Resonance: Tribute to John Steffl Reveals the Extent of His Impact on the Northland Arts Scene

Anne Dugan, arts curator, shared remarks about John Steffl's life and work.

Wednesday, September 19, the North Shore Bank of Commerce held an opening reception for a retrospective featuring artwork by the late John Steffl. Titled Resonance, the event turned out to be a virtual "who's who" of nearly everyone important in the local arts as well as attendees from out of town like an extended family paying tribute to someone whose life has been a fountain of influence.

It's well-known that the former UMD instructor, DAI director, North Shore Bank curator and artist has been at war with cancer for many years. Early this summer he passed away at home at age 69. The exhibition, which will be on display through December 7, is a tribute to a man whose work and life inspired many others.

One of his ceramic pieces, probably worth its weight in gold.

His creative expression flew in a variety of directions, and the work displayed captures several of these wings. He initially came to Duluth to get a Masters degree under the tutelage of Glenn Nelson, one of the most well-known teachers of ceramics in the country. Several examples of Steffl's ceramic work are on display at the bank.

No one would have criticized him for remaining a ceramicist. His creative explorations led to large-scale paintings that searched for the boundaries of design and liberation. If you visit the bank you'll see many of these large canvases that seem at times to be an expression of what Picasso once said, that “every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

I remember being impressed with his large canvases
when I first arrived in Duluth in 1986.

When John Steffl was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2004, ceramics and painting were no longer viable for him due to the debilitating nature of his treatment. This did not stop him from curating some fabulous shows at the NSB. His new fascination as an artist became flowers, and much of his flower-themed digital photography can be seen in the bank's hallways this fall.

The reception ran from 5:00 till 7:00 p.m., punctuated by a some remarks by three speakers. Larry Johnson, retired CEO who had been with the bank 55 years, welcomed us and then introduced Annie Dugan, who has now taken on the mantle left behind by John as curator for the North Shore Bank. Annie, as always, brings an exceptional brightness and knowledge to events like these, noting John's influence and highlighting features of the work on display.

She then introduced Neil Cuthbert, former VP of Programs for the McKnight Foundation. Neil began by describing how he'd hit it off with John when the met 30 years ago. This was, of course, a problem, because it is somewhat understood that foundations must remain somewhat immune to personal influence or favoritism and keep a professional distance. John was director of the Duluth Art Institute at the time and Neil admitted he was impressed with what John was doing there when their friendship began. According to Neil it was through John's leadership that the DAI became a "community." Because of Neil's statewide reach he could see that what was germinating here was unique in Minnesota, opening peoples' minds to the arts. He stated his conviction that the vibrancy of the arts here in the Northland could be traced to John's influence.

The cross-section of artists of all stripes present here last night would certainly seem to affirm that there was a measure of truth in these remarks.

If you are able, find a way to visit the North Shore Bank sometime this fall. It's located at 131 West Superior Street, a section of downtown not plundered in the first phase of the Superior Street renovation. And if you go, be sure to pick up the handout, which includes not only pricing but also Ann Klefstad's excellent distillation of Steffl's life and career.

It goes without saying, the spread from Duluth Grill was exceptional as alway.
A special thank you to Tom Hanson and crew.

Related Links

Community Remembers Artist, Curator John Steffl
"Sick" -- About the Tweed Acquisition of a recent Steffl work.

Meantime art goes on all around us. Get into it.

Duluth Art Scene: Coming Attractions

Carla Hamilton at the Red Mug thru end of April

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” ― Roald Dahl

A few tips for the week ahead.

Tonight @ the Red Mug
Opening reception for Carla Hamilton's Pocket Full of Unicorns
I know I'm just one of many fans of Carla Hansen's original expressions. If you are unable to attend tonight's opening at the Red Mug in Superior, then be sure to grab a soup and sandwich sometime over the next month for an impressive array of new work.

Friday
Opening reception for Dan Hansen @ Benchmark Tattoo. Get a preview of Dan's upcoming show here. This show will be u throughout the month of April.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015
The April Tweevenings at the Tweed will be presented by Dorian Beaulieu.  This free event begins at 6:30 p.m. Beaulieu is a ceramist and faculty member at Lake Superior College. During the course of the talk, Beaulieu will reference artists and their ceramic works according to the theme Mark of the Fire, from the exhibition Resurfaced, Reformed: Evolution in Studio Ceramics.

Thursday, April 9
Cody Paulson's Port City Supply Co is slated to run from April 9 to June 4 at Duluth Art Institute. Paulson's photography features Duluth imagery in a uniquely modern manner. The reception is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. on May 14, and a special Design Pop Up Shop will be available June 4 to June 6, 2015 featuring artists curated by Paulson alongside more of his design work.

“Cody Paulson is an emerging talent whose images have a voice that is specific to Duluth. It’s like you are looking at a visual identity manual for our town,” said Anne Dugan, DAI Executive & Artistic Director.

While many local photographers focus on the spectacular natural beauty of the area, Paulson takes a distinctive approach to documenting the region. He finds text and fonts from the backs of trucks, portions of hand-painted signs on brick alleyways or blocks of paint on industrial buildings. Geometry and color feature heavily in his work and the industrial roots of Duluth play a starring role in his port town portraits.

Paulson is also known around town for serving as senior design director and videographer at Swim Creative and as the founder and owner of Jambox Shred Gear, a clothing collective that creates skate and snowboarding apparel.

Saturday, April 4
In the mood for music, good pizza and a brew? Make it over to Thirsty Pagan and catch Amy Grillo and Gene LaFond. If I'm not mistaken Jeredt Runions' paintings still decorate some of the walls.


Meantime, life goes on all around you. Be part of it.

Chester Chat On Art Was Both Fun and Informative

Last Thursday I attended my first Chester Chat at Glensheen Mansion, the 7.6 acre estate built by Chester A. Congdon just over one hundred years ago on the shore of Lake Superior and donated to the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 1968. I heard mention of it on KUMD radio and was intrigued to learn that something like the internationally recognized TED Talks was taking place here in a UMD-sponsored event.

The idea behind TED Talks is "Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world." The Chester Chats program has been patterned after this format of bringing some of our locally remarkable people to briefly share insights on various themes. And last week's theme was about art.

Despite excessively cold temps, the three speakers filled the room with a public eager to hear lively presentations about regional art. Dan Hartman, interim director of Glensheen, served as moderator. Our featured speakers were Sarah Brokke-Erickson, MFA who teaches at St. Scholastica, Anne Dugan, curator and interim director of the Duluth Art Institute, and Dr. Jennifer Webb, who teaches art history at UMD.

What follows are a few brief notes from what each brought to share.

Sarah Brokke-Erickson

Sarah Brokke's talk was titled "An Artist's Perspective" and her opening line set the tone. "You can hardly throw a rock here (in Duluth0 without hitting an artist."

Brokke, who hails from Grand Forks and came here to attend college at UMD, has had the privilege of studying abroad in places such as England, France, and Florence, Italy. She considers herself a post-post-modernist.

She asked, "What makes someone an artist?" And she began with the earliest form of art that is with us today. "What compelled people to make cave paintings?" It is clearly a human thing to create, she noted. Art is a human expression. Therefore everyone has potential to be an artist.

She stated that to define what is art puts limits on what is possible. She closed by encouraging us to take time each day to perceive and reflect on the world around us.

Anne Dugan's talk about regional art began with her sharing a pet peeve of hers. Duluth has a thriving art scene, but too often she hears people dismiss it by unfavorably comparing ourselves to other places, The reality is, we're not New York. We're not Austin. We're Duluth!

Recent painting by Scott Murphy

After initially introducing us to two Russian artists Dugan gave short presentations on three local artists who exemplify qualities of our region. First of these is Scott Murphy, whose mural at the library is a wonderful example of public art. His recent show at the DAI is rooted in a Northern Minnesota blue collar tradition. Next, she gave us Katharine Meier, who moved to Duluth from a small town in Nebraska. Her work goes beyond depiction and returns to open spaces. The influence of Native culture permeates our local art scene as well, and Dugan highlighted this by sharing Annette Lee and Ojibwe X-Ray paintings of William Wilson. The slides fail to do justice to these works which need to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.

Dr. Jennifer Webb talked about Glensheen's connection to art. Chester Congdon created an arts board when he was young that eventually became the Duluth Art Institute. He was a founder of the Society of Encouragement of Art in Duluth, an unwieldy name but noble in purpose. The group bought a major painting for the new Carnegie Library downtown and put together a show in 1898 featuring the art of our region and artist David Ericson.

Their aim was to create a legacy around the twin themes "All of us are artists; all of us are collectors." Their aim of supporting artist and making a community impact is with us to this day. 

Ten Minutes with Annie Dugan, Curator at the DAI

The Duluth Art Institute has been more than just a place to showcase artists and the arts. The DAI is an exemplary model of ways the art involve and give back to the community. The current curator is Annie Dugan, a Northlander who after graduating from Carleton College in Northfield went on to get her Master's at Columbia University in New York. Duluth. After her stint out east she returned to the Midwest, of which she says, "I live in Northern Minnesota where I eat good vegetables and watch movies in my big old barn. Also, I like art." Her energy for the arts here is helps re-charge a lot of batteries.

Ennyman: Briefly, how did you come to be curator at Duluth Art Institute and what does a curator do?
Anne Dugan: I was lucky enough to take the job as Curator at the Duluth Art Institute a year and a half ago. My training is in Art History and curatorial studies and I was incredibly lucky to find a job that fit my education so well. I had worked with the Duluth Art Institute before so I was familiar with the institution and staff, but I still feel amazingly fortunate to have landed my “dream job”.

The term curator covers a lot of ground these days – people use the term for all sorts of things – basically a curator is someone who organizes and presents cool things to the public. At the Duluth Art Institute the curator is the person that selects exhibits and interprets the works on view. Because we have an extremely small staff, the curator at the Duluth Art Institute also functions as the preparator, registrar, grant-writer, program coordinator, party planner, marketer, etc, etc…..

E: What was your role in bringing the Robert Hughes film series, Shock of the New, to Duluth?

AD: We had started a relationship with Zinema 2 this fall. (and I should say here that I think Zinema 2 is the best thing that has happened to Duluth in probably forever! Seriously.) Anyway, we were looking to do something again this winter and Johnathon Olsen, the manager, suggested “Shock of the New.” I love the opportunity to deepen the discussion around the visual arts. This is an older series, it came out in 1980, but I think it’s a good jumping off point for our audiences, especially if they don’t have any background with art history. I’m thrilled that folks are stepping up to serve as “guest hosts” from the community – we’ve got professors, critics, and artists coming to make this a really fun series.

E: Why, in your opinion, is it important for art to connect with the public? That is, why are the arts important for communities like ours?
AD: I would say it is vital that the arts connects with the public – is it really art if it doesn’t?
The arts can raise questions, compel us to think about problems in different ways, help us be more tolerant. The arts can inspire us and give meaning to our lives. The arts can be a way to come together and provide joy. I’m sounding a lot like an inspirational poster so I’ll stop but the arts can play a practical role in our community as well. Arts can drive business and attract a smart, talented work force.

E: How did you become interested in a career in the arts?
AD: I actually started out in college as a geology major but I had always loved art history. My family was pretty nerdy so we would go to museums for vacations. I ended up realizing that what I loved about geology was looking closely at something to find clues to its past. What I didn’t love was higher math so I ended up switching to Art History. I was fortunate enough to work at the Walker Art Center after college which gave me a pretty great introduction to the possibilities of a career in the arts.

E: Can you give us a brief history of the Duluth Art Institute? How long has it been around? How did it begin? What does the future look like?
AD: Since its incorporation in 1907, the DAI has become the Northland’s premier center for the exhibition, study and production of visual arts, achieving its mission and goals through three primary services for artists and the community-at-large: the Exhibition Program, Education Program and Artist Services.

After existing in storefronts, churches, and artists’ homes for nearly 80 years, the Institute found a permanent home in 1975 in the former Union Depot, along with several other cultural organizations. From this location we currently operate two galleries and a series of studio and workshop spaces serving our arts education program. We use the Depot’s Great Hall for large, community exhibitions, such as our annual membership exhibition. In 1993 the Institute purchased the former Lincoln Library in Duluth’s West End to provide arts programming to one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the city. According to figures released in a United Way report on September 25, 2007, 15.5% of residents in Duluth live below the poverty line. The purchase of the Lincoln Center building was inspired by a desire to reach under-served communities in this ethnically rich, yet economically challenged, West End neighborhood. Today, the DAI serves a population of approximately 313,500 in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin from its two locations in Duluth, Minnesota.

We’re excited for the future of the Duluth Art Institute, especially given the recent energy surrounding visual arts in our community.

E: There seems to be a lot of energy swirling around the arts scene these past few years. New galleries, new venues, art in more public spaces. To what do you attribute this?
AD: I actually think the silver lining of the economy being in the gutter is that folks have decided they might as well do what they love if everything is crap anyway. Plus I think there is a tipping point effect – we’ve met a critical mass that is passionate and excited about the arts and is actually doing something about it that it invigorates folks who might have otherwise sat on the sidelines. I also think that folks are starting to work together in meaningful ways. A lot of the galleries are coordinating openings and cross-promoting their events. In this case – more is totally more!

E: Thanks, Anne, for all you are doing behind the scenes... and out front.

Photos: Anne Dugan and 2 images from January's DAI Member Show