Check out the innovative birdhouse designs of second-year NDSU architecture students in this limited run exhibition. Each student is given the name of a prominent architect and a species of bird or bat from our region, then takes on the assignment of creating a birdhouse in the style of the architect that will serve the unique needs of that bird species. It’s a novel concept that offers insights into a variety of disciplines while transforming our atrium with a wide array of forms, materials, and colors. The birdhouses will be judged by an architect, a craftsman, and a bird specialist, but you’ll also have the chance to vote for an audience favorite.

Birdhouses from 2010. Photo Milestones Photography

Join us as we recognize the next generation of artists! March is Youth Art Month, a national observance emphasizing the value of art education for all children and encouraging support for quality school art programs. Enjoy the School Spirit exhibition and celebrate the work of hundreds of young artists from schools across the region.

On May 3, we got a new resident on our outdoor sculpture pad thanks to some talented artists … and a little elbow grease.

The sculpture, entitled Cultivating Truth, was designed by Concordia College student artist Kyle Meerkins and is the 2011 selection for our S.P.A.C.E. (Sculpture Pad Art Collaborative Experiment) series. Meerkins, who had help fabricating the piece from Duane and Dwight Mickelson, based the design for this sculpture on two different ideas. The black brackets on the side of the sculpture recall the design of the awning over the Museum’s entrance and acknowledge the present and future of the building. The red portion of the sculpture, an abstracted International Harvester cultivator shoe, acknowledges the past use of the Museum building and calls to mind the vital act of cultivation in both our local economy and our personal relationships.

Meerkins received his Bachelor’s in May and is preparing for a summer internship. Cultivating Truth will remain on the sculpture pad through spring. The next S.P.A.C.E. design will come to us from students at NDSU in 2012. Click here to view more images.

Dwight Mickelson (far left), Duane Mickelson (far right), Museum staff, artist Kyle Meekins (third from right), and friends helped to install the new sculpture.

The kids are alright! March is Youth Art Month and a perfect opportunity to emphasize the value of art education for all children and to encourage support for quality school art programs. The School Spirit exhibition at Plains Art Museum celebrates the work of hundreds of K-12 student artists from schools across the region.

See the fresh ideas of young artists from the University of Manitoba, North Dakota State University, Concordia College, and Minnesota State University Moorhead, who will display new prints in the experimental tradition of Vermillion Editions Limited.

See the inventive designs of NDSU architecture students and cast your vote for your favorite birdhouse in this short-term exhibition in the Museum Atrium.

Architects sometimes move outside of designing buildings to design objects that meet other needs. During the display of The Birdhouse Project at the Museum from March 4 through 10, architectural students will showcase the design needs of a completely different flock.

Second-year architecture students at NDSU research and interpret the design theory and methodology of a specific Pritzker award-winning architect. Simultaneously, they research the dwelling requirements of their “client” – a particular bird, owl or bat that dwells in a house and is specific to this region.  Students then translate the Pritzker architect’s philosophy into the design and construction of an inhabitable house for their chosen bird.

Competition requirements include the creation of a useable house as well as a graphic component with information on the Pritzker Architect and the specific bird/bat/owl.

An architect, craftsman, and bird specialist will serve as jurors for other competitive categories, including “Best Interpretation of the Pritzker Architect’s Design Philosophy,” and “Birdhouse Best Suited to Bird Species.”

2009 People’s Choice Winner, Whitney Feimer

Star Monster

Last winter, several Minnesota State University Moorhead students submitted designs for a project called S.P.A.C.E. (Sculpture Pad Art Collaborative Experiement). Museum visitors voted for their favorite design and the winner, Star Monster, will adorn the Museum’s outdoor sculpture pad through October.

The sculpture is a character from a dream. He has no name. His identity is that of a monster that eats stars.

Vote for your favorite sculpture in the S.P.A.C.E. program, February 16 – March 14 in the Landfield Atrium.

Each year the Museum collaborates with an area campus on the exhibition of a sculpture for the Museum’s outdoor sculpture pad. Through collaboration with sculpture professors, students submit preliminary designs that are voted on by Museum visitors. Then, the selected sculpture is made on campus and installed on the pad, located next to the Museum, where it will remain through October. This year’s sculpture will be made by Minnesota State University Moorhead students under the guidance of Professor Chris Walla.

To vote for your favorite, stop into the Museum or click here to vote on our blog.

Youth Art Month is an annual observance each March to emphasize the value of art education for all children and to encourage support for quality school art programs. The School Spirit exhibition at Plains Art Museum celebrates the work of hundreds of student artists from across the region.

This exhibition is supported locally by Microsoft.