On Display at GRCC’s Paul Collins Art Gallery During ArtPrize 2024
“Speaking the Words Without Knowing the Language” is an electroformed 3D printed sculpture. While Matthew isn’t sure where the idea came from, he does hint at his motivations in the name.
“Artificial intelligence is spawning big conversations in the art world,” Schenk said. “We have these systems that can write text or create imagery. But they don’t have context. They’re just following rules. It gets really confusing to think about. Do these things, created by rules, really have meaning?”
In a bit of a play on AI, Schenk took the human figure from his entry last year and repurposed it into a standalone sculpture. The caveat? The person has been removed from the original context. You don’t know why it is there, or what it represents.
“I want people to be confused by this sculpture,” Schenk said. “If it has meaning, it’s because the viewer layers meaning onto it.”
Matthew has a lot of experience with getting people to think. That’s because he does it all the time as an art professor at GRCC.
“I don’t tell students exactly what to do,” Schenk said. “My design class involves critical thinking. Students have to figure out what they want to convey and how to share that message. Most of them get really engaged through that process.”
Matthew has participated in ArtPrize for many years, and hopes that it continues to evolve.
“I like being able to have my students go look at art, evaluate it, and think about it,” Schenk said. “I would love to see ArtPrize continue to improve and attract more artists from around the world. This event has the potential to expose people to really excellent art.”
You can learn more about Matthew and his work via his Instagram page.
GRCC is hosting six ArtPrize entries in the Paul Collins Art Gallery, located on the fourth floor of the Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall at 143 Bostwick Ave. NE. ArtPrize is open to the public from September 13-28. Learn more about the competition, venues, artists and voting.