Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: Arts

Media Credit: Photo by Clay Adamczyk "Take Right," by Rebecca Brackett won the audience pick prize and $300.

Media Credit: Photo by Clay Adamczyk Erin Abraham's "A Night on the Town" was a noteworthy piece, but didn't win.

Media Credit: Photo by Clay Adamczyk David Carlton's "Magic Night" won first prize.

When one thinks of alcohol and art, the first thing that might come to mind is Andy Warhol's Oxidation pieces. Warhol, along with "Ghost Pissers," would experiment with different liquids (beer included) and urinate onto canvases pre-printed with metallic paints. Recently, the Blue Moon Brewing Company has developed a way of joining beer and art once again, but this time, no one is peeing on anything.
The Blue Moon Art Project is a competition for local artists to create whatever they want, with the only requirement being it must be Blue Moon beer themed. Last Thursday, the Blue Moon Brewing Company held an open reception at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse to announce contest winners, show off the finalist's work and give away free Blue Moon.
A Blue Moon spokesperson announced that, "all pieces were judged on technical execution, originality, and representation of Blue Moon." However, this criteria was not met by all winners. The $2,500 first place award was given to "Magic Night" by David Carlton, a 20"x16" collage with acrylic and marker that depicted a couple on a dock. Though well executed and definitely representing Blue Moon, it was very similar to Blue Moon's existing label.
The second place piece and winner of $1,000 was "Blue Moon's Midnight Dream" by Elyssa Renert. This was a 18"x24" mixed media piece designed like an old French advertising poster, and was more deserving of first place.
The third place winner did not deserve top three, let alone $500 for her piece. Carrie Chandonnait's idea of original was simply placing Blue Moon labels over the original label of Tenica brand Moon Boots and called it "Blue 'Moon' Boots." A much more worthy clothing piece would have been "A Night on the Town" by Erin Abraham. Abraham had created a one-of-a-kind dress that matched the color of Blue Moon Beer, had a label on the front as if it were a glass, and featured a single shoulder strap depicting an orange slice.
When it came to the audience pick, with a $300 prize, the crowd chose "Take Flight" by Rebecca Brackett. This 20"x26.5" mixed media piece shows a moon watching bottles of Blue Moon flying over it in space. No Blue Moon labels or logos were to be found which could be the reason the audience liked it, while the Blue Moon judges did not.
Having recently graduated from Elon University in North Carolina with an art degree and art history minor, Brachett says she is "really excited to have won [audience pick], but more excited that my friends came out to support me." With this confidence boost, Brachett is looking forward to more gallery shows, getting more into acrylic, and is applying to galleries on Newbury Street.

All finalist pieces can be viewed at www.bluemoonbrewery.com.

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