mnartists.org: Upcoming Events

Here and There by Shiraz Mukarram

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:29:33 GMT

Mukarram’s recent photographic series documents the exploration of cultures in their own unique context. [b]Artist Statement[/b] A journalistic perspective is my instinctive gaze but I have strived to go beyond a visual capture and narration of (the) a human experience to create discursive loops. It has always been about the conversations that a photograph can generate, the emotional and intellectual reactions and sometimes actions, and the second look that repeats the process. My consistent focus has been on creating responsive discourse through photographs and alternative multimedia presentations, at once humane and analytical, of our evolving collectives. As a photojournalist in Pakistan I spent a lot of years as a proverbial ‘grassroots foot soldier’. My work testifies to the best and worst of human endeavors as I covered the changes in the political economy paralleling and rapidly altering the traditional social fabrics of alienated lives. This conflict is innate to the contemporary global structure but it manifests and adapts in various cultures with a resilient ingenuity and each culture responds in kind. In Minneapolis, I see the same conflicts activated in different arenas. It is the Somali community that caught my lens as they display a vision forward preparing its youth for assimilation and leadership while salvaging the best from a remembered home, Somalia. The conflict between tradition and adaption, the displacement and reformation of identity, the diktats of hereditary and ratified community roles play out through passive contrasts in this photo story. Nepal proved to be less binary. It hit close to home with its steep convoluted mountain folk-myths, pebble games at street corners, the eidetic assault of history and religion and the cataract-gaze of a monarchic-bureaucracy trying to modernize. Capturing those stories while retaining the scope of landscape and context was the overriding endeavor through the story. Through my course of research and work, I hope to increase the scope of my visual narrative style and intend to resume my work as a photojournalist on completion of my BFA in the U.S. [b]Artist Biography[/b] Shiraz Mukarram is a Pakistani-born photojournalist who has traveled extensively around the Middle East, Africa and the United States. He started his career early as a teenager, learning about the cultural riots and much deep-rooted issues in Karachi through reporting and photography. He first worked for The News International newspaper in Karachi, covering a wide range of news stories in the city. He was also an intern at The Dawn newspaper. After graduating, he moved to Northern Pakistan for a year, documenting the tragic consequences of war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. After receiving a B.A. in Journalism from Pakistan, he moved to the U.S. for a B.F.A. in Photography from the Minneapolis College of Arts and Design (MCAD). Since then, he has been making stories among the local Somali and Hmong communities in Minnesota. Shiraz has shown his work locally and internationally, including India, Pakistan and Nepal. He has been the recipient of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) Grant, D.C., Scripps Howard News Wire Service Fellowship, D.C. and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Grant in Karachi, Pakistan. He has also covered some local news stories in Washington and at the White House. [url=http://www.augsburg.edu/galleries]www.augsburg.edu/galleries[/url] All events are free and open to the public. First Level, Oren Gateway Center 22^nd Ave. S. at Riverside Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55454 612-330-1524 Gallery Hours: Monday – Sunday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Photographer, Polly Norman's Talk on Her Exhibit, " Dances Through Glass"

Fri, 03 May 2013 18:24:43 GMT

Photographer, Polly Norman's Talk on Her Exhibit, "Dances Through Glass" Monday, May 20th 7:00pm to 9:00pm

[i] [i]Exhibiting artist Polly Norman will discuss the technique involved in her abstract photography, including the various kinds of glass block she uses, depth-of-field and focus issues, the different types of lighting, materials including furnace filters, broken glass and mirrors. Subconsciously the abstract work takes on a "dancey" look. Polly has shot dancers for over a decade and this had a huge influence on her work. Her new book, available that eveing, talks about the unique mental filter-her long periods of mania alternating with long periods of depression. Norman believes her "different" mind helps her to see more intuitively and abstractly.[/i] This talks is free and open to the public. [/i]

Alone Together by Dick Ott

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:46:01 GMT

Dick Ott’s photographic series explores the state of social relations in the Twin Cities, observing the paradox of city life with minimal connections in public. Originally from New York, Ott began his interest in photography at the age of nine when his father introduced him to the medium. After completing his Social Anthropology PhD, Ott moved to Minnesota and studied photography through courses at the University of Minnesota and a workshop with Gary Winogrand. His background in anthropology led him to his primary concentration of street photography. He has traveled and documented the streets of China, Mexico, Canada, France, San Francisco and New York City. Ott continues to work on a 25-year project that documents the street life of China. For the past three years, he has been working with OverExposure Media, a non-profit that focuses on community based arts initiatives. He currently lives and works in Bloomington, MN.

[b]Artist Statement[/b] As a street photographer for more than thirty years, I am an unswerving defender of the genre. Making these images is the center of my photography. When I shoot, I try to describe what I see on the street; it may not be truth, but it is not manipulated. Incredibly difficult, this pursuit is frustrating because I am always trying to go beyond my past work. Notice is given: These images are my attempt to describe for you the small dramas and isolated people you as a participant may not notice. [url=http://www.augsburg.edu/galleries]www.augsburg.edu/galleries[/url] All events are free and open to the public. Christensen Center Art Gallery, Augsburg College 22^nd Ave South at 7 ½ Street Minneapolis, MN 55454 612-330-1524 Gallery Hours: Monday – Sunday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Unveiling the 2013 Minneapolis Creative Vitality Index

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:28:42 GMT

The Minneapolis Creative Index is a tool for policymakers, arts professionals, grantmakers, artists, arts audiences and advocates; it provides information and concrete ways to demonstrate and amplify the importance of the creative sector to the health of our broader economy. This is the first of many annual reports on the creative economy and a broad baseline of reliable information on creative jobs, arts spending and creative for-profit and nonprofit organizations. This report will inspire broad community conversations on ways to utilize this data – and encourage arts leaders to consider how they measure and communicate their own impacts to a broader audience. Join us at the Central Library's Pohlad Hall from 3 - 4:30 on Monday, May 20th for a public presentation on this groundbreaking report on Minneapolis' Creative Economy and how it impacts you. You can access a pdf of the report here, [url=http://www.minneapolismn.gov/coordinator/arts/index.htm]http://www.minneapolismn.gov/coordinator/arts/index.htm[/url]. Printed copies of the report will also be available at the event!

Fused Glass 150: Fusing Fanciful Plates! With Gary Krcil

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:15:02 GMT

Mondays May 13-20, 6-9pm [b]Tuition[/b]: $75.00 [b]Experience[/b]: No prior experience required, ages 14+ [b]Materials[/b]: All materials and tools provided in class tuition

Learn to (safely) handle and cut glass into strips, squares, and circles then fuse (melt) the pieces together in a kiln. We will then use molds and the kiln to shape the glass into beautiful and unique plates of your own design! This class is perfect for the beginner to experienced fused glass artist and will include critiques, in-depth discussion about techniques and elements of the firing process. (6 classroom hours plus access during open studio hours!)

Artspace Celebration

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:07:53 GMT

Artspace has announced plans for its first ever [url=http://www.artspace.org/events/artspace-celebration]Artspace Celebration[/url] on Monday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m. at The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts in Minneapolis. The event, featuring exciting performances, speakers, a digital art exhibit, video presentations and a special announcement, is free and open to the public and will be streamed live to Artspace’s national network of resident artists, partners and supporters. Speakers at the Artspace Celebration will review the organization’s substantial national growth and look ahead to upcoming milestones, while celebrating the remarkable Artspace resident artists who create, animate and sustain their communities. “For more than 30 years Artspace has worked to create affordable, sustainable space for artists and improve the communities in which they live and work,” said Artspace President Kelley Lindquist. “After all this time, it’s appropriate that we celebrate this work, thank our partners and honor the artists around the country who make neighborhoods great.” Artspace, whose work has been hailed by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation and others as an inspiration for the emergent creative placemaking movement, has retained a remarkably low profile over its history, even in its home base of the Twin Cities. One of the goals of the Artspace Celebration is to acquaint the public with one of the “best kept secrets” in the world of the arts and creative placemaking. Hosted by celebrated Twin Cities performer T. Mychael Rambo, the Celebration will begin with a performance by the Native Pride Dancers and culminate in a performance by THE STEPKIDS, a Connecticut-based trio whose self-titled debut album was named one of SPIN Magazine’s top 20 albums of 2011. Before and after the onstage Celebration, Artspace will present a digital art exhibition, showcasing the work of Artspace’s resident artists from across the country. Tickets for the Artspace Celebration are free, but reservations are required. To reserve tickets call The Cowles Center box office at 612.206.3600 or reserve online at [url=http://www.artspace.org/events/artspace-celebration]http://www.artspace.org/events/artspace-celebration[/url] Artspace will stream the Celebration live via Facebook beginning at 6:30 p.m. Central at [url=https://www.facebook.com/artspaceprojects]www.facebook.com/artspaceprojects[/url] [b]About Artspace[/b] For more than 30 years, Artspace has brought its hard-earned expertise to more than 200 cultural facility planning efforts from coast to coast. Of these projects, 32 have been developed and are owned and operated by Artspace itself, representing a unique, $500 million investment in America’s arts infrastructure. With headquarters in Minneapolis and offices in Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington D.C., Artspace is America’s leading developer of arts facilities. To date we have completed more than a thousand affordable live/work units for artists and their families as well as more than a million square feet of non-residential space for artists and arts organizations. Additional information is available at [url=http://www.artspace.org/]www.artspace.org[/url]

application: Artspace Celebration Invite

Ceramics 201: Thrown and Altered Forms With Brady McLearen

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:08:25 GMT

Tuesdays, April 16- May 21, 6-8:30pm [b]Tuition[/b]: $145.00 [b]Experience[/b]: Some pottery experience recommended, ages 14+ [b]Materials[/b]: All materials supplied by students

Join us for this unique opportunity to develop more complex forms that go beyond the wheel. Previous wheel throwing experience is recommended but not required. In this class you will learn new techniques create sculptural objects and functional pottery including vessels, bowls and teapots. (15 hours classroom hours plus access during open studio hours!)

Workshops in the Studio

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:17:28 GMT

Ongoing workshops in Mary Jo's private studio. Call for appointment times for the the upcoming months!

Ceramics 101: The Essentials of Basic Pottery on the Wheel Sec 2 with Denny Hummel

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:09:08 GMT

Wednesdays, April 17-May 22, 6-8:30pm [b]Tuition[/b]: $145.00 [b]Experience[/b]: No prior experience required, ages 14+ [b]Materials[/b]: All materials supplied by students

Dive into the exciting world of ceramics in this introductory pottery course designed for the absolute beginner! Learn how to wedge, center on the wheel, throw simple forms of pottery (cups, bowls and more!), trim and how to glaze. All the work you create is food, dishwasher, microwave and oven safe and can be used in your everyday life! (15 hours classroom hours plus access during open studio hours!)

Ceramics 101: The Essentials of Basic Pottery on the Wheel Sec 2 with Denny Hummel

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:11:13 GMT

Wednesdays, April 17-May 22, 6-8:30pm [b]Tuition[/b]: $145.00 [b]Experience[/b]: No prior experience required, ages 14+ [b]Materials[/b]: All materials supplied by students

Bathers - Minneapolis Drawing Workshop 13th Annual Exhibition

Fri, 03 May 2013 04:43:32 GMT

[size= small][b]May 18 – June 1, 2013 at Vine Arts Center[/b][/size][size= small] Opening party Saturday May 18, 11:00 am to 9:00pm Continuous Drawing Demonstration, Saturday 11:00 to 8:00 Eighteen artists united by their love of the human form have come together to create a fresh, thought-provoking show of drawings and paintings reflecting recent experiences with the live model. In addition to exhibiting their various contemporary interpretations of this traditional subject, these experienced artists will be on hand to demonstrate their art by drawing portraits of visitors during the opening party, on Saturday, May 18, 2013. Exhibition runs until Saturday, June 1 [/size][size= small][b]Participating Artists:[/b][/size][size= small] Daniel Altmann, David Collins, Barbara Daveloose, Laura Jemison, Dede Leither, Joan Martin, Kay Raabe, Herbie Sewell, Emma Wadsworth, Scott Chase, Lisa Colwell, Virgil Delegard, Dona Kos, Dee Lynch, Kit Prendergast, Libby Scheele, Harold B. Stone, Deb Zeller Vine Arts Center 2637 27th Ave. S Minneapolis, MN 55406 Phone: 612 728- 5745 www.vineartscenter.org Gallery hours: Saturdays, 11:00 – 9:00 Mon, Wed and Thurs 5:30 – 7:00[/size]

Francisco de Goya

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:03:17 GMT

[b]FRANCISCO DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES[/b] [b]Opening Reception: Saturday, May 18th from 6-9pm[/b] [b]On View: May 18th-June 29th, 2013[/b] [b]Exhibition Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11am-6pm[/b] [b][i]Los Caprichos:[/i][/b] A series of etchings printed during his lifetime from approximately 1797-1799. This exhibition features an early first edition of [i]Los Caprichos,[/i] a set of 80 etchings by Spanish artist Francisco de Goya y Lucientes that was published in 1799. It is regarded as one of the most influential series of graphic images in the history of Western art. [i]Francisco Goya: Los Caprichos[/i] was organized by Douglas Flanders. "Capricho" can be translated as a whim, a fantasy or an expression of imagination. In Goya's use of the term, the meaning deepens, binding an ironical layer of humor over one of the most profound indictments of human vice ever set on paper. Enigmatic and controversial, [i]Los Caprichos[/i] was created in a time of social repression and economic crisis in Spain. Influenced by Enlightenment thinking, Goya set out to analyze the human condition and denounce social abuses and superstitions. [i]Los Caprichos[/i] was his passionate declaration that the chains of social backwardness had to be broken if humanity was to advance. The series attests to the artist's political liberalism and to his revulsion at ignorance and intellectual oppression, mirroring his ambivalence toward authority and the church. [i]Los Caprichos[/i] deals with personages populate a world on the margins of reason, where no clear boundariesdistinguish reality from fantasy. FREE and open to the public, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to compare the print quality of pre-edition trial proofs and first-edition prints to later editions.

image: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters

image: Nothing Could Be Done About It

The Sublime Mundane

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:38:33 GMT

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 23, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Artist Talk: Thursday, June 27, 7:00 p.m. Installation artist Mary Bergs and painter Daniel Buettner both take joy in the ordinary object. It is, in fact, the most ordinary of objects that are plucked from mediocrity to become the focus and subjects of their art. By taking everyday objects out of their usual context, [i]The Sublime Mundane[/i] will compel viewers to see “things” in a whole new way. For more information, visit: http://www.btacmn.org/3visual/at_galleries/exhibits/sublime.html

image: Composition with Table

Open Dialogue on the New MMAA: Design

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:16:43 GMT

VJA Architects principles Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos lead a conversation about how architectural ideas can impact the new MMAA, your experience of the Pioneer Endicott buildings, and the new spaces and galleries that will engage you and your family.

The Thousandfold Principle/Jeremy Szopinski

Fri, 03 May 2013 13:09:52 GMT

[b]TuckUnder Projects is very pleased to announce the solo exhibition [i]The Thousandfold Principle[/i], featuring the oil paintings of Minneapolis painter/printmaker Jeremy Szopinski.[/b] [i]The Thousandfold Principle/Jeremy Szopinski[/i] opens at TuckUnder Projects, Thursday, May 23, 6-9 pm. The exhibition runs May 23-June 23, 2013, with unstructured hours Wednesday through Sunday, and by appointment. Please email [url=mailto:info@tuckunder.org]info@tuckunder.org[/url] to confirm open hours. TuckUnder Projects is located at 5120 York Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, USA 55410. For further information visit [url=http://www.TuckUnder.org/]www.TuckUnder.org[/url]. American artist Jeremy Szopinski (Born Ironwood, MI, 1975) is a Minneapolis-based painter, printmaker and visual artist whose artwork navigates the space, structure and materiality of abstraction. Szopinski has exhibited at numerous venues both regionally and nationally including Woodward Gallery (NY), Soo Visual Arts Center, Phipps Center for the Arts, Speedboat Gallery, and the Duluth Art Institute. He has worked as an Adjunct Faculty member at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, MN, as a Senior Letterpress Printer at Studio On Fire in Minneapolis, and has painted murals. He received his BFA in 1998 from the College of Visual Arts, St. Paul, and completed his MFA in Painting at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, in 2010. Further works can be found on his website at [url=http://www.jeremyszopinski.com]www.jeremyszopinski.com[/url]. For the works in[b] [/b][i]The Thousandfold Principle[/i], Szopinski reflects upon a quote by televangelist Benny Hinn as an underlying thematic narrative:[i] [/i][b] [/b]“When I saw the amazing harvest, I confess I still wondered if the results I was experiencing might just be a coincidence; maybe this was happening by chance, I thought.” The abstract works subtly hide a human form and character that occupies a liminal space between the surface of the paper, canvas, or board and the top transparent layers of abstract marks. Szopinski explains that the abstract paintings in his exhibit constantly move toward building unresolved tensions between opposing forces both formally and thematically. The underlying figures, some of which are discernable, suggest violence and religious ecstasy, belief and doubt. Abstraction, in the form of large swoops and geometric shapes, frequently overtake the figures. Conversely, through high key color and overlapped composition, the work maintains a connection to old master religious painting. Szopinski often visually references the pictorial imagery of El Greco’s mystical space and Caravaggio’s violent dramas. Szopinski’s printmaking employment plays a visible role in his current paintings. The act of mixing CMYK inks is often mimicked on the surface of the works. Created on Terraskin paper mounted on board and found/recycled wood materials, utilizing both traditional oil paints and conventional printmaking inks, and applied with squeegees, knives and rollers, the abstractions vary in scale from tiny wooden blocks to larger paper works. The changes in scale and material often evoke a mood shift that alters the dialectic.

Also on view will be the start of a five month exterior project [i]Look (again) Residency: Sunflower Revolution[/i] by low tech/high joy artists Marlaine Cox and Karen Kasel. For the start of their residency, low tech/high joy will present a singular metal lens scoping/viewing device that peers onto a particular spot within the TuckUnder yard. Included will be the presenting of hand packaged sunflower seeds to viewers to “spread the revolution.” Further fabricated metal lens scoping devices and participatory activity will be added as the residency proceeds. Collaborating for over six years, low tech/high joy has created simple placemaking activity and organic participatory project work, which includes the [i]Shanty of Misfit Toys[/i] at the Art Shanties on Medicine Lake. TuckUnder Projects is a temporary, independent artist exhibition space and sculpture site located within the Fulton neighborhood of Southwest Minneapolis. As an alternative, hybridic home-based contemporary gallery, TuckUnder Projects specializes in unrecognized emerging artists and curatorial collaborators, tactical institutional critique, participatory initiatives and conceptual curatorial projects. Artistic quality at TuckUnder is based upon artist’s tactical aesthetics, participatory exchange, home economics, and conceptual fortitude rather than traditionally conservative art fair and gallery criteria.

For its second season of interior and exterior art exhibit programming, TuckUnder plans six platform exhibits that engage the local community with under recognized local and regional emerging artists and curators working in visual arts, video, site-specific sculpture and installation from May thru November 2013. Artists will collaborate with the unique 1950’s architectural environs, TuckUnder garage, fake butterflies and woodpecker, raspberry patch, and scenic overlook. Forthcoming exhibition and curatorial projects include the artists Jeremy Szopinski, Holly Streekstra, Mary Bergs, Christina Chang, Nathaniel Smith, and exterior resident collaborators low tech/high joy (Marlaine Cox & Karen Kasel). Currently on view at TuckUnder is [i]Vague[/i], a solo installation by visual artist Pete Driessen, now thru May 19, 2013.

TuckUnder Projects was created with the generous help of MRAC, Springboard for the Arts Incubator program, Arvesen Co., Driessen Water, Northern Sun, Printz, and many individuals. TuckUnder Projects activity was funded, in part, by a 2012 Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Community Arts Grant, and by appropriations from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State's general fund, and its arts and cultural heritage fund that was created by a vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Image: [i]Triple Fire-Detail[/i]/ Jeremy Szopinski © 2013/Oil on board/43x44 Inches. For further information please contact Pete Driessen at [url=mailto:info@tuckunder.org]info@tuckunder.org[/url], or visit Jeremy Szopinski’s website: [url=Karen_Kasel]www.jeremyszopinski.com[/url].