ArtistsWanted.org is currently running a contest pitting art vs. design.  For $25, artists and designers can submit their work up until 11:59pm Sunday, May 31st, 2009. The grand prize is “a vintage Vespa, a trip to London or a fully loaded MacBook Pro.”

On the site, every visitor is asked to vote up either a design or art piece.  These votes will help determine who wins.  Judges will take the voting into account, but ultimately they will decide the outcome.   The winner will be announced in late June 2009.

Artists Wanted helps nascent artists break into the art world.  From their site:

Artists Wanted is a collaborative project between several New York City artists and creative organizations working to build new lasting opportunities for emerging talent . . . . we believe many of the best new artists remain undiscovered. Our job is to get your work seen in the most powerful way possible.

The voting process on this current “artist call” seems satisfactory enough, but I could not find a way to pull up and see multiple entries.  And I’d like to view more than two entries at a time.

Oculus Sinister (left eye) by Jennifer Steinkamp

Today’s Daily Dose [beta], a “filtered” everyday email about global culture from Flavorpill, brings word of visual artist Jennifer Steinkamp.  Writer Paul Laster says Steinkamp:

. . . crafts computer-animated projections for site-specific spaces, Jennifer Steinkamp uses her work to explore new means of producing and experiencing art. Employing virtual-reality software like a painter wields a brush, Steinkamp constructs lifelike installations of nature in motion, derived entirely from code.

Laster also describes Steinkamp’s work as interactive — weaving installations into the site’s architecture and using low level projections to allow shadows from viewers.  And as the observer steps into some of Steinkamp’s creations she may experience a trance-like state, wooziness or disorientation.

Daisy Bell by Jennifer Steinkamp

Gallery Page

Dervish VIdeo

Monograph for Sale

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the Daum Museum is not the mind-binding contemporary art it houses, but where the museum itself is situated: at the State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Missouri.

From what I gather the majority of its permanent collection originates from the acquisitions of Hal Daum, a Sedalia radiologist.  A decent write up about the place, its people and history is on RuralMissouri.org.

I’ve visited three or four times and have enjoyed the experience immensely and urge you to visit, especially if you’re driving between Kansas City and St. Louis with a little extra time.

I snapped the photos below while at the Daum Museum.  The first image, however is a photo collage I whipped up with a free Photoshop knock off for the Mac known as Seashore.  My apologies for not labeling the title and artist of each work.