Archive for the ‘Artists’ Category
The Studio Crawl Preview
The Fargo-Moorhead Visual Artists’ (FMVA) Studio Crawl will take place on October 2 and 3. This annual event, now in its sixth year, offers its audience a peek behind the curtain of the creative process by asking artists to open up their studio spaces for displays, demonstrations, and sales. Additionally, the Studio Crawl has become a social affair with a number of related events surrounding it and creating a celebratory atmosphere geared around visual arts. It’s a good time with a bunch of artists, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
In anticipation of the Studio Crawl, we’re featuring a number of the Studio Crawl artists in our Studio Crawl Preview exhibition showing now through October 10 in the Xcel Energy and Serkland Law Firm Galleries on the second floor. Overall, a wide array of media relate the fact that there are plenty of talented artists at work in the community drawing influence from everywhere.
Here are a few of the pieces being shown in the Studio Crawl Preview. We’ll post a few more next week. In the meantime, stop by and see them in person.
Artist Calls
We’re seeking proposals for two exhibitions at Plains Art Museum. Details:
Art = Food Installation
Propose to create a large-scale, site specific art work on the west walls of PAM’s Cafe Muse. Two to three projects a year will be featured in this unique space. Project proposals should include artist’s resumé with all contact information; a written proposal that describes the artistic medium, subject matter, and use of the space; printed images or CD of past work and work that might be similar to the proposed project. We are not looking for permanent wall paintings or displays of framed two-dimensional work. Temporary projects that have a minimum impact on the wall are requested. Artists will receive a stipend for producing the work, which will be on view for several months at the Museum. If living at some driving distance from Fargo-Moorhead, some travel costs will be covered. NO EMAIL PROPOSALS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Proposal packets can be submitted at any time to:
Colleen Sheehy, Director and CEO
Plains Art Museum
704 1st Ave N, P.O. Box 2338
Fargo, ND 58108-2338
Big Country: FMVA Scale the Plains
PAM invites artists who are members of Fargo-Moorhead Visual Artists to submit proposals to be considered for an exhibition in summer 2011 in the William and Anna Jane Schlossman Gallery. In honor of our inaugural year of the James Rosenquist work, The North Dakota Mural, we are looking for ambitious art projects that take on large scale in a related way to Rosenquist’s adoption of billboard-sized scale for his paintings. Works can be two- or three-dimensional and in any media. Installation environments or video projections are also invited. Solo or team/collective projects will be accepted. Big Country may include the work of 10-12 artists or collectives, depending on sizes of proposed pieces. Artists will be responsible for producing work and installing and de-installing in partnership with Museum staff.
TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS EXHIBITION, SEND ARTIST RESUMÉ, WRITTEN PROPOSAL WITH IMAGES OF PAST WORK, AND A DRAWING AND DIMENSIONS OF PROPOSED INSTALLATION OF THIS PROJECT BY DECEMBER 1, 2010 TO:
Colleen Sheehy, Director and CEO
Plains Art Museum
704 1st Ave N
P.O. Box 2338
Fargo, ND 58108-2338
Moorhead Power Plant Meeting Set for Wednesday Evening
Gin Templeton, "Moorhead Power Plant"
Calling all Moorhead residents, artists, master gardeners, and anyone interested in art, landscape design, and the future of the Moorhead Power Plant site: we want your input! Meet the two artists who will be designing a garden for the Power Plant site and help shape your community!
- When: Wednesday, July 21, 6:30 p.m.
- Where: City Council Chambers, Moorhead City Hall in the Moorhead Center Mall building at 500 Center Ave. (6:30 – 7:15 p.m.) and the site of the Moorhead Power Plant (7:30 – 8:30 p.m.).
- Who: Meet the artists, Rob Fischer and Kevin Johnson, and representatives of Plains Art Museum and the City of Moorhead, who are partnering on this art project.
- What: Hear about the plans and provide input and feedback, ask questions, brainstorm ideas.
If you can’t make it to the meeting, please leave your ideas in the comments and we will take them with us.
The concept of a “defiant garden” grew out of a two-day public symposium held by Plains Art Museum in September 2009 titled, “Defiant Gardens for Fargo-Moorhead.” The idea is based on a book by landscape historian Kenneth Helphand (University of Oregon), called Defiant Gardens. In this context, “defiant” means resilient, able to overcome obstacles, provide sustenance and well-being against the odds. The symposium brought together a dozen artists from the local region and the national level to discuss how the idea of a defiant garden could be adapted to help us improve our cities.
Rob Fischer and Kevin Johnson are sculptors who were invited to present at the symposium. They work with the landscape and also with industrial buildings and building materials, often using cast-off remnants of old buildings. They think the Moorhead Power Plant is a beautiful edifice in a beautiful location with good proximity to parks, parkways, and neighborhoods.
At this point, they are thinking that they would develop a garden that uses native plants, perhaps some kind of rain garden that is low maintenance. They would like the garden to be a social space where people could gather for activities or just to enjoy the setting and the Power Plant building. A more fully developed idea will emerge from this planning trip.
Rob Fischer and Kevin Johnson are working as a team on the Defiant Garden for the Moorhead Power Plant. Originally from Minnesota, the two artists now live in Brooklyn, New York, and work nationwide on art exhibitions and public art. Fischer has a Bachelor’s of Fine Art (BFA) degree in sculpture and environmental design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Kevin Johnson has a BFA from the University of Minnesota and a Master’s of Fine Arts degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Fisher’s sculptures have been in solo and group exhibitions at The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Whitney Museum in New York City, and the Walker Art Center. Kevin Johnson has been awarded public art commissions for gardens and plazas in Washington state and the Twin Cities.
This Defiant Garden project is supported by Plains Art Museum and the City of Moorhead and by a generous grant from the Lake Regions Art Council, with contributions from the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008. Earlier support for “Defiant Gardens for Fargo-Moorhead” was provided by the Graham Foundation for the Advanced Study of the Visual Arts and Community Projects Grant from North Dakota State University.
Image: Gin Templeton, Moorhead Power Plant, 2010, oil on canvas, 9 x 9″, loaned by the artist.
Kyja Kristjansson-Nelson Presents ‘A Western Icelander’ at the Spirit Room
Kyja Kristjansson-Nelson, Chair of MSUM Film Studies, will present A Western Icelander: Geneographies of Memory and Place, an exhibition in the main gallery of the Spirit Room from June 18 – July 15. The exhibit will include monotype prints, photographs, and her most recent non-fiction film, Sveit, shot in the Skagafjordur region of Iceland. The exhibit will also include photographs by Christopher Nelson (Walking from Hofsos, Gallery II), and a documentary honoring Bill Holm (Windows of Brimnes, Gallery III) with maps of Iceland.
At 5:00 Friday, June 25th, a free public reception will be held, with a brief talk by Kristjansson and a toast of Icelandic Brennivin. Following the reception, the Hotel Donaldson will have Icelandic appetizers and desserts by chef Anders Ericsson at 6:00pm (ticket required, $15). The public reception and Hodo event commence the annual Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival, which features Iceland this year.
Kristjansson’s 30-minute non-fiction film, Sveit, premiered at the Walker Art Center, and also screened at the Athens International Film Festival and the Wisconsin Film Festival. Sveit was funded in part by the Bush Foundation, the Corporation of Yaddo, the Fulbright Association, and Skaftfell Menningarmidstod. Sveit was shot in the rural village of Hofsos on the north coast of Iceland. The filmmaker traces her family’s history and emigration from Iceland to the United States, while unpacking memories and stories of her grandfather’s experience as a New American in North Dakota. Meanwhile Kristjansson negotiates the relationship between landscape, language, mythology and ritual with the help of the local 1st – 4th grade Icelandic children.
The Spirit Room is located at 111 Broadway in downtown Fargo 701.237.0230.
This exhibition is funded in part by a grant from the Lake Region Arts Council through a Minnesota State Legislative appropriation.
Spring Gala Recap
As the theme for the evening suggested, our 14th Annual Spring Gala on May 1 was definitely “Ordinary to Extraordinary.”
Gala attendees were treated to an array of delights; a spectacular silent auction of art, hearty eats by Mosaic Foods (including candied bacon!), a gigantic wine tasting by Happy Harry’s, tunes by Julie Buck and Company, dance music courtesy Betty Does, spirits from the Sidestreet, coffees by Moxie Java, a knockout fashion show from MeJeanne Couture and … omigosh … incredible desserts by Nichole’s Fine Pastry. Ordinarily, these are experiences that, by themselves, would be notable. Put together in one place, it was extraordinary. We thank our vendors, sponsors, staff and donating artists for helping us make that happen.
The Museum, like its inhabitants for the night, was extraordinary as well. Many thanks to all of those who helped with planning and decoration, particularly to our volunteer committees. On her own she’s a gorgeous building, but with a little love, extra care, and sexy lighting she really comes alive.
Attendance? Well, how can we consider those who came to the Gala as nothing more than extraordinary? You really made it happen. Through ticket purchases and the silent auction, our Gala raised almost $35,000 for Museum educational programs. Thanks to you, we will be able to provide services like our Kid Quest events and tours for visiting student groups. We can’t stress enough how important this is to the Museum and to our community as a whole. In order to function properly as a full-service arts institution, we need the efforts of extraordinary people like those who came to the Gala. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Were you at the Gala? Share your experience in the comments.
(If you’d like to see more photos of the evening, you can visit the Milestones Photography blog here. You can also browse and purchase prints from the evening here.)
Andrew David Stark Given Award Through UND Grad School
Last weekend, Andrew David Stark received a Distinguished Dissertation, Thesis and Creative Exhibition award from the University of North Dakota Graduate School. Stark received the award for his MFA work at UND. He graduated last year. For more about the award and the UND Graduate School, visit their blog here.
Stark is currently showing Microcosm/Macrocosm: Recent Work by Andrew David Stark in the Landfield Atrium, although the show is currently down as the atrium roof is being repaired. We expect the work to be completed and the show to be rehung next week.
Visiting Jim Rosenquist and the North Dakota Mural
Jim Rosenquist and Colleen Sheehy in front of "The North Dakota Mural"
On March 8, our Director of Collections, Mark Ryan, and I visited the painter James
Rosenquist in Tampa, Florida, to see the large mural that he had recently completed as a commission for Plains Art Museum. Rosenquist was born in Grand Forks, N.D. in 1933, moved with his family later to Minneapolis, and eventually went to New York, where he became one of the major artists of the Pop art movement of the 1960s. So having a major new work for his home state is a big deal!
The mural is titled The North Dakota Mural and it is 13 feet high and 24 feet wide. It features imagery of North Dakota collaged together in Rosenquist’s pop art style, with images at different sizes and scales. The painting will be installed on the large wall in the Museum’s Ruth & Seymour Landfeld Atrium.
Jim had arranged to have the mural hung in an open gallery at the Contemporary Art Museum at the University of Southern Florida so that we could view it all put together. The painting is made up of twelve panels that fit together to form the larger piece.
Jim lives about an hour north of Tampa, and his studio is not big enough to display the entire mural. So this was a good move to have it put up in a gallery. We were grateful to the museum for helping Jim and us out with this offer of their space for a couple of days while they were between shows.
The mural is magnificent! We were thrilled to see it and confirm that the commission had been met to our great satisfaction. We had a celebratory dinner that night.
To underscore how unlikely the acquisition of this mural is, this wasn’t even the first mural Jim painted for the Museum. The first burned in a brush fire that consumed his home and studio on April 25th, 2009. Following its destruction, an anonymous donor came forward to assist in funding a second mural. The second is nearly identical to the first, but Jim has remarked that the second one is better. Whatever the case, it was a real thrill to see this portion of our Capital Campaign come to fruition.
At the Plains, we’re getting our building prepared to install the mural, which will be unveiled to the public this fall. Prior to hanging the piece, we need to replace the windows over the Atrium with UV-protected glass in order to keep the painting in good condition. Preparation will begin immediately after our Spring Gala. The mural will be hung in September and an unveiling is planned for early October.
We’re really excited to share this new, beautiful work of art by one of our native sons with the community.
S.P.A.C.E. Vote Winner
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the vote taking place in our atrium for the S.P.A.C.E. (Sculpture Pad Art Collaborative Experiment) Project. We displayed five proposals from students at Minnesota State University Moorhead for a piece that will be completed and displayed over the summer on our outdoor sculpture pad. Visitors were asked to vote for their favorites with the winner getting the green light to create the final project.
The results of the vote are now in, and the winner is…
(drum roll)
Star Monster (left)!
This colorful and slightly enigmatic piece will be constructed out of sheet metal, pressure-treated lumber and fiberglass resin. The finished project is scheduled to go up sometime in late April where it will remain through October. Congratulations to the winning students and a hearty thank you to all of the participants (you can see all of the submissions here).
Alec Soth Talks About ‘Lenny’
Photographer Alec Soth delivered a lecture at the Museum on Thursday, February 25. The sizable crowd was treated to an eye-opening survey of his incredible career and offered a glimpse into the process of a successful and gracious artist.
Prior to the talk, Alec took a few minutes to tell me the story of Lenny, Minneapolis, a print hanging in our Individual to Icon exhibition. Here’s an image:
Alec Soth, "Lenny, Minneapolis, Minnesota," 2002, c-print, loaned by the artist.
I had a narrative about Lenny constructed in my mind prior to asking Alec to explain it to me. I envisioned Lenny as a bruiser with a soft spot for his mother. Turns out I was way off. Click through to hear Alec discuss the real story.
Alec Soth Talks About ‘Lenny’ (YouTube)
Vote for Your Favorite S.P.A.C.E. Sculpture
Each year, Plains Art Museum collaborates with one of three campuses in Fargo-Moorhead to produce a work of art for the outdoor sculpture pad adjoining the building. The project, code named S.P.A.C.E. (Sculpture Pad Art Collaborative Experiment), takes proposals from students, features mock ups of the pieces in our atrium, and asks for the public’s vote in deciding which proposal will be finished and placed on the sculpture pad where it will remain through the summer.
This year’s participants are students at Minnesota State University Moorhead and are under the guidance of professor Chris Walla. Their proposals are currently on display and will be up until March 14. Take a look at all five proposals and vote in one of two ways: you can note your favorite in the comments or you can stop by and vote the old-fashioned analog way with a slip of paper.
Here are the nominees. Click on the image to read a brief artist statement.
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- Banner Project
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- Star Monster
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- Creatures
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- Bicycle Rim House
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- Untitled (Artbomb)
