This site is hosted by Yahoo! Store. Yahoo! hosts the store pages, ordering system, and order data. Yahoo! automatically collects order information but may only use this information in the aggregate. If you accessed this store through Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! also automatically collects information about your shopping experience. Please see the Yahoo! Privacy Policy for more information about how Yahoo! uses this information. Contact: Bill O’Meara Evergreen, CO 303-717-0076 email william@omearastudio.com website www.jenniferomeara.com NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Colorado Artist Brings Largest Barn in Kansas to Grand Rapids, Mich. For ArtPrize Artwork on Display at the Grand Rapids Art Museum through Oct. 9 Sept. 7, 2011 (DENVER)—Colorado artist Jennifer O’Meara is vying for worldwide acclaim by participating in the ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids, Mich., competing with her photograph, a c-print of an historic American barn. The photograph, officially titled “American Icon” is six feet tall by fifteen feet wide, and will be on display at the Grand Rapids Art Musuem. Grand in scale, O’Meara’s ArtPrize entry depicts a massive white barn in perspective, floating on a black background. “American Icon” depicts an actual barn in Colby, Kansas, circa 1936, known as Cooper Barn. The barn is permanently housed on the grounds of the Prairie Museum of Art and History. It is the largest barn in Kansas with a rich history as a cattle barn, and was recently voted as one of the “Eight Wonders” of Kansas architecture. O’Meara will donate a portion of any proceeds made from the ArtPrize entry to the Prairie Museum to help with the maintenance costs of the barn. O’Meara’s contemporary interpretation of the barn was created through a series of 90 photograhs the artist shot and meticulously composited together in order to get the high level of detail shown in the large c-print. O’Meara has been creating her body of work since 1991 with ranches, farms, and barns as recurring themes. “I see barns first for their abstract qualities in color and form; second for their iconic representation. I have visited a great number of barns over the past 20 years, and this is by far the most awe-inspiring, powerful barn I've encountered. Standing near it is like being in a time warp, you can feel the history behind it. Incredibly, this barn was moved intact from its original location 16 miles to its permanent location at the Prairie Museum of Art and History in Colby, Kansas. It's quite surreal watching the video of this giant structure being moved on trucks to its final resting place. It’s a testament to how well it was built.” Note: See YouTube™ url http://youtu.be/esxkRrQiTkw “With all of my work I look at the barns and ranch buildings as abstract shapes, and try to represent this when the work is viewed from a distance. But with this photograph I also wanted to show the viewer a high level of detail when he or she gets up close to the piece. I want the viewer to be able to see the nails and splinters in the boards. With this photograph I'm really trying to give the viewer the feeling of standing right next to the barn.” The American Icon piece will be on display at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, 101 Monroe Center. The Grand Rapids Art Musuem (GRAM) is an officially designated ArtPrize “exhibition center” for ArtPrize. Voting is open to anyone who is in the Grand Rapids area during the week of Sept. 21 through Oct. 9. People can pre-register to vote online, but must be present at one of the local voting sites to activate their voter registration. Voting begins on Sept. 21 and a winner will be announced on Oct. 6. O’Meara’s vote up number is 41671. “I am excited to be part of ArtPrize for the second time and very honored to be invited to exhibit at the Grand Rapdis Art Museum venue this year,” says O’Meara. “When I first heard about ArtPrize two years ago I read a quote from Rick DeVos, the creator of the event, saying that one of his goals was to get artists ‘laser-beam focused’ to create their best work and that is exactly was it has done for me. It has propelled me to take my work to another level.” About Jennifer O’Meara O’Meara has been photographing and creating artwork of barns, ranches, farms and other subjects since 1991. She is an acclaimed contemporary artist, and was on the forefront of the digital fine art printmaking revolution that began around 1990, and a pioneer in developing the digital printmaking techniques that are in wide use today. “I look at the barns as vehicles to explore color, shape and form,” says O’Meara. “But the more time I spend with them over the years the more I come to love and appreciate them. I feel like the heart and soul of this country resides inside of these great American icons and also, hopefully, within my artwork. ” More information about the artist can be found at www.jenniferomeara.com. About ArtPrize ArtPrize, an event which will run from Sept. 21 through Oct. 9 in Grand Rapids, Mich., features artists of all disciplines from around the world gathered to participate in an unprecedented competition that will award nearly one-half million dollars to prize winners, including $250,000 to the artist who receives the most public votes. ArtPrize will have no formal jury or judge. The public decides who wins the prizes by voting, using mobile devices and the web. For more information, visit www.artprize.org. Editor’s Note: For historical information about the Cooper Barn, featured in O’Meara’s “American Icon” piece, visit: www.prairiemuseum.org If you are interested in interviewing Jennifer O’Meara, please contact the artist's business manager Bill O'Meara: Cell Phone: 303-717-0076 e-mail: william@omearastudio.com ### We at the Jennifer O'Meara Studio take your privacy very seriously. When we ask for your contact information such as your address, phone, and email we do so only to provide you with services you request. We will never use or sell the personal information you give to us to any third party for any reason. 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