Five Minutes with Artist/Designer Marian Lansky

It was about two decades ago when I first became aware of Marian Lansky's work. I was in need of a designer for a project at the time and she was recommended to me by, I believe, Service Printers. We met for lunch and I reviewed her portfolio. I was impressed. She also said she was too busy with other projects to take on something new. That was that.

This past month I attended an art opening for Mad Women, featuring the work of women in the advertising field. Marian Lansky's exhibited works again made an impression on me, and I asked if she'd consent to be interviewed for this blog. She said she was still quite busy, but made the time.

Ennyman: Briefly outline your career.
Marian Lansky: My graphic design career started in 1989 when my son was a baby and I was looking for a way to be able to make a living at home. I'd always loved combining words and images, and then one day I saw a demonstration of a Macintosh computer with Aldus Pagemaker, Aldus Freehand, and Adobe Photoshop. It was pretty primitive stuff compared to now, but I was hooked. Went to a bank downtown and got a loan to buy a Mac IICX, one of the first HP scanners, and an Apple Laserwriter. Within a couple of years I was making a decent living doing what was, at that time, called desktop publishing.

Enny: How did you determine to make a living in the creative realm?
ML: Before then, I'd worked at a number of different jobs. I wasn't especially fond of any of them, but they were excellent life experiences for me. I'd worked in offices, stores, restaurants and as a registered nurse in hospitals. Coming back to doing something visually creative was coming back to my roots. I'd grown up in New York City and attended the High School of Music and Art as an art major. My art education there was fantastic. The school pulled kids from all over the city (you had to test in by submitting a portfolio of work and taking several hours of drawing exams). We had five studio classes a day in every conceivable discipline, on top of a rigorous academic load.

Enny: Who were your early influences?
ML: My early influences were probably too many to mention. Growing up in NYC, I spent countless hours at museums. They were my favorite hangout. When I played hooky from school, I'd spend the day wandering through museums. And then my teachers… all incredible artists in their own right, were a tremendous influence. As a teenager I loved Matisse and Bonnard.

Enny: Do you consider yourself more designer or artist? And what is the difference between the two?
ML: For the last 22 years, I've considered myself more a designer than an artist. As a designer, you give visual expression to your client's goals and values. Now, however, I am beginning to consider myself more an artist than a designer. In a way, I've become my own client… giving visual expression to my own inner values.

Enny: How have you gone about getting clients? What works and what doesn't?
ML: I've been just unbelievably fortunate in that I never had to advertise to get work. For most of my career I've had as much work as I could handle (and sometimes more!), without doing anything to promote myself. My philosophy of business has always been to keep my head down, put the client first, and do good work. Word of mouth worked wonders for me.

Enny: You have a wonderful portfolio. Do you have a few favorite pieces?
ML: Thank you. I have to say that I usually love the last piece I did the most! I learn more with everything I do. I recently completed a big commission of 14 pieces for a client and what I learned doing those pieces I've turned around and applied to my own work. I finished one yesterday that is my new favorite.

Enny: Any advice for young creative people looking for a career in design?
ML: I guess one piece of advice I'd give to anyone starting out in this business, or perhaps in any creative endeavor--is to love what you are doing. If you don't enjoy it, your lack of joy will show in the work. Find what you love to do, do it well, and the rest will follow.

Marian and her partner Rick Allen own a business called Kenspeckle Letterpress which can be found at www.kenspeckleletterpress.com.

You may follow Marian and Rick's current activites at their Blogspeckle, located on the Specklesphere at http://www.kenspeckleletterpress.com/blogspeckle/

The Autobiography of Mark Twain

“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” ~Mark Twain

I am currently on disc four of The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Part One, as read by Grover Gardner, who has narrated so many hours of literature in my virtual presence that he is becoming a very good friend. This audio book is 25 hours on 20 discs, and it's a most stimulating read.

The first two-and-a-half hours is all introduction, which includes a lengthy and detailed discussion of how the manuscript came to be. Countless caretakers of the manuscripts were involved in preserving Mr. Twain's writing. Many duplicates of various sections are also in existence with words struck out or portions edited in one place but not another. Systems were required for analyzing dates and times portions were produced and determining which version should supercede. The publication begins by identifying all who have been involved in sorting these strands out and assembling them properly over the past 100 years, and thanking them.

Now the notion of publishing this voluminous work 100 years after his death was not the marketing idea of a modern publisher. Quite the contrary. It was Twain's own idea, and he details it in this introduction to the story of his life.

Mark Twain had an unusually interesting life and he wanted to tell about it. But he did not know exactly how to do it. Begin with his birth and take the chronological approach? One could precede that and talk about ancestors and their influence. And should one bang it out on a typewriter? And what about all the stories and insights and feelings and beliefs that you wanted to share that you feel you can't because you will hurt other people?

This last was a thorny item for Twain. And he literally mulled it over for years, at one point suggesting that those stories be told between-the-lines, knowing they would still be painful to others when deciphered. No, the best way would be to give strict instructions that the manuscript be left unpublished till 100 years after his death, at which time he would be "dead, and unaware, and indifferent."

The other matter of how was resolved when he hit upon the idea of dictating his life story. And even in this form the guy was an original. It would not be a story told in any particular order. Rather, whatever interested him at the moment is what he would talk about.

The hundred years has passed and the book is now a reality, capturing all the wit and humor and acerbic commentary one might expect from the pen, or in this case tongue, of Twain. Here's one example. A reviewer wrote with such over-the-top praise for something he had written that Twain confronted him thus. "Oh come on, in the Twain household they don't lather it on with a knife, they use a trowel."

In the intro when Twain was wrestling with the problems of candidly telling his story, I thought about today's world where so much of what people think and feel is posted on blogs and on Facebook and who we are encountering when we see one another so apparently transparently displayed. What kinds of things would be written and posted if the only readers were people who lived 100 years from now, after we're dead and gone? How many people on Facebook are portraying themselves as they are, and how many have been crafting an identity that is far different from who they really are?

As for the Autobiography, here's a good summation of the book from a review by Publisher's Weekly:
Eschewing chronology and organization, Twain simply meanders from observation to anecdote and between past and present. There are gorgeous reminiscences from his youth of landscapes, rural idylls, and Tom Sawyeresque japes; acid-etched profiles of friends and enemies, from his "fiendish" Florentine landlady to the fatuous and "grotesque" Rockefellers; a searing polemic on a 1906 American massacre of Filipino insurgents; a hilarious screed against a hapless editor who dared tweak his prose; and countless tales of the author's own bamboozlement, unto bankruptcy, by publishers, business partners, doctors, miscellaneous moochers; he was even outsmarted by a wild turkey. Laced with Twain's unique blend of humor and vitriol, the haphazard narrative is engrossing, hugely funny, and deeply revealing of its author's mind. His is a world where every piety conceals fraud and every arcadia a trace of violence; he relishes the human comedy and reveres true nobility, yet as he tolls the bell for friends and family--most tenderly in an elegy for his daughter Susy, who died in her early 20s of meningitis--he feels that life is a pointless charade. Twain's memoirs are a pointillist masterpiece from which his vision of America--half paradise, half swindle--emerges with indelible force.

In the meantime, have a great new week.

Steampunk Chronicle Premiere at Friends of Industry

Last night I took in a steampunk event at the Gustave Campini's Friends of Industry art space in downtown Duluth. The event included steampunk art, costumes and a the world premiere of Chronicle, a multi-media show based on a comic book being produced by Eric Horn and friends. From what I've been told Steampunk is a huge new passion, not unlike the Trekkie movement that resulted in Star Trek conventions around the country.

Steampunk is a subset of science fiction, except these futurists are from the past. Think of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Put yourself in 1880 and imagine what the future would look like, what space ships of tomorrow might look like from the vantage point of pre-flight and what futuristic weapons and uniforms might consist of.

If you ever saw Will Vinton's claymation production The Adventures of Mark Twain, you will recall seeing a steampunk-style flying contraption that carried the story, along with its characters. Mark Twain had a fascination with the future, and was intensely curious about the capabilities of science. As a result he developed a close friendship with Nikola Tesla and spent a lot of time in that brilliant man's lab.

Some people credit cyberpunk writers William Gibson and Bruce Sterling with the re-birth of interest in steampunk. The two wrote The Difference Engine, a book that brought their futurist sensibilities to Victorian England.

Steampunk artisans take ordinary objects and make extraordinary masks, gear and goggles using materials that were likely to be found 130 years ago, hence the preponderance of leather, brass, wood and iron. Events like Campini's last night provide the occasion for steampunk fans to get decked out and show their stuff.

As a starting point to learn more about Steampunk, visit Wikipedia.

Below: The Victorian era projection screen.

Telling Stories: Phil Spector's Agony & Ecstasy

Yesterday I finished the audio book Changing My Mind, a wonderfully rich collection of essays by Zadie Smith. What impressed me was the honesty of her perceptions. When reviewing movies she doesn't go with the crowd, she goes with the way she sees it. And her breadth of experience gives a good vantage point for these perceptions. Even stronger are her insights on the various books and writers she assesses. Being a novelist herself, she shares not only what is happening on the page, but shines a light into the corners of what she suspects was happening in the minds and souls of those who were doing the writing.

Though her essays on Liberia, Katharine Hepburn or going to the Oscars make for great (by which I mean insightful, thought-provoking) reading, Smith's at her best when dissecting the problems of storytelling.

Storytelling takes on such a variety of forms. This week's Sound Unseen/Duluth International Film Festival is full of stories. Thursday night we were introduced to Harry Belafonte's story in the documentary film Sing Your Song, which could just as easily been sub-titled, "Don't Give Up the Fight." Last night, we saw a portrait of Phil Spector titled The Agony & Ecstasy of Phil Spector. It's a remarkable accomplishment by director Vikram Jayanti because the camera never blinks.

Songwriter and record producer Phil Spector has been a major influence in modern music in part because he was striving for something more than just the next hit record. His concept of the "wall of sound" is now almost cliche, but was revolutionary in the Sixties. Hits like The Ronettes "Be My Baby" struck a nerve with audiences across the airwaves. Songs like "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" by The Righteous Brothers and "Da Doo Ron Ron" established his cred as someone who knew how to reach a mass market. When two years of recording songs for the Beatles' last album failed to produce a product, Spector was called in as Mr. Fix-It and in four months Let It Be was released. And no matter how much Sir Paul disliked the outcome, I for one consider it a favorite, recalling the very moment I heard it for the first time. After the break-up of the Beatles, Spector produced music for both Lennon and George Harrison.

But this is only backdrop for the documentary which used Spector's murder trial as a thread to weave all the pieces of his life story into a whole. Or was it the other way around? Maybe the trial is the backdrop and the real story is the man himself, in his own words, for that is what we get here... Spector spending a day in his home explaining the meaning of his life, Spector sitting on his couch talking, the camera rolling. In the background is the white piano he bought for his friend John Lennon with which the song "Imagine" was recorded.

There is no effort to conceal the size of his ego. At various points he compares himself to Galileo, DaVinci, Bach and Michaelangelo. And he is clearly bitter that someone like Tony Bennett, who was a coke head in the sixties, can get his past absolved, but Spector is treated like a leper. Or that Buddy Holly, who performed for only three years would be a legend and get his own postage stamp.

About the trial. Spector had been accused of having murdered B-movie actress Lana Clarkson in his home with a handgun. The defense points out that the angle at which the bullet entered was the angle a self-inflicted shot would be fired. They also showed that if Spector had fired while standing next to her with the gun in her mouth, the manner in which she was killed, it would have splattered blood and debris on his clothing, hands, face and hair... which did not occur.

Some of the reviews of this film describe Spector as creepy. His pasty skin and not so pretty sagging flesh repeatedly fill the screen. His flambouyant hair and attire give him an almost comical aspect at times. But I can't help feel pity for the man. As Jimi Hendrix once sang, "Loneliness is just a drag." In fact, early in the film Spector himself is asked why he lives alone in such a large castle. He said it's better than a single room with a toilet. Was he referring here to the jail cell he would eventually be occupying?

The first trial ended in a hung jury. The day-long interview with Spector takes place two weeks before the verdict. We follow much of the courtroom drama which is interspersed with Spector's candid rambling. We see palsied hands quivering through much of the film. And at one point John Lennon's poignant "Crippled Inside" becomes the soundtrack, another Spector-produced song. Spector knew the meaning of crippled because his father blew his own brains out with a gun.

To some extent we're all crippled inside and in this respect Phil Spector's story -- bizarre as it seems -- is our own story. To cite Goethe, our hearts are capable of all things from megalomania to murder. Whether Spector is innocent or guilty on the murder charge, to some extent one can only say, "There but for the grace of God go I."

Belafonte Film Reminds Us to Not Give Up the Fight

Last night we went to see the opening night feature Sing Your Song, a documentary about the career of Harry Belafonte, produced by his daughter Gina who was also present for an informative Q&A session afterwards. Now wouldn't it be great if after every time you saw an interesting film you could have the producer or screenwriter or director there to interrogate. That's one feature of film festivals you just don't experience every day.

Till last night I never realized how central of a player Belafonte was in the civil right movement. Like Sydney Poitier, Belafonte was a high profile black in Hollywood who experienced first hand the unequal treatment people of color had to endure. Both became seriously involved in the fight for rights in the racially charged south, putting their lives at risk simply to be there.

But for Belafonte it didn't end in the South. He visited Africa and allowed the sea of sorrows there wash over his unshielded heart. We talk about death with dignity in this country, but there is no dignity in starvation and he allowed himself to witness this over and over again so that he would not forget, so that he would speak and take action against the injustices that contributed to this suffering.

He also became friends with South Africa, and specifically with Nelson Mandela, whose life was likewise dedicated to non-violence and the elimination of injustice.

I'm writing as if you all know who he was. He fought in a black unit during World War II then became a singer, which brought him into theater and ultimately Hollywood, films and TV. Everyone knows at least some of his songs. For example, try Day-O, the calypso song that was featured in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice.

As a great films must be, at its heart is a great story. And in its aftermath there was much to think about. Many of the things we experienced ourselves in our youth we did not understand, in part because we did not know the truth behind the news stories we were fed. Films like this continue to shed light and help us process our own experiences.

Thank you to the film festival staff for the 17 films that will premiere this week and all their efforts to create a significant event for the arts community. This one premiered at Sundance and will be on HBO this coming October.Tonight I'll be checking out the juried Short Films at Zinema followed by The Agony & Ecstasy of Phil Spector. Can't wait.

Film Festival Kicks Off with Light Factory at Sacred Heart

The opening event for the Duluth International Film Festival was a music/film/art installation at Sacred Heart on 4th Street. I've heard much about groups recording here, including Alan Sparhawk and Low. I'd not been inside the sanctuary in perhaps a dozen years when we attended an art event there. I can't recall the last time I saw so many projectors in one place.

At the entrance a projector sprayed images on a large screen past which you walked to enter, your own body serving as screen or barrier for the brief moment you passes through the projected light. Inside the mood was gradually altered throughout the evening as the only lighting was candles, films projected on screens and the sunlight sliding in through the stained glass windows. The spaciousness yielded to much free movement within the luminous cathedral.

Another layer of impressions came from the music and sound provided by Tim Kaiser, Coleman Miller, Angela Brannon, Kathy McTavish and others. Early on I was listening as an evocative riff was being played on perhaps a guitar or synthesizer or some kind, with a chord structure like a familiar John Lennon tune, but it wasn't and as my mind wrapped itself around the song I realized it was a creative interpretation of the Monkees' "I'm a Believer." Kind of set me back in time a step.

The event had two aims. First, to kick off the film festival. The second aim was to make us aware of Life House, a Duluth program aimed at helping kids-at-risk.

Tonight's opening night film and party features the film Sing Your Song, Harry Belafonte's story. Belafonte's daughter Gina, who produced the film, will be on hand for a Q&A session afterwards. The after-party will feature bossa nova and Calypso style music by Buffalo Moon. Too bad some of us have to get up and go to work the morning after.

Larger Than Life: Artist Mary Plaster

If you've ever seen pictures of large-scale protest rallies or have witnessed the 10:00 p.m. Parade of Nations at Epcot Center, or have experienced the Day of the Dead in Tepotzlan near Cuernavaca, then you've probably seen something akin to the work of Mary Plaster.

Last week I found myself checking things out at Ms. Plaster's art opening at Beaners Central in Duluth. Think big. Here were heads that went floor to ceiling and one large character with arms draped forty feet wide. After we spoke briefly she agreed to this interview.

Ennyman: Is Mary Plaster your real name and are the masks made out of plaster?
Mary Plaster: I married Troy Plaster, so yes, it is my actual name. I have worked with plaster but my masks are of papier-mâché and other recycled materials. One of those funny things in life that just happened…

Enny: When did you first take an interest in being an artist and who (or what) were your early inspirations?
MP: I have always loved art and considered myself an artist. I was mesmerized by and continue to enjoy children’s books and fantasy illustrations for the whimsical use of scale and imagination. I enjoyed theatre that recreated these pages, especially the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company.

Enny: How did you first get involved in making these giant masks?
MP: I first experienced larger-than-life papier-mâché through In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (HoBT) in Minneapolis in the late 70s when I was visiting my mother. I lived with my dad in Montana for high school and had never seen anything like it on the street -- must have been a MayDay celebration or something. I was struck by the deep messages from very simple materials.

I decided to attend the Mpls. College of Art & Design and worked at Children’s Theatre Company & School next door in the early 80s. I eventually received Bachelor degrees in both scenic design and studio art. I spent a year in California studying mask and physical theatre. Then I lived in central Mexico several years with a movement theatre artist and apprenticed with a mask maker before returning to the USA to work in several theatres. In the 90s I got jobs in retail display, scenic painting and faux finishing, remarried, and raised my two kids to participate in drama and wear elaborate Halloween costumes.

I got serious again about giant puppets after 9-11-01 when I was looking for a way to use my art talent to help change the world. My giant creations participated in many Midwest and California parades and conferences with social justice and Earth spirituality themes. The most famous was 2007 Burning Man in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

In 2008 I worked as MayDay staff in Minneapolis and got an ARAC grant to study with Peter Schumann and Bread and Puppet Theatre (the grandfather of giant protest puppetry) in Vermont. Since then I have worked and taught in various seasonal self-employment making giant papier-mâché with both children and adults and I work for commission in scenic/decorative painting as well as these lightweight sculptures.

I also coordinate an annual Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival in the Duluth Depot called, All Souls Night. This year’s event is the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 2nd with a few days preparation to make decorations and transform the space.

Enny: What was your inspiration for the gods exhibit?
MP: Many of my creations and co-creations are of godlike icons/archetypes such as the Elements, Green Man, Gandhi, MLK, Jr., Gaia, Death, etc. In fact, my 2006 Masters thesis show was called, “Dancing with Divinity.”

I was invited to work with the UMD theatre department this spring on the musical of The Odyssey adapted by Professor Tom Isbell. I designed the gods and monsters and was given them to use after the performance to add to my collection, which I share with the community.

Enny: Do you have any advice for young artists just starting out?
MP: It’s an interesting path that pays in ways that aren’t always financial. I am very lucky my spouse has steady employment. If you want money find a skill that is in demand that can feed your family and buy materials.

To see more visit www.maryplaster.com