NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP, abc24.com) - A competition organized by Tennesseans for the Arts is giving the public a chance to choose the design for the state's newest specialty plate.
The Tennessean reports that dozens of artists submitted designs for the contest and the top 10 have been posted online for viewers to rate.
Tennesseans have until the end of November to visit
www.stateyourplate.org and rate the finalists' designs. The winning design will be announced Dec. 7. If at least 1,000 people pre-order the new plate between December and March, it will go into production.
The list of finalists range from professional artists to a 16-year-old high school student from Knoxville. And their designs showcase a cross-section of the state's art scene - from one Brentwood artist's celebration of "street art," complete with tire tracks, to a plate that looks remarkably like a Jack Daniel's label.
Finalist Leslie Haines, a graphic design instructor at the Art Institute of Nashville and previously at Watkins College, said she's enjoyed the challenge.
"It's a small space, you have all this stuff running over your design, your design can't distract from the (license plate numbers)...and how do you distill the sense of art for the whole state into one image?" she said.
Tennessee offers more than 90 specialty plates, which can be proposed by any tax-exempt nonprofit.
As of mid-2011, about 2.5 million of the 6.6 million registered vehicles in the state had specialty plates.
The most popular plate in the state, according to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, is the Friends of the Smoky Mountains plate, which has been attached to more than 12,000 vehicles.
Other popular plates are dedicated to the Eagle Foundation, Tennessee Agriculture, the University of Tennessee, the "Animal Friendly" plate, the Tennessee Titans foundation, Susan G. Komen cancer research and the "Choose Life" anti-abortion plate.
"Organizations come to us and say, `Hey, I'd like to be on the back of cars,"' said Billy Trout, spokesman for the Revenue Department.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
