Blair Treuer's "Identity" on Display at the DAI

There was a time when serious art primarily meant painting, drawing and sculpture. Even photography wasn't considered a serious art form, nor print making and graphic design. But things change, and as more artists work in a medium, its possibilities begin to flourish, as do the boundary lines as regards what is and isn't art. If the 20th century served any purpose in terms of art history, it can be said that it was a period of time in which definitions were challenged and boundaries came down.

The current shows at the Duluth Art Institute reflect some of the adventurous forms artists have explored. Blair Treuer's current exhibit in the John Steffl Gallery on the fourth floor of the Historic Depot is another example of the the possibilities of textile or fiber art, which features art that is produced using natural or synthetic fiber and other components, such as fabric or yarn. Here is a website that will introduce you to a variety of artists who work in various ways using textiles as their medium: Top Ten Famous Textile Artists You Should Know About.

The title of Treuer's show is Identity. Treuer, who studied History, Philosophy and Psychology in college went on to work with disadvantaged populations through various organizations including foster homes, treatment centers and more. While working on her Masters in Special Ed she married Anton Treuer and abandoned her own career goals to focus on supporting her husband's career as Educator and Activist, and to raise their 9 children. 

Each of the pieces in this show has a story behind it.  Here's more from the DAI website regarding the work:

Textile artist Blair Treuer’s portraits of herself, husband and nine children move off the walls with emotional energy. Textures and patterns blend and contrast, creating form; fabric mimicking paint while luring viewers to lean in, to observe, to examine detail. Relationships of the materials emerge, as do the relationships between the artist, herself and her family. Treuer explains, “The portraits are an intimate conversation about my life and the lives of my husband and children. My son’s inability to fit in at school; my daughters struggles with drug abuse, incarceration and the loss of her children; the loss I feel about my severed connection to my ancestors as a Scandinavian transplant with nothing left of my heritage to hold onto.” Treuer continues, “This exhibit is about my life as an outsider, the only non-Native American in my immediate family. My work is about my reflections of standing fixed on the outside, but privileged enough to look in.” 

In Identity, Treuer becomes a storyteller delivering a message, “magic can be created when two people from different cultures love each other and build a life together.”

In looking at the manner in which her "textile paintings" are assembled, there's a stylistic resemblance (for me) to Adam Swanson's loose edges and vivid colors. Go see the show and tell me what you think about that.

Like Susanna Gaunt's creations in the George Morrison Gallery, the atypical materials open new directions as regard art's possibilities. Both shows will be on display through the end of January 2021.

Related Links

Karen McTavish: Pushing the Boundaries of Quilting

A Visit with Susanna Gaunt on Her DAI Show Integument