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Issue #10.2 |
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In this Issue: The Artful Malcontent
—Featuring a collection of artwork from mnartists.org curated by
political ad guru Bill Hillsman
Want an antidote to canned double-speak and election fatigue? What you need is a bracing dose of something audacious and confrontational, maybe even brash. For this issue of a+E, we're giving you opinion with teeth and artists who aren't afraid to yell at you to change your mind. And to help you navigate these waters of dissent and artistic discontent, we've brought in former Governor Jesse Ventura's own political yoda, Bill HIllsman, to serve as this issue's guest curator for the Mashup collection. You Are Here offers a hand-picked selection of activist art events, from neo-Tibetan renderings of the demons of Western greed to Brave New Workshop's playful satire on the state of the Left, and a collaborative spoken word performance on race relations by critically hailed authors David Mura and Alexs Pate. This issue's mnAccess is all about information: before you cast your vote, find out how your district's candidates stack up on the arts issues most important to you. And, finally, if you're on the lookout for off-the-beaten-track Halloween festivities, we've got you covered.
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Mashup: The Provocateur |
A collection of political artwork from mnartists.org curated by adman extraordinaire and provocative political go-to guy, Bill Hillsman
IT SEEMS EVERYTHING IS TINGED WITH POLITICS THESE DAYS. And why shouldn’t it be? As a politically aware rock group once sang, “These are strange days, indeed.” Art can be about beauty. It can be about provocation. It can be about edification. In fact, these days edification requires that you be provoked. One of my favorite political candidates was badly misunderstood by the press and by much of the public. The key to understanding him, I kept telling people, was to know that he considered himself a professional provocateur. He also considered himself an artist—an  artist of mayhem perhaps, but an artist nonetheless. The trade he plied before politics he called “ballet with violence.” Having seen both occupations up close, I’m convinced professional wrestling is no more fake than today’s politics and punditry in our current partisan, poisonous political climate. So here’s to these artists, these provocateurs among us, you with the insight to see what is really going on and the courage to make the rest of us see.
—Bill Hillsman
 Bill Hillsman is the founder of and the driving force behind North Woods Advertising, and the genesis for some of the most successful and attention-getting marketing campaigns over the past decade. Bill's commentary on marketing, advertising, and politics has appeared across the gamut of media, in the editorial pages of The New York Times, The Today Show, National Public Radio, CNN. A look at Hillsman's list of clients illustrates why Slate.com dubbed him "the world's greatest political adman." He worked for the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, former Governor Jesse Ventura, and U.S. Presidential candidate Ralph Nader. Current clients include Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman, Connecticut U.S. Senate candidate Ned Lamont, Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos, and Californians for Fair Elections (Yes on Proposition 89). Bill’s book, Run the Other Way: Fixing the Two-Party System, One Campaign at a Time, was published in 2004. (Scroll to the bottom of the page for links to North Woods Advertising's current political TV commercials.)
Artwork credits (top to bottom): Sergeant Slaughter by Ryan Kelly, oil on canvas. Laissez Faire by Mike Elko. Photo of Bill Hillsman courtesy North Woods Advertising.
Take a look at the complete collection of work by artist provocateurs
curated by Bill Hillsman on mnartists.org.
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DANCE
Sufism Remembered
Photo courtesy Katha Dance Theatre |
The Katha Dance Theatre celebrates the religious and cultural diversity of South Asia in verse, music, and dance with Sufism Remembered, a performance of Sufi poetry set alongside classical North Indian dance and music. The show will feature a variety of local and international artists including composer and vocalist Debashis Sarkar, percussionist Utpal Ghoshal, sitar artist/composer Chandrachur Bhattyacharjee, and a number of international Kathak dancers. Poetry will include both classic Sufi works and new verse with readings from Jalaluddin Rumi, Amir Khusrau, Attar, Hazrat Inayat Khan, Bulleh Shah, and Kabir.
Where: The Ritz Theater, Minneapolis
When: November 16-19. Shows begin at 8 pm Thursday-Saturday, matinee performance at 2 pm on Sunday.
Tickets: Thursday and Sunday $18 (no discounts), Friday and Saturday $20 ($2 discount for students and seniors). |
FESTIVALS
Art Attack 2006 is coming!
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Over 150 of the area’s most prominent and dedicated local artists will open their studio doors to the public. Visitors can view and purchase the work of talented artists working in almost every medium and style imaginable.
Where: Northrup King Building
When: November 3-5, Friday from 5:30-9:30 pm, Saturday from 12-5 pm, and Sunday from 12-4 pm.
Tickets: FREE
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Warm Up to the Holidays:
28th Annual Duluth Art Fair at
the Depot
Birches, woodcut print by
Betsy Bowen |
Get a jump-start on your holiday shopping with unique handcrafted pieces from Minnesota artists at the 28th Annual Duluth Art Fair at the Depot. Browse the work of 39 local and regional artists and fine craftsmen and pick up everything from fine art, jewelry, and metal work, to textiles, wood, and ceramics. Near the close of the show on Sunday, as is tradition at the Fair, there will be a raffle for artworks donated by the artists (raffle tickets $1 each).
Where: The Duluth Art Institute, Duluth, MN
When: Friday and Saturday, November 3-4
Tickets: Admission is $2 (Free for DAI members) |
FILM/VIDEO
Minnesota Stories Presents: mnartists
Photo of Chuck Olsen courtesy the artist
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mnartists.org and Minnesota Stories are collaborating on a video series showcasing Minnesota artists in all disciplines: Minnesota Stories Presents: mnartists. Video profiles will premiere simultaneously on mnartists.org and Minnesota Stories beginning Friday, November 3 and continuing every month through April 2007. Minnesota Stories creator (and Rocketboom’s Minneapolis correspondent) Chuck Olsen will present illuminating glimpses of the working lives of artists and arts organizations around the state, beginning with notable Minnesota artists like Jonathan Nelson (Rosalux gallery, Some Assembly Required), artist and curator Scott Stulen (Rochester Art Center’s Contemporary Art 101 series), and poet Alex Lemon (Mosquito).
Where: mnartists.org and Minnesota Stories
When: Beginning November 3 and continuing monthly through
April 2007 |
Fearless Filmmakers series: Screening of Lance Weiler’s
Head Trauma
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Seriously creepy and deeply unnerving, 2006 LA Film Festival premiere Head Trauma explores the uneasy difference between being psychotic and paranoid and actually having someone—or something—out to get you. When drifter George Walker returns to his deceased grandmother’s abandoned house, he must not only face down unwelcoming neighbors, but something far worse, something in the basement, something all the more terrifying because it knows George’s deepest secret. Transposing much of the spooky imagery from the recent Japanese horror explosion onto American small-town life, this is an unsettling slice of indie horror. Writer/Director Lance Weiler present for Q&A following the screening.
Where: Oak Street Cinema, Minneapolis
When: November 3, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $8 (Free to IFP Screenwriting Conference attendees) |
The Horror of Writing:
IFP Minnesota Screenwriting Conference
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This year's IFP Minnesota Screenwriting Conference is focusing on writing for horror, suspense, and thrillers and is, as always, especially targeted toward emerging writers in the film industry. Guest speakers include Lance Weiler, Writer/Director of the new horror film Head Trauma (screening info above). Also scheduled are Martin Musatov (Writer, Solstice – directed by The Blair Witch Project’s Daniel Myrick), Alain Silver, (Writer/Director/Producer and Author of the books Horror Film Reader and The Vampire Film), Teddy Tenenbaum (Stephen King’s Dead Zone)—along with Twin Cities filmmakers Jon Springer and Ryan Schaddelee.
Where: Minneapolis Community and Technical College,
Wheelock Whitney Hall
When: Saturday, November 4, 9 am-4:30 pm
Tickets: $60 general public ($30 students and seniors, $40 IFP members). To register for the conference, you must call IFP MN at 651.644-1912.
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HALLOWEEN EVENTS
The Art of Horror
They Won't Stay Dead by Bonnie Gloris. Mixed media on wood panel, 9.5" x 12". |
Always a reliable source of the fantastically weird, Altered Esthetics is now exploring society's insatiable obsession with violence and the macabre in its new show, The Art of Horror. From the surreal to the scary, the exhibit features a compelling arrangement of strange sculpture, gruesome paintings, poetry, and frightening film. 65 artists and over 100 pieces offer an array of nightmare visions in a wide assortment of media—from wax doll heads to steel, from watercolors to rats, from resin castings to pigments mixed with human blood
and ashes.
Where: Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis
When: The show runs through November 10
Tickets: FREE |
Bedlam Theatre's BareBones Halloween Extravaganza
Photo courtesy Bedlam Theatre |
Wear a mask (and something warm), bring a blanket, and come and join the fun at Bedlam Theatre's BareBones 2006 Halloween Extravaganza. This annual Halloween Show is a community-created outdoor pageant of larger-than-life puppets, shadow puppets, hand puppets, lantern puppets, costumed and masked characters, stilters, a 10-piece live orchestra, choral singing, raucous dancing and pyrotechnics. This year’s Halloween show is based on The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe, and promises ghoulish fun for the
whole family.
Where: The base of the North Entrance to Hidden Falls Park.
When: Oct 28-31. The pre-show begins at 7 pm each night.
Tickets: FREE (donations are encouraged) |
Soap Factory Haunted House
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After many years of begging, the Soap Factory has finally allowed for its notoriously creepy basement to be the site of what may prove to be the most legitimately scary haunted house Minneapolis has witnessed this millennium. They will be allowing groups into the basement on a self guided tour with only the light of their hand held lantern to guide them, and visitors to the haunted house will explore this 100 year old space in almost complete darkness. The good folks at the Soap Factory are promising some additional effects, of course. “The basement will be staffed with between 15-23 life forms designed to make your stay an unpleasant one.” Please note that this event is only for adults over 18 (it’s really too scary for the littler set) and because the environment is “very raw… like exploring an abandoned building," a signed waiver is required. Cool, huh?
Where: The Soap Factory, Minneapolis
When: October 28-31, from dusk till 10:30 pm
Tickets: October 28, $5; From October 29-31, $10. (All proceeds go toward keeping the Soap Factory alive and well.) |
LECTURES
Drawing as Primary Medium: a conversation with curator Catherine de Zegher about Eva Hesse
No Title, drawing by Eva Hesse, colored inks, watercolor, and gouache on paper, 1964. |
The upcoming Walker Art Center exhibition Eva Hesse Drawing offers an intimate look at the drawings, working notes, and sculptures of one of the most important artists of the 1960s, Eva Hesse, whose extraordinary oeuvre helped redefine the art of her time. Exhibition co-curator Catherine de Zegher, executive director of the Soho-based Drawing Center, will speak about the development of Hesse’s artistic process, the relevance of her extended vision of contemporary art practice, and the importance of drawing as a primary medium for contemporary artists.
Where: The Walker Art Center
When: Thursday, November 9 at 7 pm. The Eva Hesse Drawing exhibit runs from November 11 through February 18, 2007.
Tickets: FREE |
LITERARY EVENTS
David Mura and Alexs Pate
Photo of David Mura courtesy the author
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Two wordsmiths noted for their incisive commentary on multiculturalism and race will be performing together again in November. Memoirist and poet David Mura (Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei, Where the Body Meets Memory, Angels for the Burning) and novelist and professor Alexs Pate (Amistad, Innocent, The Multicultiboho Sideshow) will read and perform new material as well as previously published and performed works in this special collaboration. Pate and Mura worked together on the multi-media performance piece Secret Colors that was performed at the Walker in 1994 and at various venues around the country. A film adaptation, Slowly, This, was broadcast on PBS. If you don’t go to another reading this fall, you’ll want to catch this one.
Where: Magers and Quinn Booksellers, Minneapolis
When: Friday, November 17 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: FREE
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THEATER
The Left, The Right and The Ugly; or Blue State Blues
Cast photo courtesy Brave New Workshop |
Just in time for the midterm elections, the Brave New Workshop is kicking off its 2006-07 season with a collection of all-new sketches and songs exploring the peculiar angst that accompanies life in a blue state. With The Left, The Right, and The Ugly; or Blue State Blues, they track where liberalism and the Left have gone wrong in recent election cycles and search the proverbial trenches and bunkers for the Democrats’ elusive sense of humor in this unflinching satire of the state of the Left in America. Watch a short video teaser for the
show here.
Where: Brave New Workshop
When: Performances close November 4.
Tickets: Prices vary. |
VISUAL ARTS
ExtraOrdinary PanCapitalist Renditions: The Triptychs by Pete Driessen
PanCapitalism Devours Empire (Triptych) by Pete Driessen.
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Pete Driessen’s ambitious new show takes on the sins of Western capitalism and bears witness to the woes of the developing world in stunning neo-Tibetan style laden with powerful, sometimes uncomfortable, imagery documenting the high price of the West’s “new order.” A portion of all proceeds from work sold in the show is to benefit WAMM(Women Against Military Madness). Browse through a collection of Driessen’s new work from the show on mnartists.org.
Where: California Building Gallery, Suite #103, Minneapolis
When: Show runs through November 4. (The gallery is open Thursday through Saturday, 1-5 pm)
Tickets: FREE |
Shotgun Shack by Chris Larson
Artist Chris Larson explains why the image above may seem familiar to you. “The inspiration for the image on the postcard for this exhibition is taken from the cover art for the Clash's London Calling album which drew its inspiration from Elvis Presley's 1956 debut album. Elvis taught me how to move, the Clash taught me to act.”
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Filmmaker, sculptor, photographer (and musician) Chris Larson creates fantastic pieces with intricate engineering, no clear function, and magnificently strange and witty collisions. Literally. Previous sculptures include a wooden spaceship colliding into a life-size Ted Kaczynski shack, and the (life-size & wooden) Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee colliding into the Ted Kaczynski shack. Shotgun Shack at the Creative Electric Studios will open one week before Larson’s upcoming show at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Crush Collision, and will run as a satellite show—creating a crossover in arts patrons and a "collision" between the clienteles of the two establishments. This experiment is intended to foster a connection between large established art centers and the fertile grounds of the smaller, more experimental gallery.
Where: Creative Electric Studios
When: The show runs from November 11 through January 6. Gallery hours are Saturdays 11 am-4 pm or by appointment. The opening reception will be Saturday, November 11 from 6-11 pm.
Tickets: FREE |
Push Button Memories / Landmarks Worldwide: a new series by Minnesota photographer Orin Rutchick
Central District, Hong Kong, photo by
Orin Rutchick. |
During a 15-month period Orin Rutchick traveled the world taking candid photographs of people as they experienced—and, in a particularly meta twist, often documented themselves standing in front of—historic landmarks and famous tourist destinations. The Push Button Memories Project began with Rutchick's fascination that, at any given moment, all over the world people are taking pictures of themselves and their surroundings. Seen together the series of images feel connected, leaving the impression that each was made on the same day but in many different spots around the globe. Viewed together this way, Rutchick’s pictures offer a surprisingly poignant insight into this charmingly universal experience
of travel.
Where: Icebox Gallery, Minneapolis
When: Exhibit runs from November 11 through January 6, 2007. The opening reception is Saturday November 11, from 8 pm to midnight.
Tickets: FREE
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Tiles of the North
Cosmic Column by Josh Blanc, handmade individually mounted terra cotta tiles. |
Tiles of the North (curated by Duluth Pottery owner artist Karin Kraemer) features work from 20 regional clay and mosaic artists (all members of the Handmade Tile Association) hailing from throughout Minnesota (and the surrounding areas). In this unique exhibit, you’ll see a wide variety of handcrafted clay tiles—some fanciful, some elegant—all utterly unique, and each bearing a story. This unusual decorative ceramics and mosaic show is a perfect late fall day trip destination, especially if you’re in the market for one-of-a-kind gifts for the holidays.
Where: The Ripple River Gallery, Aitkin, MN
When: The exhibit runs through November 19. The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday
Tickets: FREE |
For more up-to-the-minute events listings, check out mnartists.org |
CREDITS
Project Director, mnartists.org: Kathleen Kvern
access+ENGAGE Editor: Susannah Schouweiler
E-journal design: Brand & Butter
Featured Contributors and Artists:
Banner image (reprinted with artist's permission): Puppet of the Pigs, by Jon Knecht. Mapleton-based artist Jon Knecht describes the making of and inspiration for this piece, and he doesn’t mince words. “The pig is from my hog barn (he was dead). I made the puppet out of wire, sculpy, thread, and craft sticks. The remaining items are all found objects. I made the piece to deal with my frustrations in the American people's amazing will to continue to accept this administration’s lies and the media’s lack of attention to those lies. The dead pigs in my pieces represent greed for money and power (in other words, the current form of the GOP). I finished the piece in late 2004 to early 2005.” Knecht has a couple of pieces at the 410 Gallery in Mankato, MN, but for now the best place to see his arresting, provocative artwork is on mnartists.org.
Mashup curator Bill Hillsman and North Woods Advertising are well represented on the media landscape this political season. You can see his very clever current commercial work for yourself on YouTube:
Ned Lamont (CT U.S. Senate candidate): “Speaking for Bush”, “Messy Desk”, “Underdog”
Christy Mihos (MA gubernatorial candidate): “Heads Up”
Californians for Fair Elections: “Arnold Opposite”, “Take a Pounding”
Kinky Friedman (TX gubernatorial candidate): “Clean Energy, Clean Government”, “Cowboy Way”
access+ENGAGE is a twice monthly e-journal offering indispensable,
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