| access+ENGAGE the definitive alternative |
Issue #20.1 |
In this Issue: The Things We Keep
—Featuring an essay from mnartists.org Project Director Kathleen Kvern on the instinctively human joy of collecting personal treasures
When I was a kid I collected scratch 'n' sniff stickers and Sea Monkeys. Sure, neither endeavor proved worthy of my ardor, but I recall those formative moments of pride in ownership, the thrill of acquisition, the completion of a series. The objects of my affection have changed, but the instinct—to get, to own, to have—remains. In this issue's POV essay, mnartists.org Project Director Kathleen Kvern argues that the collector, as much as the artist, intimately lives the art. Zoom In artist Richard Johnson recounts a tale of the artist as an unblinking witness and chronicler for an era's forgotten treasures. Finally, we're tweaking the You Are Here and Homepage sections a bit with this issue to better direct you to the wealth of artist opportunities, reviews and features, and events listings on mnartists.org. Be sure to check out Paul Schmelzer's list of highlights from the Walker Blogs, too.
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Zoom In: Richard C. Johnson |
RICHARD JOHNSON'S PHOTOS OF WEATHERED storefronts, thrift store castoffs, and tattered religious iconography throughout rural Northern Minnesota serves as an astute chronicle of the erosion of small Midwestern towns. His eye for imagery, whether in mixed media assemblage or photograph, whacks a visceral punch, offering a compassionate gaze with no hint of maudlin excess. Johnson’s artistic sense for unexpected juxtapositions and work delivered with unflinching candor is reflective of the same wry humor and thoughtful eloquence you'd see evidenced in his written correspondence.
In fact, I can't improve upon Johnson's own storytelling, so you're in for something a bit different with this issue's Zoom In. Treat this as an illustrated profile, told through a sequence of images drawn from Richard Johnson's rich portfolio and rendered in the artist’s voice.
 CLICK HERE to see an extensive collection of the artist's revealing photography and collage and to read Richard Johnson’s tale in his own words. (To keep the story in proper sequence, be sure to view the artwork in the collection on mnartists.org in order.)
 About the artist: Richard C. (a.k.a. R.C.) Johnson is an artist living in Duluth. He served for a number of years on the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, and his recent work includes a series of collaborative pieces with poet Louis Jenkins, Words and Pictures.
Credit: Serenade for Andy Warhol, (at top) collage by Richard C. Johnson. |
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| Point of View: A Collector Looks Like Me |
 An essay on the simple joy of gathering treasures by Kathleen Kvern
EVERY KID KNOWS THE SIMPLE JOY OF COLLECTING. Prying unusual rocks from trails, stuffing shells into buckets at the beach, dolls, stuffed animals, stamps—kids know what they like as well as the pleasure of seeing it all together. My daughter has what she calls her "special spot"—the top of her bureau—for all of the collectibles she deems worthy. With no concern for what I think she’s arranged together snow globes, bits of string from God-knows-what, cheap souvenirs, assorted stamps, colorful pieces of glass, and a myriad of other specimens. Not only is each item catalogued in her mind, she knows exactly where each piece belongs on the “special spot”. Once I tried to tidy this spot, removing objects I thought were tacky or, frankly, just not that special. My daughter was furious and she had a right to be...the essay and featured collection continue on mnartists.org.
 CLICK HERE to read Kathleen's essay and to browse through a sampling of her own treasured collection of artwork by Minnesota artists.
About the writer: Kathleen Kvern is Project Director of mnartists.org.
And now it’s time for show-and-tell. If you’ve been gathering artwork by Minnesota artists, we’d like to see your treasures. Email us at access.engage@mnartists.org and tell us about the pieces you’ve felt the need to keep close at hand or about the Minnesota artists whose work you’re driven to collect. For all the rest of you magpies out there: share your collections with us!
Credits: Child at Camp for Children of Chernobyl, Lviv, Ukraine. Photo (top) by Katherine Turczan. Kvern comments, "This beautiful photograph was a gift from the artist when my daughter Emma was born and hangs in her room above her collection of Magic Tree House books and Barbie dolls. Katherine is her aunt." Photo of Kathleen Kvern and her daughter Emma (bottom) on vacation in lovely Bemidji, courtesy the writer.
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“Fringe Shorts:” daily updated mini-reviews of this year’s shows by Lightsey Darst, Jaime Kleiman, and Justin Schell
Photo from Making Dolls, a Fringe dance performance by Rainy Day Cabaret
Click here to read the "Fringe Shorts" on mnartists.org |
The Fringe Festival is here! And with it, “Fringe Shorts:” MnArtsWeekly’s daily coverage of Fringe performances by our hand-picked team of writers. mnartists.org is setting up three “blogs” for our Fringe writers, who will post new reviews to them as the Fringe goes on. Jaime Kleiman, Lightsey Darst, and Justin Schell will cover Fringe this year—tune in to their rich and varied takes on what’s out there. Read on for daily updated performance reviews and up-to-date reporting until the festival concludes from our intrepid posse of dance and theater reviewers.
What: The Minnesota Fringe Festival
Where: Various venues throughout Minneapolis, MN
When: The festival runs through Sunday, August 12. Click here for specific showtimes and details.
Tickets: A Fringe Button ($3) is required to attend all performances; $12 per individual show. Click here for detailed ticket and festival pass information. |
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Façade (Chartres Cathedral) by Mary Griep, mixed media, 2000
Read Michael Fallon's Trialogue (a discussion among critic, artist, and audience) from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
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Trialogues are the invention of the Visual Arts Critics Union of Minnesota— or "VACUM"— and are discussions among a critic, an artist, and an audience: thus a three-sided dialogue, a Trialogue.
Preface: Trialogues, Critics, and Egos
I have always thought these Trialogue events offer a rare opportunity, because it’s not often that critics and artists gather together to talk and reveal our relationship in front of an interested public. It’s for this reason that before I discuss the work on display in these exhibitions by Mary Griep and Jantje Visscher, I would like to say a few words about critical practice in relation to art….read the full VACUM Trialogue transcript as presented by Michael Fallon on mnartists.org.
What: Anastylosis by Mary Griep and Drawings in Light by Jantje Visscher
Where: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
When: Exhibits will run through Sunday, August 12
Tickets: FREE and open to the public |
Radio mnartists: Holly Davis
 Listen to Marya Morstad's engaging interview with the woman behind Fringe Festival favorite, Diary of Self-Help Boot Camp
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Pick your favorite addiction—alcohol, chocolate, perpetual naval gazing—and you’ll find a kindred spirit in Diary of Self Help Boot Camp, a new play by writer/producer Holly Davis. In Diary two high-maintenance women inadvertently land in a New Age retreat and experience the challenge of being “One with Everything” when everything pisses you off. It’s a play about seeking and repelling the connections life offers us, certain to take fellow retreat participants on a journey filled with laugher, pathos, and hysterical show tunes .... Listen to the Radio mnartists interview with writer/producer Holly Davis on mnartists.org.
What: Diary of Self-Help Boot Camp, at the Fringe Festival
Where: Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis, MN
When: Saturday August 11, 7 pm
Tickets: $12 (general admission). A Fringe Button is required.
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You Are Here event listings are drawn entirely from the mnartists.org calendar, so if you want to improve the odds that you'll see your happening linked here, you'd better start posting your events!
We've made it super easy to begin: here's a step-by-step guide that'll show you how to promote your own events on the new arts calendar. Browse through more up-to-the-minute events listings or post a show of your own on mnartists.org's new DIY arts events calendar. |
Notes Off Center by Paul Schmelzer |
 Best of the Blogs
A Walker Blogger Picks His Favorites
 My favorite kind of posts to write at the Walker Art Center blogs aren’t necessarily my favorite to read. For writing, Centerpoints is a perfect match for this blogger’s undiagnosed ADHD. This catchall category is filled with bulletpointed oddities that might not merit a post of their own (a kind reader once likened it to a wunderkammer, a high-falutin’ name for a cabinet of curiosities). Orphan infobits find a home here: an image of a photorealistic tattoo of an Eames lounge chair, a video of the worst movie scenes ever, and typeface-inspired haiku, to name a few.
But the posts I most like to read are the ones you won’t find anywhere else. First word on the triumphant return of our “Think about honking if you [heart] conceptual art” bumperstickers. A look at the custom stencils made for artwork shipping crates for traveling shows. Interviews with curators, staff, and authors. A hacker’s how-to on converting an iPod into an art audio tour. An illustrated interview between a comic book artist and one very creative Walker teenager.
My only regret with the Walker blogs: That there’s not more. More voices, more behind-the-scenes stories, more face-to-face encounters with artists. It’s a big public institution, but it’s made up of zillions of tiny stories… Time permitting, I’d like to hear a few more.
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One for the Road |
The Collector by Jason Najarak
Jason Najarak is a Minneapolis-based artist who counts Vincent Price, John Wayne, the Freudian Institute of Vienna, Salvador Dali, President Carter, the TB Walker Museum, the Mayo Clinic, and Bill Gates among his collectors. Look for an exhibition of Najarak's new paintings in Northfield, MN this September along with a show at Shane’s on Main in Stillwater. He will be teaching art seminars on Flemish Painting at home and around the world over the coming year, from Rainy Lake and Malta to Florence, Italy. Browse through more of this distinctive artist's new work on his website.
Blueboy by Jason Najarak |
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The mission of mnartists.org is to improve the lives of Minnesota artists and provide access to and engagement with Minnesota’s arts culture. |
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