Hiding behind an online handle while acting in such a manner is shameful to say the least. This is not right. An email from WOOD-TV states that if 4 complaints are lodged they will remove him from the thread. It’s completely agreeable to disagree but this is beyond the pale. If you support a civil discourse please ask for MofPointillism to be removed.

Also, please pass this along: ArtPrize, an open framework is not an open season to abuse or threaten those with whom you disagree. Support a civil discourse.

Originally posted at: https://mrp.s1.bowbot.host/t/410