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.

BACKGROUND

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.

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.

BACKGROUND

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.