Steve Worthington sculpture

ArtPrize voting starts today

Grand Rapids, MI -- In the fury of the mind-boggling 40-foot sculptures, eye-popping stunts, and everywhere-you-look activity of ArtPrize, there are quiet masterpieces on exhibit everywhere. One of those is Steve Worthingtons "Amphibian Struggle", on display at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. At its heart are two toads in a whimsical sumo wrestling pose. Its good. Very good, but its meaning goes deeper than humor. Steves choice of subject in this sculpture is no accident. He chose amphibians locked in a battle because our worlds amphibian population both here and around the world are indeed in a battle for life. They are in trouble. Amphibians are losing ground on habitat destruction and pollution. If we dont do something to help their plight we will lose species after species.

Steve Worthington has a deep respect for all amphibians, and to demonstrate just how serious he is about amphibians, he has pledged to donate $50,000 of his prize money to the Amphibian Ark if he wins the grand prize. The Amphibian Ark (The AArk) is an integral part of the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan. The AArk is a joint effort of three principal partners: the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG), and the IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG). A large part of their work is to select species that would otherwise go extinct and maintain their population in captivity until they can be secured in the wild. www.AmphibianArk.org

Whether Steves piece wins big or not, we hope people will be inspired not only by Steves stunning artwork, but his message that drastic measures must be taken to save our worlds amphibian population.