Local Art Seen: PLYS With Purpose @ the PROVE and a Call For Art

While downtown Tuesday eve I stopped in at the PROVE to check out their current show PLYS With Purpose, a silent auction of skateboards crafter by local and international artists. All proceeds directly benefiting the Gary New Duluth Skate Park. The artists in this show were selected not only for their art skills but also for their impact on skateboard communities or the influence of skateboard culture on their lives.

The skateboard decks are always impressive. It's also impressive how they've incorporated online opportunities into the auction mix. (Visit www.32auctions.com/plyswithpurpose2019)

The architect for the new skateboard park is Mark Leski, a nationally recognized skate park design known as "The Wizard."

THIS SHOW RUNS THROUGH JUNE 21
MORE PLYS BELOW THIS CALL FOR ART

CALL FOR ART

You Don’t Know Me

an exhibition about epic personal stories

You Don’t Know Me is an exhibition whose theme is inspired in part by the concept of “sonder,” a term invented by writer John Koenig and defined in his Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows as “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as complex as your own.” These lives--“populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness”-- continuously swirl around us as “epic stories,” that we move in and out of as we navigate the world around us.

Whether spoken in delight, anger, sadness, or as a simple matter-of-fact, “you don’t know me” is a statement that suggests the confrontation of humans’ inner and outer lives: what we do and do not know about the people around us, what we choose to reveal to others, and what we keep inside. At a time when the distance between human connections can seem exacerbated by technology, social differences, and our current political climate, Prøve Gallery invites artists to submit works of art that visualize--through representational, symbolic, and/or conceptual means--complex lives and epic stories in relation to, intersecting with, or distinct from your own. Show us what we may not know about you.

Selected artworks may explore (but are not limited to):
* Explorations of self & personal narratives or mythologies
* Human interconnectedness
* Empathy, understanding, & trust
* Connections & encounters among strangers or friends
* Isolation & distance
* Misconceptions
* Secrets & revelations

Specifications:
Open to all subjects and/or styles.
Open to all media that can be wall mounted. All works should be completed in a ready-to-hang format.
There are no size requirements or limitations beyond practical considerations of space (must fit through conventional door).

Submission
Deadline for submission is July 1, 2019 (midnight, central time).

HOW TO SUBMIT
Please email all submissions to info@provegallery.com with subject line: You Don't Know Me

Please submit (in one PDF document):

* Image(s) of Work

* Didactics [titles, medium, size, & price (if for sale)]

* A brief artist statement that answers the following question: How does your artistic work visualize, reveal, or even conceal the “epic story” of your life and its relationship to the epic lives that are playing out all around you?

All artists will be notified upon acceptance with a deadline of July 3, 2019.
Selected artwork is to be dropped off, or mailed in by Saturday, July 13, 2019.
Opening reception Friday, July 19, 2019.

All submission materials must be written in English.
All work is shown at the artist's own risk.
All work shipped to Prøve Gallery must be sent with return shipping or be picked up by the artist or an artist's representative.
--
Dr. Jamie L. Ratliff
she/her/hers

Board Member, Prøve Gallery
21 N Lake Ave
Duluth, MN 55802

jamie@provegallery.com

* * * *

Almost Wordless Wednesday: The Things They Carried @ the Prøve Collective

"But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget."

--The Things They Carried

Show runs 8/19 - 9/9
Open Hours: Thursday-Saturday, 4-7 p.m.

or by appointment: info@provegallery

A contemporary expressionist conversation between Brian Ring & Flo Matamoros

Another Big Weekend In Duluth -- Tall Ships, Art in the Park and More

This day in music history... Ringo Starr made his debut with the Beatles in 1962. Two years later on this day The Beatles arrived in San Francisco to be mobbed by a crowd of 9,000 fans at the start of their American tour. On this day in 1969 the "Woodstock Nation" was born... a place where hippie dreams and realities collided.  Meantime, life went on.

A small Tall Ship at Karpeles... and more.

This weekend in Duluth will be memorable for many. I've read estimates of 200,000 to 300,000 people coming into town for the Tall Ships festival. If you think the waterfront is impressive when the ore boats come and go, the Tall Ships is a spectacle not to be missed. Unless you have a distaste for large crowds and parking hassles.

For a smaller crowd, but still crowded, try the Hoghead Festival in Proctor, August 15-21. Last night more than 100 classic cars were gathered in the center of town, and an outdoor beer garden helped create a festive air.

Art in Bayfront Park kicks off today and will run through Sunday, August 21. I missed the Park Point Art Fair this year for the first time in a decade because I did not see any ads or promotional notices. At the other end of the spectrum is Art in Bayfront Park in which I seem to be getting notifications by the hour. In addition to the free art fair (except for the parking) they are hosting an awards dinner at Marshall High School called the ARTcademy Awards Dinner/Comedy Night For $25 the evening will include a comic entertainer and lots of awards tomorrow evening from 6:30 till 8:30. Oh, there will be lots of fabulous food.

Recommended art shows tomorrow evening include The Things They Carried @ Prøve Collective and Monica Ares solo show In Their Midst @ Washington Studios Gallery. The Prøve event is featured in today's Best Bets section of the Trib.
 
It's my understanding that Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum will have a Tall Ships tie in on display.

And AJ Atwater's 400 Paintings can be viewed any time day or night, with a glass of wine or

Don't be shy. There will be plenty to see this weekend. Then again, you may just want to get away from it all on one of our many hiking or biking trails and other escapes.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. 

Local Art Seen: Support at the PRØVE

Vision Chair

It's been just over three years since the PRØVE Gallery's inaugural exhibition. A lot has changed since those first shows by the PRØVE Collective, but one thing has remained constant. Their original mission was "to become a conduit of powerful ideas and diverse viewpoints as well as fostering a greater appreciation of the modern arts, expanding community and providing cultural exchange. The gallery’s ambitious aims include presenting monthly shows, collaborating with like-minded arts organizations and create networking opportunities that benefit the arts retail environment." The gallery has remained a central place to see compelling art that goes off the edge of ordinariness.

Last night I was able to attend an opening reception for Support, a show curated by graduating students of UMD Professor Jen Dietrich's senior seminar course. The students have spent the semester working hands on with PRØVE to develop concepts, learn about the daily operations of running the gallery, and the process of developing an art exhibition in a professional setting. 

Assembling this show, Support, included putting out a call for entries from the UMD campus and selecting pieces for exhibition. As a collective, they have curated and decided to give back to a known mentor of students, Brian Hendrickson.

Hendrickson has been a long-time support for multitudes of students at UMD. He helps build frames for large canvas paintings, solves problems related to building foundations for projects and aids in installations. He's a helping hand when needed, and his unheralded service has been greatly appreciated. Now, he's in need of support in his battle with cancer.

The work, all by students, reflected a wide range of styles and attitudes. Some of the pieces were visual essays, and all deserved more engagement. A jazz ensemble provided atmosphere with a good crowd showing their support for this labor of love by the students.

Floating City by Yinghui Meng

* * * *

A Few Endnotes
Less than two weeks till Christmas. There are several events today where you can buy local and support the arts. There is a Duluth Armory Celebration at the Armory Annex (former Perkins) on London Road is having an event featuring arts, crafts and pottery workshops, along with live music. 5::00 till 8:00 p.m.

Noon till 2:00 Chris Monroe is doing a signing copies of her new children's book Bug on a Bike at the Fitgers Book Store.

2:00 till 4:00 p.m. there is a book signing for my new children's book A Remarkable Tale from the Land of Podd at The Red Mug Coffeehouse in Superior. My illustrator Ian Welshons drove up from Stillwater and will be signing copies of the book as well.

Trepanier Hall is hosting Biiboon Bimaadizimin: Winter Good Life, with artists and artisans selling a variety of cool things, also with music and more.

And Nice Girls of the North has merged with the Second Saturday Marketplace. They will be open in Laeside from 10:00 a.m. till 3:00 today.

It's a really warm one today. Can it be spring already? Make the most of your day.

PRØOF Magazine Call for Art: Vestiges

PRØOF Magazine Sends Out A Call

PRØOF, Duluth, Minnesota’s publication of contemporary art and literature, is accepting submissions to its fourth issue, ‘Vestiges,’ coming out in January of 2015. ‘Vestiges’ will focus on the loss of print publications for all mediums of art. Any format or style of written or visual work addressing this theme is acceptable, and contributors are encouraged to think outside of the box.

Issue overview: The loss of print mediums for artists is devastating, and at once, thrilling. We forge ahead into a new domain of online publishing, and since PRØOF Mag is an entirely online publication, we are seeking visual art, poetry, flash fiction, essays, and short stories surrounding the disappearance of print. Please venerate, celebrate, cherish, admire, or disparage, condemn, disregard, or bits of both, so that we may put together a wide ranging dialogue on the subject of publishing.

**please note: If you are selected for this issue of the magazine as a writer, or a visual artist, you will be in consideration for inclusion in our January 2015 exhibition. We will be showcasing selections from the magazine, as well as hosting a reading with the featured artist, Brian Beatty. We may not be able to print, but we have the gallery space, and the tenacity, to create this transmedic event!

PRØOF Magazine: PRØOF is published by Prøve Collective of Duluth. Our mission is to showcase the talent of local, regional, and national artists and writers and foster the discussion of important ideas about arts and culture. PRØOF is proud to be based in Minnesota, and it will focus on one local artist in each issue, bringing them into larger discussions of regional and national art.

Click this link for submission information.

Local Art Seen: Second Friday Art Crawl, August 9

Many pieces by Chris Dunn caught my eye.

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” ― Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

I visited the grave of Thomas Merton once. Merton was a Trappist monk whose remains can be found at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Northern Kentucky, a little southeast of Louisville. I was doing research for a story about a writer that I titled "The Unfinished Stories of Richard Allen Garston" which can be found in my second volume of short stories, the eBook Newmanesque. I needed to see the place, to understand the life one of my characters had escaped to, to feel the earth, to taste the stinky cheese and bourbon fudge.

I could have learned a lot by means of photos and details from books and the Gethsemani website. But visiting, being there, walking the grounds, getting a sense of the atmosphere, the geography and the proximity to surrendered lives, this was far more vivid and enabled my story -- a total fiction -- to have a level of veracity that I can't imagine having generated otherwise. I consider it one of my best stories as a result.

A Navajo Boy by Rustan

All this to say that when I write about the local art scene here in Duluth, whether it's gallery hopping or visits to openings, or just bringing out of town friends to places where there is public art, I would suggest that there's a quantum difference between the first hand experience and what you see online in various places where Minnesota artists show their work.

Friday night was another beautiful evening for art. If you haven't been down in Bayfront Park at the Blues Fest, the weekend seemed ideal for nearly everything you could think of, from sailing to picking berries to grilling steaks or just sitting with friends on your patio drinking a beer. I attended art openings both Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, sharing some of it with a long-time writer friend and meeting many other friends along the way.

Chris Dunn

We started at Washington Gallery, the joint show called Hootenanny featuring work by Emma Rustan and Chris Dunn. I know well how invigorating it is when you're hosting an art opening, but this room was packed and absolutely charged with electricity because it was more than just a show. It was a celebration. The evening before, Rustan and Dunn were married and their many friends were on hand to use this occasion to celebrate. 

This was Rustan's third show here, but Dunn's first. He seemed to be enjoying the occasion as she certainly was. Dunn, who drives a delivery truck by day, graduated from UWS with a degree in Industrial Design. His work, featured in the North Wing of the gallery, shows a confident hand and keen eye.

Rustan is clearly living for art, enjoying a phase of creative production that one looks for in a painter/artist. Her paintings filled Gallery 1 (the South Wing) with color and boldness, a style that reminds me of stained-glass windows at times. She works in acrylics on canvases varying in size from 18"x 24" to 40"x 30". 

Down the street at the PRØVE Gallery the theme was Papyiri. Works in paper and on paper proved to be the cohesive element. Having failed to bring home a show summary I can only comment weakly that many details will be missing here. The first section of the gallery featured intricate layered images that I found fascinating. These works by Tara Austin dealt with perception, geometric reiteration, plant taxonomy and beauty. This was followed by some unusual conceptual expressions from the exploded imagination of Donna Miller. Further back in the gallery space there were a series of hermaphroditic pencil drawings by Venus de Mars, re-staging in my mind memories of scenes from Fellini's Satyricon. The back wall featured colorful works and paper designs and pedestals in the gallery featured art on boxes or created with books.

Even the restroom had an original work of note in it. Rob Adams created a touch-free optically-activated art dispenser in there. Apparently most people chose to wipe their hands on his art, rather than taking it home. His response? "That was part of the social experiment anyway!"

Last month I accidentally discovered the art on display at Minnesota Wine Exchange. I encourage you to check out this space and I have been encouraging Deb Fellman and Brent Johanson to keep it going. They have a wonderful space in a great location, next door down from Double Dutch on the corner of Lake and Superior. Paintings by Philip C. Jones and the late John Peyton are currently featured, but I have been told there will be rotation of artists here and if you're picking up a bit to eat at 7 West or Pizza Luce, it's a space worth checking out.

This city has a lot going for it. Were I able to achieve a successful clone of myself I'd take more of it in. The music options are phenomenal -- this weekend being Blues Fest -- but there's some strong theater talent here as well. Boredom is not an option.

Peyton was best known for his landscapes before his passing.

Author John Prin and myself at the Papyri show.

Be well. Embrace the arts and broaden your horizons.

Happenings Today In North Country Art, Music and Literature

Tonight at the Prøve

Tonight is the gallery hop in Downtown Duluth. And for starters I recommend starting with Duluth artist AJ Atwater at Washington Gallery. Her exhibit, Manhattan Nightscapes, will be open from 6-9pm.

According to a media statement Atwater works in her Duluth studio and studies and paints at the Art Students League in New York City under abstract landscape artist, Ronnie Landfield. She says, “painting in the same studios and walking the same halls Jackson Pollock, Georgia O’Keeffe and Robert Rauschenberg did, is inspiring.”  No kidding.

I visited her website earlier this week and her work looks amazing. I can't wait to check it out in person.

There's also what looks to be a great show at the Prøve Collective called The Lost, the Discarded and the Beautiful featuring the work of Brent Erickson, Andy Mattern, David Bowen, and Kristina Estell. Visit their  Event Description for more details about this show. Looks exciting.

In the literary realm, the Featured eBook of the Day at N&L Publishing is The Breaking Point and Other Stories What this means is that you may download a free copy of my third volume of short stories Free till midnight. We're hoping that when you finish the book you'll write a review at Amazon.com and share this with your friends. Normally this book is $1.99... and worth every penny. (Emoticon here.)

With the exception of the light-hearted and wry "Liz Mills," the unifying theme in this collection is an exploration of the emotions, expectations, illusions and delusions of mundane characters. In the midst of their ordinary lives there is a decisive, extraordinary event. 

The title story in this collection won the Arrowhead Regional Arts Fiction Competition in 1991, an honor that put a few dollars in my wallet but more importantly served to reinforce my belief that my writing skills had been honed. It helps to know you're not just kidding yourself, whatever facet of the arts you labor in.

I say labor because though dabblers may enjoy therapeutic benefits from their art, truly great art requires discipline, sacrifice and work. No, I'm not suggesting this is great art or great literature, though it is what I aspire to, and what I encourage other writers and artists to aspire to. The world is a better place for it when to press on toward a higher call... toward higher standards for ourselves.

If music is your thing, there's a fabulous lineup at Clyde Iron Works tonight. The occasion is Snöbarn's Album Release Celebration. What a lineup! Mary Bue will be opening at 7:00. A pair of short films will follow and then the concert. Yester will take the nod before yielding to Snöbarn. And Charlie Parr will take it over the top.

Oh, and did I forget to say there's an art show simultaneously? Well... there are some tough decisions to make tonight. Make sure you download the book though. It's an easy read. And tell us what you think.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Have a great, great evening.

A Little Bit of Luke Holden, and a Lot More

Luke Holden, 2012

On an evening like this last spring I met Luke Holden, a young artist from the Bemidji area whose work was being displayed at the Ochre Ghost Gallery. The Ghost continues to be a nice little gallery for bringing people doing original and sometimes unconventional contemporary work to a wider public.

Tonight is the culmination of NXN visual arts week here and there will be a lot to see so plan your evening well in advance. In addition to the traditional trio of galleries doing the Second Friday Night Art Crawl (Washington, Ochre and Prove) there is also an opening in a new space across the street from the Prove. Be sure to check out Luminaries at the Prove Gallery and #RadioPluto at The Gardner Building across the way.

But don't stop there. There are happenings at the Duluth Photography Institute, Northern Prints Gallery, Pineapple Arts, and a gallery Skywalk Tour.

Over in Souptown is the Goin' Postal Spring Show featuring new work by Carla Magnuson, Jeredt Runions, Dustin Keliin, Becky Brandt, Anthony Sclavi, Andrew Perfetti, Lindsey Graskey, Justin Sinks, Matt Stengl, John Heino, Tal Lindblad, Colin Wiita, Big Andy, Chelsea Miller, Eric Horn, Tara Stone, Christian Dalbec, Sharon Rogers, Mike Trepanier and yours truly. I've  decided to auction off my John & Yoko tonight, so if you are one of the several people who've asked for pricing over the past year, you may want to get a bid in.

As I said, plan the evening well so you know where you want to end the later part of the evening. Prove is open till 11:00 p.m. and the Goin' Postal Show is throwing an afterparty at Bev's Jook Joint next door with several stellar local performers, The Tico Three, Five Pints of Rye, Next of Kin and Dennis.

But first, let's hear what Luke Holden has to say about making art.

EN: How and when did you come to take an interest in art? 
LH: My parents are artists and they've always encouraged me to paint and draw.

EN: Where did you study? 
LH: I studied visual art at Perpich Center for Arts Education, aka: "the arts hi" in Golden Valley MN. Most recently I am studying printmaking at Bemidji State University.

EN: Who are your favorite artists and why? 
LH: My favorite artists are my friends, because when you know the artist it makes the work more meaningful. It tells things about the person.

EN: Where do you live and what do you currently do for a living? 
LH: I live in Bemidji. I am a student worker in the screenprinting studio at BSU. I am also a personal care attendant for an adult with autism.

EN: You like to draw. Describe how that started and how you developed your style. 
LH: I travel alot and it’s easy to keep a sketchbook. Drawing is the foundation of alot of other processes and I probably will never master it. My style is sloppy, basically. I like drawing fast and not fussing with it much. I've noticed I draw best when I'm distracted, like on the telephone. Theres something about things coming out of my hands without alot of intention. I like that.

EN: Do you have a name for you style? 
LH: No, I don't have a name besides sloppy.

EN: Where can people see more of your work? 
LH: People can see more of my work in the basement of the Bemidji Community Art Center where my studio is. Also at random art shows in Northern Minnesota!

Here are a few additional pieces from last year's show.

Best Bets and Kudos

Thursday's Wave in the Duluth News Tribune is a good way to catch ideas for things to do here in the Twin Ports. Here are a few activities to be aware in case you don't see them there, with kudos to some of the people involved.

Fund Raiser for the Film Festival
Tonight the Duluth Superior Film Festival is putting on a Silent Auction and Kickstarter Launch Event at the Prøve Collective, 5:30-8:30 PM. They will be sharing an abundance of food from Hanabi Sushi and Tycoons Alehouse and Eatery with free cocktails, free beer and free admission. Richard Hansen has pounded the pavement to bring in some valuable auction items from the Duluth Playhouse, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of the North, Renegade Theater Company, UMD's Theater and Music Departments, Minnesota Ballet, Zinema 2, Film Festival All Access Passes, Guthrie Theater, Duluth Airshow, artwork from local artists, GCs from great restaurants, plus other works by local artists and photographers. Sounds grand.

Kudos to Richard Hansen for the energy he brings to the local arts scene.

'ImPULSE' art exhibition at the PRØVE
I've been waiting eight months for this show that will feature new work from Jen Dietrich and Sandy Gillespie, April 12 - April 27. Mark your calendars for Friday April 12th, 7-11pm. The write-up for this show is intriguing. "As politically engaged feminists, Jen Dietrich’s work often addresses the personal thru the political—with Sandy Gillespie’s, the reverse. Gillespie’s work still holds to the early feminist principle that the personal is political. We are each interested in experimenting with media, texture, and color -- materials -- as well as content. We are both abstract artists, though Dietrich’s abstraction is representational. Gillespie’s is seldom representational." What I have found in my readings of recent years is that feminism is often miscast as a singular perspective when in reality it is as varied as Christianity's diverse denominations.
 
Kudos to Jen Dietrich for the manner in which she's rolled up her sleeves to do so much for the arts locally while continuing to pursue her own self-expression.

Congressman Rick Nolan at the Zeitgeist
Tomorrow evening Twin Ports Arts Align is hosting a mixer with 8th District Congressman Rick Nolan from 5-6pm at the Zeitgeist Arts Atrium in Downtown Duluth. Wine and cheese provided. It's a good opportunity to share the many good things happening in the local arts community. I heard him sing last year at a fund raiser for the heart association, too, and he isn't half bad...

Kudos to Crystal Pelkey for your leadership in the TPAA. Keep it going.

Seeding the Next Generation
Phantom Galleries Superior is hosting a student art show with works from high school art students of Superior and Maple in a vacant storefront. The event will be Saturday April 13 from 1-5 at 1412 Tower Avenue. There will be an artist talk at 3:00 PM.

Kudos to Erika Mock, another tireless worker in the Superior arts scene.

First Weekend at the Snoodle
Tomorrow evening from 5:30 PM until Sunday 3:00 PM there will be activities at the Snoodle Ceramic Studio on Grand Avenue near the zoo. A Snoodle Hike and open studio times are planned along with a Family Art Exhibit.

Kudos to Tonya Borgeson for her overcoming attitude in the face of last year's flood damage and her commitment to making art have meaning for the wider community.

Minnesota Book Awards Poetry Reading
One more agenda item for tomorrow evening is literary arts event at the Prøve Gallery downtown.
This year's Featured eBook of the Day: Jim Johnson, Dore Kiesselbach, and Patricia Kirkpatrick are making a stop in Duluth. These poets are sure to kick your weekend into gear with thoughtful, funny, and beautiful words at Prøve Gallery on Friday, April 5. As with all Prøve events, admission is free.

Kudos to Kathleen Roberts for helping blur the lines between the literary arts and visual arts and helping to give poets a viable platform to reach out beyond their usual confines.

And to think, this is but a warm up for the rest of the spring which will be alive with gallery hops, Homegrown Music, Dylan Fest and more. Have a great weekend. There's plenty to do.

Don't Miss Master MEME Tonight at the PRØVE

Dan Hansen (left) with Lucas Anderson

PRØVE AND LIZZARDS PROVIDE GREAT EXCUSES FOR HEADING DOWNTOWN TONIGHT 

Fans of the local Twin Ports visual arts scene have had plenty to buzz about in recent years. And it just keeps getting better. Tonight, the PRØVE Collective and Lizzard's Gallery offer two great excuses for heading downtown. And if you're checking out one, there's no need to move the car because the other is just around the corner. 

Master MEME: Art by Daniel Hansen and Lucas Anderson

Daniel Hansen is a local disabled artist exploring pop culture, '80s pixelation, and contemporary issues. Lucas Anderson teaches art locally at Marshall Academy. The show features individual work and art they have created collaboratively. This is the capstone show for the PRØVE's first year, and it's nothing short of a "must see", even if only for the spirit in which the work has been generated and generously shared with our community.

Cheyenne

I met Anderson this past spring through the DAI-sponsored film series Shock of the New. Last night I met Hansen for the first time as they dynamic duo were putting the finishing touches on what will be tonight's event, which is primarily Hansen's work.

I had asked Hansen how he'd become interested in art as a profession. He explained, "My interest is because it's time to get my art out there. I've been drawing since I was 3. My story is that I've had a progressive neuromuscular disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 2 (or SMA). The onset was at infancy so I've always been confined to a wheelchair."

This handicap has not restrained Hansen from pursuing his passions. In advance of our meeting I asked him to briefly share his story.

"I grew up in Grand Marais the son of Mark Hansen who founded North House Folk School. I've been at the sidelines observing everyone living and achieving normal things that were absurdly complicated or impossible to pull off. Every aspect of my life requires innovation and mastery on account of gradual muscular weakening. It just so happens art is merely a side affect of my paradigm shredding circumstance. The burning desire to defy all conventions and set new precedences is my morning cup of coffee! My medium is digital. The world of illusions are my inspiration. Fun, trans-mutational, fascination are the undercurrents of everything I do...the rest is open to interpretation." 

Last night as I looked at Hansen's work it became that fun really is the operative word in much of what he pulls off here. For example, the large piece titled Chico Strikes Back is a humorous portrayal of the forgotten Marx brother who had not gotten the recognition of his other siblings. Chico is at the piano, but the stock market index atop the instrument shows a declining market value. One wonders what he's doing with that loaded gun in his hand.

Upon entering the gallery one is struck by the scale and vivid color in Hansen's pieces. On the left ad you enter is a picture titled Cheyenne. Cheyenne is a girl Hansen met via the internet whom he has talked with on the phone for seven years. The picture reflects some of the chaos in Cheyenne's life. He says she has been a great influence on him.

Another piece, titled Cake or Pi, Hansen describes as "me jamming out."

Time: 7 - 11 p.m.
Free admission, refreshments by donation
If you've never been, the PROVE is located downstairs from the Sons of Norway Hall on Lake Avenue across from the Technology Center.

Chico Strikes Back

Art About Stories... paintings by Tom Tyler

Lizzard's Art Gallery at 11 West Superior Street (across from the MN Power Building) is hosting an opening reception tonight for their new exhibition of paintings by Minneapolis artist Tom Tyler. The work in this collection is primarily based on quotes or literature, books by Hemingway, Melville, Jack London, Joseph Conrad and even Greek mythology. Though the themes in his work vary, the written word serves as a common thread.

Considering the selection of writers cited, I am already drawn to this artist and look forward to seeing tonight's show.

Tyler's work has texture and movement, undoubtedly influence by the 20th century German Expressionists whom he admires. A full-time painter, he has a BA in studio art from the University of Minnesota, where he studied with painters Jo Lutz Rollins and Cameron Booth. His work has been exhibited in Minnesota, California and New Mexico. 

Can't make it tonight? Tyler's work will be on the walls at Lizzards through November 10. Check it out.

Meantime, life goes on. See you on the beat.