Art
Selective Focus: Blackbird Revolt
Blackbird Revolt is a team of creatives and organizers who work to raise the voices and increase the visibilty of marginalized groups. They recently published APRÈS, an elegant, beautifully designed and written zine that started out as a way to honor Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie at the 100 year mark of their lynching. The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others caused them to change direction with the project. The zine now contains content to help people who want to make meaningful change happen, but may need some suggestions for next steps, and ways to sustain the energy. This week in Selective Focus, we take a look at the work of Blackbird Revolt, and hear how they use their skills as artists and organizers to support, challenge, engage and change.
Please tell us about yourself and your work, and how you came to work in your style.
Influenced by artists and activists, Blackbird Revolt was founded by Jordon and Terresa Moses who felt compelled to engage their community through art and design. The idea to form the company came about in Fall of 2016. We noticed the continued lack of representation and the intentional exclusion of diverse and intersectional voices from the dominant narrative. We are an alternative to that exclusion: A network of artists, designers, photographers, painters, writers, orators and more. Blackbird Revolt acts as a platform for these conscious creatives.
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Short story about PDD blog comments’ infinite recursion of self-referentiality
With regards to a recent sarcastic comment by Vicarious about me posting on PDD about an interview I did about a PDD post, I was reminded of this Richardson brothers story. It was inspired by a war in the PDD comments section back in the old days, but the gist is infinite recursion in blog comments.
Coldsnap Photography Pro-Am Series with Christian Dalbec
John Gregor’s ColdSnap Photography is holding “pro-am” presentations. Last week’s session featured Christian Dalbec. Dalbec finds a way to make a sleepy shore exotic and exciting. Check out the presentation on Zoom.
Duluth You & Me: Summertime Racers
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Summer Time Racers
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Selective Focus: LampsnTime – Rob and Teresa Reese
When you walk through the Duluth Antique Marketplace on Grand Avenue, like most antique malls, each booth has its own specialty and feel. But when you approach the LampsnTime booth, even from a distance, it’s clear there’s another layer of personality to it. Rob and Teresa Reese transform old discarded items into reimagined pieces of functional and decorative art.
LNT: With Teresa’s fascination with the Borg technology portrayed in Star Trek and Rob’s interest in all that is “haunted” naturally we fell in love with the Steampunk alternate history of the “Past that never was.” We repurpose all sorts of odd pieces we happen upon into industrial lamps, clocks, steampunk accessories and Assemblage art.
Six years ago, Rob made a lamp and friends expressed a desire to purchase one if he made more. That was the start to what we have become, Lampsntime. (more…)
Interview with Artist/Activist Votan
Artist and activist Votan visited Duluth’s American Indian Community Housing Organization with his family to show support and bring supplies during COVID-19. Video produced by Jeremy “JayGee” Gardner.
Duluth You & Me: The Depot
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: The Depot
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Carolyn Olson on the PBS News Hour
https://youtu.be/ibHPjUtvkRk?t=3059
Duluth artist Carolyn Olson (previously on PDD) was featured in a segment on the PBS News Hour covering artists responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Creative Moment” segment includes Olson discussing her series of pastel drawings of essential workers. The segment starts at the 47:20 mark of the video. Olson appears at the 51:05 mark.
Selective Focus: Annelisa Roseen
Toward the beginning of the pandemic, Annelisa Roseen started posting a photo of herself in make-up and costumes looking like a person who has a birthday on that day. The individual images are entertaining and impressive, but when you view the body of work as Instagram thumbnails, you get a much better sense of the variety, commitment, and skills Roseen has to make this work. It’s not just about the props and make-up, the expressions in her face, whether deadpan or over the top, are often the thing that make the connection to the celebrity.
What was the inspiration for this ongoing project?
I had seen that it was Gloria Steinem’s birthday; she is one of my heroes. So when I was brushing out my two-day-old pandemic bun I noticed I was sporting a kind of ’70s Gloria-frizz-do. So I took a selfie (no real make-up or costume) and posted a happy birthday to her. The next day I saw it was Lenard Nimoy’s birthday and thought “that would be funny” to do him today. I studied pics and read up on his life. And then I never stopped! I have been doing my #homageaday every day since then! Every day I pick someone whose work is inspiring or meaningful or has made an impact on culture. I love becoming these (big and small) icons each day! Most days I do an individual’s face, but sometimes I honor their image in a different way — like I did James Brown’s feet dancing on his birthday. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Port Town Trolley
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Port Town Trolley
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Duluth artist among recipients of 2020 McKnight Fellowship
If you see Catherine Meier, send congratulations. (more…)
Lake Superior Writers 2020 writing contest winners announced
Poetry
Winner: Jess Koski, “Did Geronimo Send Postcards from FL?”
Runner-up: Tina Higgins Wussow, “This is How Scars are Formed”
Short Fiction
Winner: Jess Koski, “Onaabani-giizis—Hard Crust on the Snow Moon”
Runner-up: Vickie Youngquist-Smith, “Autumn Shadow of Death”
Short-short Fiction
Winner: Vickie Youngquist-Smith, “Domestic Duplicity”
Runner-up: Lynn Watson, “But Officer”
Creative nonfiction
Winner: Eric Chandler, “I Have No Idea”
Runner-up: Chris Marcotte, “Holding Hands with an Angel”
Congratulations to everyone who participated in this year’s contest. Lake Superior Writers had 117 entries this year. The organization plans to launch next year’s contest theme in January, with a submission deadline in April.
Selective Focus: Community Mural at the CJM Memorial
Visual artist Moira Villiard organized a mural project at the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial as part of a day of creative expression on Monday, June 8. People were invited to add to the images she created of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and a raised fist. The activities also included interviews of black, indigenous and people of color on the topic of police brutality. The interviews will be used in a documentary produced by DanSan Creatives. June 15 marks 100 years since the lynching of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Issac McGhie in downtown Duluth for a crime they didn’t commit. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Sister Cities
Duluth You & Me was published in 1993. Since then Duluth has added a fifth Sister City — Rania. (more…)
My Favorite Writers/Biggest Influences: Stanislaw Lem
Stanislaw Lem was born in 1921 in Lwow, Poland which is now Lviv, Ukraine. He died in 2006 in Krakow, Poland.
He was a Jew who survived the Holocaust, which in Poland was bracketed by two Soviet invasions. He went on to become one of the greatest science fiction writers in the world. His best-known work (in America) is the novella “Solaris,” which became a 2002 film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney. Lem sold more than 40 million books worldwide.
Selective Focus: Annmarie Geniusz
If you want to see Annmarie Geniusz’s original artwork, it’s a “right place, right time” situation. She works in chalk on the sidewalk, and the next rainstorm can carry away the masterpieces in minutes. This week in Selective Focus, Annemarie fills us in on the appeal of doing public, temporary artwork.
AG: I work in illustration, stained glass, and chalk art. This time of year (and since the start of quarantine) my main focus has been chalk art. This is a form of street art that involves drawing murals and 3D illusions with artist pastels on pavement. It is considered a performance art, and is often the focus of summertime “Chalk Art Festivals” across the country.
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Duluth You & Me: An Art and Craft Show
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: An Art and Craft Show
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Selective Focus: Richard Hoeg
Rich Hoeg is a naturalist, photographer and children’s book author. His blog, 365 Days of Birds, provides daily updates on the birds and animals he follows, as well as an occasional post about his human activities. In Selective Focus this week, he talks about how his other interests have influenced his wildlife photography.
RH: Unlike most photographers who like to use DSLR’s and big lenses which are heavy with lots of reach, I chose to use a “super zoom / bridge” camera. I wanted a camera setup which allowed for easy portability whether birding, bike touring or cross-country skiing. This decision was driven by a decision to retire from the traditional work world (I was a software techie) at the somewhat young age of 57. My wife and I had planned a 2,500 mile self-supported two month bicycle tour of northern New England, the Canadian Maritime Provinces and the St. Lawrence River from its mouth to Quebec City. A large camera would have been impractical and heavy in my bike panniers. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Wednesday Night Sailboat Races
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Wednesday Night Sailboat Races
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Little Free Library Movement Still Growing
Eight years ago the concept of neighborhood book exchanges made its way to Duluth. The original Little Free Library was built in Hudson, Wis., in 2009. Duluth had its first in 2012, and by 2013 there were about 20 in the city. Today there are roughly 40.
It’s a global movement. The nonprofit Little Free Library organization estimates there are now more than 100,000 registered book exchanges in more than 100 countries worldwide.
If you’re unfamiliar with these little libraries, their appearance consists of a bird-house looking box, around 20 inches by 15 inches by 18 inches, typically with a Plexiglas door. Inside is an array of books assembled for the purpose of sharing. Anyone is welcome to take a book or leave a book.
There are 38 book exchanges in Duluth cataloged on littlefreelibrary.org, and several more are in surrounding communities. If you’re interested in where to find them, visit the Little Free Library website and search “Duluth,” “Superior” or the area of your choice. The locations will pop up and you can find the one closest to you. (more…)
Ghosts of the French River: the book
My friend Erin Tope (now Sola) and I collaborated on these pictures in the French River a few years ago. From the first they suggested characters and supernatural narratives, which I initially put to a series of four wordless short videos set to music. That sparked years of subsequent imagining about who these ghosts are. Words have now been joined to pictures to form the final iteration of the project. In the absence of an actual physical publisher, I have posted them at their own site where I consider it a free 16-page e-book. I post them here as well for your enjoyment — although you may want to leave the light on.
Selective Focus: Allen Killian-Moore
Allen Killian-Moore is a filmmaker who recently released a new experimental project in collaboration with the music of Minneapolis-based Humbird for her new single, “On the Day We are Together Again.” His work takes advantage of the imperfections of film and video — the grain, dust and scratches, pixels, flickering, varied frame rates, and they become an important part of the images. This week in Selective Focus, Allen talks about his process and the experiences that have influenced his work.
“On the Day We Are Together Again” Music by Humbird, film by Allen Killian-Moore
AKM: I am a Neurodivergent moving image artist (film and video), writer, curator, still photographer, visual artist, and performer. For this interview, I’ll be focusing specifically on my moving image film and video art. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: William A. Irvin
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: William A. Irvin
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
New Richardson Brothers Podcast Episode: “Bar Fight”
“Bar Fight” is a Duluth-centric science fiction vignette in the style of William S. Burroughs. It reads like a hard-boiled noir tale of a private eye tailing a crooked cop to the bad part of town, ending in a scene of shocking violence — except the private eye is an interdimensional traveler in a space suit, the crooked cop is the god Osiris (now a beat cop for Jehovah), and the bad part of town is a bar in Limbo (modeled after the Pizza Luce bar). I performed this through a megaphone while speaking very quietly because it gives the feel of a distant transmission. I recorded this a couple years ago late at night, but abandoned it because I thought it was silly and I was a mess. Now I’ve viewed it again and it is making me laugh, so I’m posting it. There is a gap of a few seconds in the middle as I scroll my page down. This is the first video release on our podcast, which you can see if you click through but it’s just me reading at a table. The video has a surreal shuttering effect which was unintended but I like it. This story originally ran in the Transistor.