High Brow PBR?

For me PBR has always been the beverage of choice for blue collar folk. It's what my grandpa Vernon drinks. And this man is the definition of blue collar. He drove a beer delivery truck for 30 years, won the land of his cabin at a poker game and once sawed off three of his fingers and proceeded to drive himself to the hospital with fingers on ice.

So you can imagine my surprise when I learn PBR is holding an art contest, say what?

This is the second year PBR has held this competition. Artists can submit work in three categories: photography, painting and sculpture. All pieces must include the infamous PBR can or ribbon logo.

Here are two of the 2007 winners:















For 2008, the 3 Grand Prize winners will receive $1893 in cash and one year of beer. The 3 Runner-up winners will receive exactly 1/3 of the Grand Prize: $631 and 4 months worth of beer. More importantly, these blooming artists will have their work displayed in a traveling gallery. Last year the 2007-2008 tour made a stop in Minneapolis' own Bedlam Theater.

Unlike a lot of these competitions PBR is giving all the judging rights to PBR employees. Probably because of the risks of associating PBR with religion, binge drinking, throwing up in garbage cans...you know.

I'm giving this one the thumbs up. All though it is defiantly shadowed by Red Bull's The Art of Can and Scion's Craft My Ride it's use of local theaters, transit, billboards and liquor stores gives it that perfect homey touch. On the U of M campus, PBR has a two sided billboard over Caribou Coffee showing finalists and right across the street at Dinkytown Liquors are more finalists plastered to the brick wall. From what I've read on blogs and have seen in Mpls PBR has clearly identified where there market lives, travels and shops. In Philidelphia, PBR art is plastered over public transit and located in key neighborhoods.

I imagine that this type of free publicity is a really good incentive for local artists to set the bar high. I suggest you check it out because the end results are visually interesting, humourous, but keeps the blue collar feel of PBR that Grandpa Vernon knows so well.