Jack Wolgin prize goes to young artist

Last night the first Jack Wolgin Fine Arts Prize was awarded at Temple University. The $150,000 dollar award is the nation’s largest juried prize for a visual artist. The prize goes to an artist whose work can be hard to pin down.

Last night the first Jack Wolgin Fine Arts Prize was awarded at Temple University. The $150,000 dollar award is the nation’s largest juried prize for a visual artist. The prize goes to an artist whose work can be hard to pin down.
Caption: Trecartin, K-Corea.
Listen:
[audio: 091022pcprize.mp3]

Ryan Trecartin was born in Texas, and raised in Ohio. But he says he’s not really at home anywhere.

Trecartin: I went to school in Providence, Rhode Island, moved to New Orleans, then to Oberlin, Ohio, then the L.A., then to Philadelphia.

That wandering nature shows up in his art – which is part sculpture, part surrealist installation, and mostly video. Trecartin says he’ll use the money to pay off credit cards.

Jack Wolgin spokesperson, Bob Weinberg, says the multidisciplinary nature of the 28 year-old artist is what the prize is all about.

Wolgin: He wanted to encourage artists who were transcending traditional boundaries. He’s always been interested in awards as a way to encourage a particular excellence.

Jack Wolgin is a Philadelphia real estate developer; Market Street’s giant clothespin is part of one his his projects.

More information:
Watch one of Ryan Trecartin’s video pieces.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR4sHDR-1XE[/youtube]