Blue Door Auction raises money for the arts
Jennifer Kensok
Issue date: 1/22/07 Section: News
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The fifth annual Blue Door Art Auction was held at the Ann Arbor Art Center on Saturday evening. The event impressed many of its 160-plus attendees with its class. The night was filled with wine, food, and good conversation accompanied by background music from a string trio, including an MBA student.
Bidding was slow to start as people took survey of all the pieces in the room. Some of the most striking art included a large photograph of the New York City skyline from Central Park, an authentic mask, and a stunning photo of "Jager Bomb," showcasing everyone's favorite way to get wasted with class and style. Other favorites included black and whites of the Michigan Stadium, a wooden hand-drawn wall hanging from India, and photographs of exotic destinations like the rice paddies and markets of Vietnam, beaches of Hawaii, and lakes of Africa.
All art pieces were donated by the students and most of the artwork was personally created by MBAs. People indicated their surprise at the hidden talents of their classmates and supported the talented artists with high bids. The highest price of the night was an antique Kashmir Shawl, circa 1896, which was valued at over $600. The shawl was purchased for $310 last night, quite the deal. The piece with the most bids was a painting by Argentine artist Carlos A. Saenz Pena, which was bid on 14 times. Serena Hom, MBA1, eventually bought the artwork for $190.
The night ended with MBAs, friends, and relatives in a bidding frenzy, standing guard over the perfect photograph, sculpture, or drawing, and challenging anyone who dared to outbid them. Tensions rose and climaxed at the silent auction as the bids began to close, and the sneakiest folk managed to get a last bid in with just seconds to spare. Disappointment was softened slightly by wine, but those who lost out on their favorite piece still left with sad faces.
Proceeds from the charity auction benefit the Ann Arbor after school art programs for at-risk youth. Overall, the auction raised about $5,500, almost a thousand dollars more than last year. Not bad for a crowd of students running low on cash and only halfway through the year. Pushing the wine and reminding all to "help the children" seemed to work pretty well to encourage bidding. It was another year of success for Blue Door: a fun event for all who attended and a great way to help a good local cause.
Bidding was slow to start as people took survey of all the pieces in the room. Some of the most striking art included a large photograph of the New York City skyline from Central Park, an authentic mask, and a stunning photo of "Jager Bomb," showcasing everyone's favorite way to get wasted with class and style. Other favorites included black and whites of the Michigan Stadium, a wooden hand-drawn wall hanging from India, and photographs of exotic destinations like the rice paddies and markets of Vietnam, beaches of Hawaii, and lakes of Africa.
All art pieces were donated by the students and most of the artwork was personally created by MBAs. People indicated their surprise at the hidden talents of their classmates and supported the talented artists with high bids. The highest price of the night was an antique Kashmir Shawl, circa 1896, which was valued at over $600. The shawl was purchased for $310 last night, quite the deal. The piece with the most bids was a painting by Argentine artist Carlos A. Saenz Pena, which was bid on 14 times. Serena Hom, MBA1, eventually bought the artwork for $190.
The night ended with MBAs, friends, and relatives in a bidding frenzy, standing guard over the perfect photograph, sculpture, or drawing, and challenging anyone who dared to outbid them. Tensions rose and climaxed at the silent auction as the bids began to close, and the sneakiest folk managed to get a last bid in with just seconds to spare. Disappointment was softened slightly by wine, but those who lost out on their favorite piece still left with sad faces.
Proceeds from the charity auction benefit the Ann Arbor after school art programs for at-risk youth. Overall, the auction raised about $5,500, almost a thousand dollars more than last year. Not bad for a crowd of students running low on cash and only halfway through the year. Pushing the wine and reminding all to "help the children" seemed to work pretty well to encourage bidding. It was another year of success for Blue Door: a fun event for all who attended and a great way to help a good local cause.
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