American Artist Mykl Wells Wins Cartasia 2012 International Paper and Cardboard Art Exhibition in Lucca Italy.
August 7, 2012
Snowdrop, Cardboard Sculpture, Lucca Italy, Cartasia 2012.
The Cartasia (http://cartasia.it/index.php) Selection Committee announced Monday August fit that Tucson artist Mykl Wells is winner of Cartasia 2012 for his monumental cardboard sculpture, Snowdrop. As such he will awarded a cash prize of 2000 euros. Every two years artists are asked for submissions, out of a field of 157 submissions six were chosen. The artists were then brought together in Lucca Italy from all over the world. They had one month to create a work of monumental proportion out of cardboard and paper based on the theme of Crisis and Rebirth. Seven sculptures were created, six in the competition and one honorarium. Mykl Wells’ piece was selected above the others based on technical proficiency, expression of the theme and aesthetic merit. The public also had the opportunity to vote by paper ballot and online which was counted as twenty percent of the total.
Of the selected projects, Mykl Wells was the only American in the competition. Other artists included Andrea Marcianò and Stefania Giannici from Italy. Zsuzsa Horvath of Hungary. Ines Hubacher from Switzerland and an honorarium piece by American artist Andrew Scott.
Each Cardboard sculpture had to be made on site and had to survive exhibited outdoors for the month of July at the end of which the winner was selected and announced.
Mykl Wells released this statement:
Cartasia was the most challenging artistic endeavor of my career. To build a sculpture like this takes commitment and community. The general public has no way of knowing how much of their souls each artists put into making their work. Every artist who participated in Cartasia deserves to win.
For my part I felt that I owed it to the people of Lucca who opened their arms and embraced me as a brother, all the people in my community without who’s generosity I couldn’t of afforded to come to Tuscany, to the history and beauty of this amazing walled city, to the other artists who’s remarkable work deeply inspired me and to the people who organized this unique event, to do my very best.
For a month I worked 16 and 18 hours a day, every day, taking only one day off in that entire time. There is a film by the great Russian director Andrey Tarkovskiy called Andrei Rublev. In it there is a young boy, the son of a bellmaker who claims he alone possesses his late fathers secrets of casting. He is tasked with a huge project which grows in cost and complexity. Through it all he confidently asserts his knowledge, making risky decisions. In the end the casting is a success and the bell rings true and clear. At this point the boy collapses to the ground, sobbing and he admits his father never told him the secret of casting a bell. By the end of construction of my piece, Snowdrop, this is how I felt. Somehow through natural talent and faith it became a reality, I’m still not entirely sure how. But know this, I gave everything I had to create a piece that would honor the people and the place. I have more grey hair than I used to. I humbly and gratefully accept this honor. Thank you for this astonishing and transformative experienceof Crisis and Rebirth. Thank you.
This was the sixth edition of Cartasia. More information is available on the website http://cartasia.it, Mykl Wells may be contacted at 520 665-8025 or email info@myklwells.com Visit his site http://myklwells.com
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