Art
Thoughts on Flags, Art and a State of Perpetual Revolution
This post is about the new Minnesota State Flag, about abstract art, and about the exhausted feeling I get in contemporary politics. (more…)
Frau Holle’s Werkhaus
Frau Holle’s Werkhaus is Duluth artist Joellyn Rock‘s latest mixed-media installation, on display at the Tweed Museum of Art through February as part of the University of Minnesota Duluth’s faculty and staff exhibition Everything & Nothing. It was first exhibited in the group show Catching Up / Resurfacing at Joseph Nease Gallery. (more…)
PDD Gift Guide 2023
Welcome to the 2023 PDD Holiday Gift Guide, an annual tradition that highlights products made in Duluth and the surrounding area. You’ll find 16 gift ideas here, but the comment area is open for suggestions. (more…)
Selective Focus: Masha Conner’s Character Drawings & Pro-Choice Art
When Masha Conner isn’t working as a nurse at WE Health clinic, she can be found pouring her passion for abortion access, drag shows and cosplay into her character designs. A collection of her drawings and a recent interview can be read below: (more…)
Arty Duluth Concert Ticket Stubs
In general, concert tickets are not attractively designed. These days people show up at the gate with a computer printout as evidence of admission purchased online, or more often just hold up their phone to display a code. When there are physical tickets involved, they tend to be nothing more than a faded Ticketmaster logo with the show details in grey, all-caps print. And that’s just in the case of mainstream traveling artists.
When it comes to shows featuring local bands, there often are no tickets involved at all. Admission is frequently free or it’s a cash-at-the-door affair. But there are a few occasions where tickets to local shows get arty. (more…)
Selective Focus: Maelo Cruz’s Comics and Paintings
Photo by Jess Morgan
A few years after moving to Minnesota, Maelo Cruz self-published a 64-page comic called “Part Timer,” about a character who “dreams of being a full time artist while working a regular job that sucks the life right out of them.” His artwork is primarily autobiographical and self-reflective, giving viewers a glimpse of his experience living and growing up in Puerto Rico and fatherhood. View and learn more about his comics, below. (more…)
Selective Focus: Kathryne Ford’s Paintings, Prints and Visual Art
Photo by Nia Sayler.
Duluthians who love the local music scene may have stumbled across Kathryne Ford dancing with her acrylics while live painting. Ford performs most Tuesdays at the Rathskeller with jazz group the Hot Club of Duluth. A collection of Ford’s work called “See the Bloom” is on display at Wussow’s Concert Cafe through the end of October. Below is a recent interview and some snapshots of her artwork. (more…)
Untethered: Patricia Canelake
Over the summer, Prøve Gallery hosted Untethered, an exhibition of paintings and prints by Patricia Canelake of Knife River. In this video by Frank Sander, Kelsey Lundberg interviews Canelake about the simple figures and animals, leashed and unleashed, that are the focus of her work.
Free Republic of Duluth Funnies, 2005
Below are artifacts from the Richardson brothers 2005 Free Republic of Duluth events. The idea was a Duluth secession into a city-state embodying Situationist ideas of art-as-life. It culminated in a community art event at Washington Studios where these were displayed. Allen and I created these in the spirit of détournement, the practice of subverting commercial art like comic strips to revolutionary ends. Our house became a collaborative artspace freakout, reflected in the fact that the lettering in the last strip was done by someone I can’t remember, it could have been anyone, some citizen of the Free Republic … (more…)
Selective Focus: Brittany Plachecki
Applying their studies in art history, excitement for horror and queer theory, Brittany Plachecki creates colorful character designs. One of their most recent projects was co-founding Pride Walks Superior, a collaborative initiative to get LGBTQIA2S+ youth involved in an affirming, creative, and kid-friendly-setting. Pride Walks also helped introduce young artists to the process of doing gallery shows, documenting their work, and selling it. Brittany’s pieces are perfect for getting into the spirit of fall and spooky season. View photos of their art and a recent interview about their work below: (more…)
40 Below: The Toughest Race in the World
Duluthian Marius Anderson’s film 40 Below will be the featured film on Friday, Oct. 6 at the 2023 Duluth Superior Film Fest. The film follows entrants in the Arrowhead 135 race in International Falls during the depths of Minnesota winter. It’s one of many Minnesota-made films screened at the fest; the full schedule is on the Duluth Superior Film Fest website.
Below are more Minnesota-made movie trailers. (more…)
9/11, Never Forget Evil
When I was a little kid, I had a friend named Ron. Ron was different, unique and interesting. All people appeared this way to me at that time. Ron stole a pair of shorts from my mother’s clothesline. My mother’s friend caught Ron downtown and yelled at him, “nice shorts!,” and then drove off. I didn’t understand why Ron didn’t get to have a colorful pair of shorts. He was different, unique and interesting like me. Then they cut my hair. I cried, “I look like a bald-headed monkey.” My grandfather said, “his hair was so long because of the Indians up there.” They sent me to a Catholic school. I’m white. My language was stolen from me. My culture was stolen from me. My friends were stolen from me.
Ractalfece is canceled
Hello everybody, this is John Holden, aka, Ractalfece. Over the years, I have been honored that Perfect Duluth Day has been posting my YouTube videos. Unfortunately, YouTube has terminated my account.
I wrote to them; said it was art. They didn’t restore my account. So I’ll be dusting off my old website — totalvom.com. Come find me.
Duluth artist exhibits at Minnesota State Fair
Duluth artist Pat Hagen leapt a huge hurdle to exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair — producing some of the best work in the state. (Photos via Pat.) (more…)
Champ the Bulldog: Bronze Edition
Sculptor Nick Legeros recently completed a bronze sculpture of Champ the Bulldog, mascot of the University of Minnesota Duluth. The statue was installed on Aug. 8 near the walkway in front of the Darland Administration Building.
Whither the Depot Foundation?
As there is such a tussle coming about the Depot, I wondered — what is the role of the Depot Foundation in keeping the Depot afloat? (more…)
In Honor of Minnesota’s New Pot Situation
I published this in the Ripsaw News more than two decades ago in my strip “Crackbrained Comix.” Thank you Governor Walz and everyone who finally legalized/decriminalized pot in Minnesota, as of today.
What AI thinks “Lake Superior fish” look like
I used stablediffusionweb.com to make these, using prompts like: “Lake Superior fish,” sometimes including “angler” and phrases like “catch of the day” or “look what I caught.” Then I switched to “a meal of Lake Superior fish,” “Lake Superior fish on a plate,” and so on. You will see some “breaded fried Lake Superior lampreys.” Bon appétit!
Chester Park has a new kind of tree: A poetree
“This book is offered in the form of a poetry chrysalis to encourage us to think about how we are a part of nature and how our actions cause change,” Wildwood wrote on the note. (Photo by Rob Wildwood via Facebook)
Picking a new summer book just got easier. Duluth writer Robert Wildwood has taken the free library idea to new heights, offering up copies of his latest book of poetry to the public in a novel way. This month, chrysalides of poetry appeared in Chester Park trees, and they are a gift for you. (more…)
In Memoriam: Duluth Artist Max Moen
Anyone within the sound of my voice, the artworks of Max Moen must be found and saved. I interrupted his dying days begging him to grant me a custodial role regarding his body of work. I think mostly of his collages which I greatly admire, surrealist masterpieces. I told him I’d arrange a show and self-publish a collection at my own expense, because the world must know. At the time he told me they were boxed in a car in another state, and I feared I was taxing him as he fought the cancer. I think he got that car back but I let it go; he was too busy dying and I didn’t want to be that guy. At least I impressed upon him that I considered him an artist with a capital “A.”
Sadly I have none of his work to share with you today. He had some examples on his old Facebook page but he took it all down. I remember searching his photos to copy them but he’d already deleted the lot. He did that sometimes. (more…)
Hyper Glaze
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LSl2g5N4PU
John Holden and Matt Norby warn that their latest video contains hyper-glazed data poisoning. “Do not upload it to sites that train modules on user submissions,” the YouTube video description notes. “It will degrade the overall system and cause generated output to be less stable and less accurate. You don’t want to be the one to ruin AI content for everybody.”
Selective Focus: Photos on Film
Photography exhibit in the windows of 313 West Superior St.
There’s a temporary photo show hanging in the windows of the old Bagley Building downtown, 313 West Superior St. The photos are all shot on film – a variety of formats from an equal variety of cameras.
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Kirsten Aune puts kaleidoscopic spin on textile folk art
Kirsten Aune is preparing work for a group art show she co-organized with her sister for the Nordic Center for FinnFest. “Inspiraatioita: Finnish Art and Design in Minnesota” will be on display July 27-30. Read more about it from MPR News.
Art Opening in the Deeps of the Rathskeller
The Rathskeller was home to art and imagination as Kat Ford’s art was on display. (more…)
Snoopy thinks Woodstock’s mom could be in Duluth
This weekend’s syndicated Classic Peanuts comic includes a mention of Duluth. The strip was chosen for Mother’s Day weekend because Snoopy speculates on the location of Woodstock’s mother, who “could be in Anchorage, or in the Caribbean or Duluth for all you know.” (more…)