A Brief Reminder About Today's Duluth Events

AJ Atwater 

Three events of potential interest to you today here in the Twin Ports arts scene. The first occurs at high noon at the Duluth Art Institute in the George Morrison Gallery.  David Beard and Tim Broman will be giving a gallery talk on the history of Duluth comic arts.

The DAI website has this to say about the work displayed there this month:
Minnesota has a rich history of comic book art – from the early Arts Instruction Schools to Charles Schulz to current graphic novelists and webcomic artists. The Duluth Art Institute is excited to feature artists from Minnesota who are doing interesting work in the realm of sequential visual arts and storytelling. Highlighting the broad number of voices in the state’s comic community from large to small publishers and from mainstream superheroes to independent and underground works, artists on view include: Peter Gross, Chris Monroe, Brent Schoonover, Barbara Schulz, Anders Nilsen, John Hoban, Clint Hilinski, Emi Lyman, and Conrad Teves.

I remember meeting a fellow in Minneapolis the early 80's who said his brothers was one of the artists who created Spiderman comics for Marvel. And fans of these comix characters are legion.

From 4:00 p.m. till 8:00 p.m. is the opening reception for the Atwater and Kuth Affordable Fine Art Show. My early August sneak preview gave every indication that this was a must see event and I have been looking forward to seeing all that was left unseen.

During my visit we talked seemingly on and on about art making, sources of inspiration, and the contrast in styles between Elizabeth Kuth and AJ Atawater.

Kuth: There’s not only the contrasting elements in the two artists but also contrasting natures within the painters. They’re conflicting forces… mine is more of an interior kind of life and AJ’s is more exterior. Both show a high contrast that can speak to people, the bold and the interior. When you come into this show there’s something that happens in yourself.

Atwater: That’s what we’re aiming for. To have people doing something that enriches their lives rather than doing something to do for a night. Something to do where they can come in, have conversation.

K: We all seek inspiration somewhere. That’s what we’re trying to do. Create inspiration.

AJA: From my point of view art should enrich your soul in some way… makes something lean you toward pleasure or wow or something that takes you out of yourself.

Atwater went on to describe her experience of painting in New York.

Kuth (left) and Atwater, making you feel at home.

AJA: New York City is stimulating, fast... the smells... it's incomparable. There are no alleys in New York City. Everything happens on the street. It all happens there in your face. This summer I painted in Chinatown. All that sound, was really cool… feeling humanity coasting by.

The two later talked about art appreciation and I liked this comment by Elizabeth Kuth.

K: We should be more like children. More like innocence. More awe… Abstract art encourages you to use your imagination.

The AJ Atwater Studio and Gallery is located at 4701 Cooke Street, in Duluth’s Lakeside neighborhood. The artists will be available for conversations about their art and its possibilities for gift giving and to affordably grace homes, cabins and offices in the Northland.


Finally, tonight at 7:00 p.m. their a Twin Cities Takeover at the Red Herring Lounge. This is an Ellipsis event featuring craft beers, music and more.

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

Seven Reminders and a Few Comments About the Poetry Scene

Relatively early in life we discover that memory is not a perfect entity. Consequently we develop systems for reminding ourselves to do thing like take out the garbage or lock the doors, or maybe to member the phone charger when we go on the road.

I'm not sure how many people tie a string on their finger, but I've known people who did that. I myself make lists. I also wake in the night and write things down that I think of and fear I'll forget in the morning. Post-It notes on the bathroom mirror have proven exceedingly useful.

Business software today would be incomplete without its calendars and reminders. I can't imagine how many meetings I would have missed had I not had that pop-up appear to remind me of the meeting in fifteen minutes.

Here are a couple reminders for Visual Arts Week, followed by some remarks about the amazing resurgence of poetry here in the Twin Ports.

1. For a fairly comprehensive (but not wholly complete) calendar of arts events, be sure to Bookmark the Duluth Art Institute page dedicated to Visual Arts Week.

2. Today would be a Good Day to Visit the Tweed Museum at UMD.

3.Tomorrow is the Superior Gallery Hop on Broadway Street, featuring the Phantom Galleries Superior, but also the Red Mug, North End Arts Gallery and the Mud Sisters. The Superior arts scene has been blossoming nicely.

4. Thursday, classic pianist Eric Himy (hee-mee) will be in our neck of the woods, performing at the historic Oldenburg House. This will be an unforgettable evening of music in a striking setting.

5. Thursday there will also be openings at the Duluth Art Institute (David Moreira) and the Duluth Photography Institute.

6. Then there's Friday. So much going on I will probably address it Thursday.

7. Other events of note coming up include Scarlet Rivera's return to Weber Hall next week along with Gene LaFond and Courtney Yasmineh to kick off the 2013 North Country Dylan Celebration.

The Twin Ports Poetry Scene

I remember the year when I first noticed, really noticed, the early blossoming of spring, the rich green of new leaves bursting from their buds after a grey winter. I wondered how I'd never really noticed this before. It happens every spring, but kids growing up are pretty much pre-occupied with other things and simply don't notice what's happening around them as they worry about fitting in, or how their favorite baseball team is doing.

I say all this because I find the Twin Ports Poetry Scene to be flourishing in ways I'd never noticed before. Like my personal revelation of spring's splendor as a young adult or late teen, I hesitate to say here that this is something new. It may have been going on all along and I simply hadn't noticed.

All this to say that tonight there's an Open Mic Poetry Reading at the Pineapple Arts on First Street from 7 - 9 p.m. tonight. And, for the first time there will also be poetry readings as part of Dylan Fest, week from this Saturday, at the Zeitgeist Arts Atrium, led by last year's Duluth Poet Laureate Sheila Packa. You are cordially invited to both these events. At Pineapple Arts tonight you may also share a song you've written. It's a grass roots creative celebration. It's North X North.