The results are in for the Art Contest to Express Opposition to the FTAA and the environment is the winner. Contestant Drew Heles of Baltimore produced the winning piece, in addition to several other pieces that addressed labor, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and the democratic principle of inclusion.

The contest rules encouraged multiple entries. Although the rules also specified two categories, "fine art" and "poster art," the judges decided that given the limited number of entries, and the difficulty in making a strong distinction between the categories, that the pieces should all be judged as a single group.

One judge who gave a high score to Drew's winning piece on FTAA and the environment said, "I liked the way his posters were done. They were pretty, and said specific things to explain what the FTAA is about. The messages and images were strong." Although the contest was centered in Baltimore, this judge lives in Brooklyn and has an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York.



Second place was a tie between a piece on labor by Heles and a piece by Mike Flugennock that contrasts "Free Trade" and "Mutual Aid." One judge who scored both of these pieces high said that he gave higher scores to those pieces with the "most immediate impact." He felt the labor piece by Heles "is visually very powerful," and that the "Free Trade v Mutual Aid" piece by Flugennock "has a great slogan."





Third place was a near dead heat, with Drew Heles again scoring high on his FTAA and GMO piece, and the "Lemon" piece by another local artist having a near identical score. Two of the judges felt strongly about both of these pieces. One judge said, "I was drawn to the flowing imagery in the GMO piece. I found myself wanting to go back and look at it. Prior to seeing this piece, the GMO issue didn't resonate that strongly with me. This piece has had a pronounced effect on my view of this aspect of the broader issue." The other judge agreed that messages about the impact of the FTAA on farmers is more likely to reach the average person in the US than issues voiced by unions about labor.



Both of these judges felt the "lemon" piece was strong. One said, it reminded her of a wild west "WANTED Dead or Alive" poster. She liked the impact of the comparison with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), "the same thing but worse." Another judge said, "Everyone knows they don't want to get stuck with a lemon. So, right there, you have a quick visual statement." This judge also noted, "It was visually appealing to me. It reminded me of cool posters from my youth."










One judge also scored the vulture piece high saying, "It cuts to the chase," and she "liked the aesthetics of being hand drawn." "It spoke to my sense of fine art." Another judge scored the "NAFTA - shaFTAA" piece high saying, "It speaks to the issue clearly and has strong graphic and artistic qualities."




















The artists have placed all of their pieces in the public domain.

See: www.milk-money.org for access to all pieces in large format (being uploaded soon).

Direct access to the pieces by Drew Heles can be found in various formats and sizes at:

www.home.earthlink.net/~jahflash/ftaa


Direct access to the pieces by Mike Flugennock can be found in various formats and sizes at:

www.sinkers.org/posters/fall2003ftaa/index.html

If you have other art pieces on the FTAA and want to share them, please send them to gdaeman-AT-yahoo.com.


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