Robin Protz's ArtPrize entry "The Dragon" has been disqualified from ArtPrize.

The popular piece remains on display at the Amway Grand.

"The Dragon" had been in the Top 25, but was disqualified before the Top 10 was announced.

"The Dragon" by Robin Protz is a dragon made of over 40,000 golden buttons suspended on flourocarbon lines.  ArtPrize officials generally take a closer look at all entries that make the Top 25 to determine their eligibility.  They determined that "The Dragon" had violated a rule.

An Entry must have been completed within three years prior to September 19, 2012.

The video below shows that "The Dragon" had been created in 2008 under a different name, making it ineligible for entry into ArtPrize.

Woodtv.com has more including a statment from the artist:

I feel, because my piece is in the top 25, my honesty and integrity has been questioned.

I fully understand the position of the ArtPrize board (fear of the press) but would like to note, if I questioned the validity of entering ‘The Dragon’ (as a piece completed in the last 3 years) I could have simply taken the video off my website, thereby destroying the information causing the question or concern. My thought was that it would be self evident to anyone viewing the video that the piece entered in ArtPrize was related, but not the same.

It's disappointing to see anyone disqualfied from ArtPrize considering all of the time and effort that is needed to enter, but the rules of ArtPrize must be enforced to keep the competition fair to all.  Still, the decision of when to enforce those rules can be a difficult one, since the rules aren't always as simple as black and white.

Should "The Dragon" ineligible because a different version of it was created in 2008?  Or should it be allowed since it was entirely assembled at ArtPrize 2012?  It's a gray area, but I agree with ArtPrize's decision.

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