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BENJAMIN, Utah County — Some of the top Western talent in the nation will be converging on Sundance later this month for the resort's first rodeo.
The only horses involved in the competition, however, will be drawn, carved, painted or sculpted.
Renowned Western sculptor Jeff Wolf has organized an event he calls "the world's first sport featuring fine art." The event, sponsored by Wolf's Western Art Rodeo Association, is scheduled for April 29-30 at Sundance.
"It's called the Western Art Rodeo because we adopted the competition format from the sport of rodeo," said Wolf, who lives in the unincorporated Utah County town of Benjamin.
Much like at a traditional rodeo, competitors will be judged live by their performance — in this case, their works of art — with the those earning the highest scores advancing to the final rounds and battling for prize money.
With an audience of art enthusiasts and collectors looking on, artists will display their works on stage for one minute and then be judged by art professionals. Once an artist's piece is scored, another artist's work takes the stage.
"If you can picture 'American Idol' gone fine art, that's basically what it is," Wolf said.
Wolf said he came up with the idea for a rodeo-style art show about seven years ago — about the same time he stopped traveling to art shows.
Though he's been able to make a living as a sculptor for the past 25-plus years, Wolf said he believes the Western art industry needs a makeover to appeal to a younger audience.
"Our research indicates that 60 percent of our collectors are 60 years old and older," he said. "We need to groom a new crop of art enthusiasts and collectors to keep our industry moving forward."
The popularity of live competitions such as "American Idol" spurred Wolf to organize a more exciting type of art show that would attract a younger audience. He tested the idea six years ago in Cedar City, and it was a hit, Wolf said.
Since then, Wolf and Western Art Rodeo Association CEO Russ Larsen have been organizing the creation, promotion and sale of Western art as a professional sport.
"We're creating an exciting environment where (artists) can come in with their art, and people can see it judged," Larsen said. "It's a competition, and people will start creating art to win."
All pieces entered in the competition will be on display in a gallery-style setting throughout the event at Sundance for spectators and collectors to view. During the competition, artists will take their turns showing their works on stage and having them judged.
Three judges will use the traditional 17 principles of fine art to evaluate the works, with each judge scoring a piece between one and 33 points for a combined 99 possible points.
The four highest-scoring pieces in each of the two preliminary rounds will advance to the final round, during which competitors must introduce a different work to be judged. Cumulative scores from preliminary rounds and the finals will determine winners in each of the judged mediums — watercolor, sculpture, oil painting, drawing, photography and carving.
"An artist wants to show a piece good enough to make the final round, but they want to save their best piece for the final round," Larsen said. "So there's some strategy there."
Larsen and Wolf hope the event at Sundance becomes the first in a series of Western Art Rodeo Association-sanctioned events.
"We'd like to hold eight big ones a year," Larsen said. "And we'd like to see a bunch of little ones going on, too."
Each event would offer prize money to the winner, giving artists incentive to enter the competitive shows. All art featured in the shows will be for sale, and the test run in Cedar City proved that live judging encourages collectors to buy, Wolf said.
"Our main objective is to see the quality (of Western art) to rise to the top on its own merits," he said. "It also gives a potential collector a little more security when they're purchasing."
For more information about the Western Art Rodeo Association and upcoming events, visit www.westernartrodeoassociation.com.
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If you go ...
What: Western Art Rodeo
When: April 29-30
Where: Sundance Resort, 8841 N. Alpine Loop Road, Sundance
Cost: $10 at the door, $8 if purchased online at www.westernartrodeoassociation.com.
Email:jpage@ksl.com
