Local Art Seen: Eris Vafias and Dissonance @ Pizza Luce

Pizza Luce's featured artist for the month of March is Eris Vafias of Superior. Though unable to attend Wednesday's opening reception I was able to swing by yesterday mid-morning to share here what I missed.

Eris has been orchestrating the numerous Artist Kamikaze events that have taken place in the Twin Points, a competition involving the pairing of artists of dissimilar mediums around a specific pre-determined themes. 

Looking at the various paintings and multimedia assemblages brings to mind echoes of several 20th century artists. Some of the paintings bring to mind Cy Twombly's later work, and the free-flowing loops with colored sections brings to mind some of the Spanish modernist Joan Miro's abstract designs.

I see Miro.

Black and white linear forms on a more subtle textured colorless field.

Lively and living organic forms.

Foreground and background fluidity scurries about with  endless motion.

Detail from the above.

Detail- from another piece hearkens back organic designs from the natural world.

This last painting has imagery from the ancient game of chess and today's Tetris. The chess pieces stand in what appears to be the opening stage of a duel, just before the duelists have been instructed to take 20 paces. The color scheme has natural sources, earth tones, slate and sky, It's the beginning of a longer story. It could even be a post-modern romp on Thomas Eakins' The Chess Players or Duchamps later years of immersion in the chess diversion, most famously depicted in Julian Wasser''s photo of Duchamp playing chess with Eve Babitz.

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Reminder: Tonight Marah in the Mainsail will be performing at The Red Herring and The Jane Gang will be playing at the Keyport at 5:00 p.m.

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Meantime life goes on all around you. Get into it.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Local Art Seen -- One Year of Selective Focus and Collection of Chaos II

One Year of Selective Focus: Tim White's contribution 

to perfectduluthday.com, documenting the people and activities 

of our Northland corner of the world @ Red Herring Lounge.

Collection of Chaos II: Eris Vafias retrospective at Pizza Luce.

Local Art Seen: Esther Piszczek's "Illusion" at Pizza Luce

Thursday evening was the opening reception for Esther Piszczek's largest show to date, to be on display at Pizza Luce for the month of August. A relative newcomer to the Twin Ports art scene, Esther has from the start been quite active in getting her work out into the public beginning with her first show at Amazing Grace in September 2013. Her Zentangle (R)-inspired designs have been applied to nearly every kind of surface imaginable, including her current piano project which is a work in progress. (You can see the current iteration this coming Friday at Pierce & Piszczek Pianos during the Art Crawl.)

This current show includes a relatively new collaboration combining her designs with the calligraphy of Brenna Jordan of Master Framing Gallery. Esther's designs on mirrors are an interesting addition to her repertoire, and may have contributed to the title of this show, "Illusion." Certainly mirrors have long fascinated us as people, and her layering of designs adds complexity to the visual effects she creates.

Pizza Luce is a premium location to showcase one's work because of the central downtown location and the amount of traffic it receives. On the other hand, because it is a busy restaurant it is difficult to get up close to most of the pieces because of the patrons enjoying their pizza and other delights in the booths between viewer and wall.

The show features 35 works, but the designs have also been used to decorate note cards and playing cards. Let's see what happens next.

Friendly service from the Luce staff is always a plus.

A friend's birthday added to the occasion. (Esther in center of photo)

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Celebrate it.

Local Art Seen: Adam Swanson at Pizza Luce

His work is not yet ubiquitous but it's getting there. This past month Adam Swanson's paintings were displayed at The Aquarium and a documentary about the immense mural he created for Spirit Mountain was shown during the DuSu Film Festival. This month you can see Swanson's work at Pizza Luce till the end of July.

Thursday Pizza Luce hosted an opening reception for the artist and his new show there. Swanson, wearing a grey Mary Bue t-shirt, was the quiet center of attention for the many friends and fans who sifted in and out throughout the evening.

Recurring themes in Swanson's paintings include wind turbines, penguins and plenty of color. There's usually a sense of playfulness in the imagery, which has become especially pronounced since his boys were born.

Here are some photos of a few of the paintings that will hang there through the end of July. Be sure to check it out. The food is always good, too.

If you can't make it for lunch or a libation, just do a walk-through. There are literally dozens of paintings and many that will keep you engaged if you so choose. What you see here is simply the flavor of the month.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Enjoy it.

Intergalactic: The Narrative

From March thru the first week of June I was involved in an exhilarating collaborative art project called Artist Kamikaze IV. This was my second year and I was initially paired with clothing artist Patricia Mahnke. The project we wanted to undertake was going to be ambitious so we didn't waste any time meeting to outline a plan. What we decided was to create a character and costume, whom I would then paint. Eventually this evolved into two characters and costumes. 


As the project evolved we had the good fortune of being able to obtain a third partner, Kate Dupre, who brought photography and Photoshop skills to the project. The first week of April we determined that in light of our busy schedules the first and last date for doing a photoshoot with our new characters and costumes would be May 19. This would give us enough time, 6-7 weeks, to finish the costumes and assemble the props for the shoot, and still allow me enough time to do the painting I wanted to do. 

What follows here is our story line, as conceived by the three of us, evolving as we went along. In another blog entry I will share some of the lessons I learned through working on this invigorating collaborative venture. 

Intergalactic: The Narrative

By Patty Peterson Mahnke, Kate Dupre and Ed Newman

Building Aurora

Once upon a time the people of planet earth began to realize that their planet had no future. They were not fully aware of the causes, they only knew that earth’s core was shutting down. Mankind did not comprehend the role it had played in this event.


This was the Steampunk era of Celestial Dreamers, however, and two scientists, Professor Minerva Delphina Wonderborn and Dr. Jules Langdon Lafon, pulled threads of a dream together to create an automaton who could give the people of Earth a vital hope. In her womb she carried galaxies, nebulae and rainbow fragments of infinity.

One very cold mid-winter eve Drs. Wonderborn and Lafon christened their creation and called her Aurora. After a final inspection of all her moving parts, the doctors uttered an ancient ritual incantation and the automaton was animated by the spirits of life. In the next instant lights flashed, the doctors leaped away and Aurora was hurtled into the universe to fulfill her mission.

* * * 

After a solitary voyage through vast expanses of space Aurora found herself attracted to a solar system aligned with the Andromeda galaxy where she identified a planet that she would soon learn was Galdur, an unusual bewitched planet, yet similar to the Earth where she had been generated.

Her first impressions were that the desolate planet was uninhabited. But then, she perceived a presence. Her instincts told her to be still and wait. She had landed within the shadows of a forbidden forest.

Njall, the young seeker.

It happened on the occasion when both Galdurian moons were swollen with fullness. As fortune would have it, a young girl from that planet had defied the edicts of her people to visit the shores of Lake Eir where her descendants once played in the open light of day. Her name was Njall. When she saw the brilliance of Aurora’s coming, she trembled.

The people of this planet had been cast under a spell, living in perpetual insecurity and fear. Njall belonged to the tribe of Gissuradotti who had once been bold and fearless. In olden times they would have sent an entourage to welcome a strange visitor like this to their planet, but something had crushed their confidence. They had come to believe the lies of a false prophet who said the planet was doomed and they were a doomed race. As a result the entire race chose to live underground, living in caverns, waiting for the end.

Within the shadows of the forest Aurora stood motionless, fully aware. Njall, in defiance of her tribal tendency to flee, went forward to explore. This was the forbidden Forest of Griffton. Njall had heard that there was an altar there to an unknown God and she suddenly felt compelled to find it, for what reason she knew not.

As she entered the forbidden forest she caught sight of Aurora and was struck dumb by Aurora’s bright spirit and beauty. Weary of the hopeless outlook of her people, Njall stared at Aurora and wondered how anything but goodness could be in store for her people. Though it was against her nature, Njall stepped out of the shadows into the light of Aurora’s presence and crept toward this wonderful and strange being that stood before her.

Words were useless, but soon they found creative ways to tell their stories. Aurora explained how she had been sent to find a new home for the people of Earth. Njall, using gestures, symbols and the universal language of mathematics, helped Aurora comprehend the plight of Galdur.

For a long time both were silent, looking into one another’s eyes as they pondered the meaning of these things. Aurora then stepped back a pace and as she did so her belt began to radiate in a fascinating swirl of lights and colors, clouds, oceans and deep spacial wonders. Njall’s cheeks flushed and her eyes went wide as she became mesmerized by so strange a sight, and the emergence of a new hope for the peoples of two planets, so different and so the same.

The images associated with this project will remain on display at Pizza Luce in downtown Duluth through the end of June, along with the rest of Artist Kamikae IV.

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Surfacing Exhibit Goes Public at Luce

The idea of art in public spaces has been with us for a very long time. No restaurant worth its seasonings will allow bare walls to be the only decoration. Environment certainly plays a role in our enjoyment of eating. Let our eyes be awash with color and our minds stimulated while those taste buds dance.

There are actually quite a few places where artists can display their work in the Twin Ports, from Beaners in the West to Jitters, Zinema and the Zeitgeist Cafe downtown. Going east on London Road there are several additional small businesses like Dunn Bros. Coffee and Lisa Casperson's Art for Hair which has art on the wall, too. And let's not forget all the places and spaces across the bridge... Red Mug and the Phantom Galleries Superior to name a few.

Thursday November 3 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. there is an art opening at Pizza Luce for Tonya Borgeson and Emily Herb's Surfacing exhibit.

Borgeson, who is owner of a ceramic studio on Grand Avenue near the zoo call The Snoodle, studied ceramics and sculpture at Indiana State University and is an art instructor at Lake Superior College. I've not only been impressed by her work but by the way she inspires others to press on and explore new directions in their work. Her annual Love at the Snoodle art shows are a mainstay for many local artists.

Emily Herb, whom I keep wanting to call Emily Rose for some reason, is originally from North Dakota. Her love of three-dimensional creative expression no doubt made for a good match with Borgeson's exploration.

Here's Emily's invitation: Come down and see Tonya and my newest creations. Free Food, Free Music, Free Snooty Intellectual Conversation, Free opportunity to throw tomatoes. This exhibit will be up the entire month of November so if you can't make it to the opening reception, be sure to check it out sometime this month!

I ran into the two of them last weekend at an Ochre Ghost opening and learned that Emily is opening another gallery here downtown, which is a pretty exciting step for her and for the evolving art scene here. Tonya would not let me take her photo as she had been working in her studio all day and her clothes were a bit splattered.

Here's a nice little video clip so you can see what Surfacing is really all about. This coming Thursday... check it out.

eNote: Image at top right is my own, titled With Feathers... click expand. Be sure to check out the video.

Homegrown Opens Tonight

Duluth's Homegrown Music and Art Fest opens tonight here in the Northland. The first of three art openings will be celebrated downtown at Pizza Luce. Curated by Jeredt Runions, I have three pieces here for the month of May.

(On a dour note, it was snowing this morning when I woke. I am still hoping the IT team can get the Spring weather program installed before Summer gets here. I guess we can be grateful not to have tornadoes. No one here is complaining about being too hot.)

Jeredt himself had an opening at J. Lydia Salon this past Friday night, which we attended. Jeredt enjoys curating shows, but is himself an avid painter as well with a whimsical style that is engaging and entertaining. The pictures here on my blog today are by Jeredt. There was live music as well, and Jessica, who opened the salon last year, seemed quite pleased with the turnout and the energy that was present.

There was a nice spread of food as well, all of it perfectly suited to the discriminating palate. One item was especially interesting. It looked like those little wieners wrapped in bacon, and I think a lot of people thought that's what they were, and it did not grab much attention until I discovered it was dates wrapped in bacon. They were tasty.

You can see Jeredt's work throughout the month of May at J. Lydia Salon, 12th Avenue East and Positively Fourth Street.

Hope to see you at Luce tonight for the kickoff of Homegrown. If you can't be there, I hope you're dancing somewhere and listening to some good music.

Twin Ports Art Scene

A lot happening in the Twin Ports art scene these days. The Empty Bowl event at the Depot raised over $57,000 for the Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank this week. This was the 17th year of the fund raiser which includes lots of soup and an original bowl that you can use for the rest of your lives.

Tonight Jeredt Runions, curator for the Homegrown Festival and other collaborative events here, will be having a solo show at J. Lydia Salon, located at the corner of 12th Avenue East and Positively 4th Street. Runions, who grew up in the vicinity of Solon Springs, is a gallery assistant at the University of Wisconsin, Superior's Kruk Gallery. In addition to live music, wine and food, there will also be a performance by the Spin Collective, our local fire dancers.

The Homegrown Festival kicks of Sunday night, May 1. There are more venues for music and the arts than you can shake a stick at. Jeredt created the cover of this year's sixty page guide to who is playing what and where. This is Homegrown the 13th, and the Twin Ports is loving it. You can pick up the book-sized magazine at all the usual distribution points for free local rags, from the Red Mug to India Palace to the libraries.

Sunday night I will be at the Pizza Luce art opening with three new pieces in a collaborative show there. The art opening is from 7:00-9:00 p.m. but the paintings will be on display throughout the month, if you can't make it Sunday.

Another new happening here is the formation of Twin Ports Underground (TPU). Andrew Perfetti of the band Uprising has begun the process of assembling a team to produce a television show for PAC-TV covering the local arts and music scene, giving greater exposure to all the local talent here. In less than a month they have almost completed the first show with some exceptional moments including a strong Alan Sparhawk interview among other things. TPU is aiming for a one-hour monthly program which will also be distributed online. The current vision for the show includes skits and comic relief in addition to artist profiles and musician interviews. An, of course, some great local music. There's a lot happening here in the Twin Ports and the TPU team wants to shine a light on it.

NOTE: Anyone interested in being part of Twin Ports Underground can visit their Facebook page and join. There is a need for writers, editors and camera crew members.

This interview with Jeredt Runions, which aired on KUMD this week, will give you an idea of his personal enthusiasm for the local art scene.

And finally, you can check out some of my recent work online at the Limbo Gallery, Eris Vafias curator. Eris is also assembling a joint show for mid-May that I will be telling you more about as the day approaches. Like I say, there's a lot happening. Stay tuned.

Photo courtesy Andrew Perfetti. Jeredt Runions live painting at the Clyde-O-Thon.

The Propeller Move and Homegrown Musical Fest

The last scene in my last dream of the night, just before waking, involved Pierce Brosnan performing the propeller move to escape from his pursuers. I'm sure Brosnan showed up in my dream because I'd just finished watching Roman Polanski's The Ghostwriter this past Thursday, which features Brosnan as former Brit Prime Minister Lang. In my dream, however, he was doing a reprieve of his 007 schtick. Or at least this is how it seemed to me.

Here's the action. Crowded streets, chase scene, bad guys in hot pursuit right behind this little car with a long ladder strapped to its roof. A dark-haired woman is driving hard as Brosnan hangs from the ladder in front of the hood, staying low so as not to be shot by the gun wielding pursuers. Parked cars line the street and traffic creates the usual challenges for a car chase. At a certain moment Brosnan swings himself up and stands atop the ladder, stretches out his arms and with a slight twist of the outstretched limbs he leaps and spins, propeller like, over the parked cars into a marshy area where he escapes... and I wake.

This dream scene has nothing to do with anything other than it was my last image from the subconscious, boring through to consciousness, preceding my first thoughts of the day. Upon waking, after re-playing the propeller move and scribbling a note about it, my mind went to the day's agenda, which includes delivering a third painting to Jeredt Runions for the Homegrown Music Festival that starts next weekend.

Homegrown has truly blossomed here in Duluth. What began as a birthday party with a handful of bands has now become a multi-venue, multi-media explosion of talented musicians, artists, film and more from May 1 to May 8. Yes, even our Fire Dancers will be part of the act.

The week begins at Pizza Luce May 1st with the Opening Reception for Paintbrush Thinkers art exhibit at 7:00 p.m. The bands start at nine with Roxie Magistrate slated first.

The same night Carmody's Pub will be hosting events as well, beginning with the Homegrown Pub Quiz at 9:00 p.m. and music beginning at ten with The Tico Three, Sweetgrass and Pennies for a Dime.

After that, things really begin to accelerate. Monday is Ancillary Arts Night, followed by Experimental Tuesday, Hash Wednesday, Soup Town Night, Rawk Night, Roll Night and Sunday's Brunch & Shows for the Kids. The venues and featured artists and musicians are so numerous it is impossible to list them on this blog, but here's the link so you can mark your calendars.

I myself will be at Pizza Luce May 1, and hope to see you there.

In the meantime, don't get hurt trying that Propeller Move. It's a tricky one.