Arts

A New North Dakota

2009-07-10T02:22:42+00:00

Chuck Kimmerle sees the golden prairie in black and white. Through the lens of his camera, North Dakota’s hidden treasures are rendered shockingly clear and breathtakingly beautiful. Kimmerle’s aim, however, is not to present “the pretty” but to share the quirks that inhabit our landscape.

His large collection of photographs hang on display at the North Dakota Museum of Art in Grand Forks, inspiring travelers and natives alike to take another look at our familiar surroundings.

Kimmerle answered the Grand Forks’ Herald’s call for a photographer before the flood of 1997, leaving the twin cities for the North Dakota town. His arrival coincided with the paper’s national recognition and an overwhelming amount of material to photograph as the city battled flood and fire. Kimmerle was then hired by the University of North Dakota, for which he continues to shoot for the college’s magazines, promotional pieces and major events.

Like many artists, Kimmerle accepts the necessity of a day job. “A day job is a day job; it’s a thing you have to do.” But that doesn’t stop him from producing his own work. In fact, he admits that if he didn’t have a day job, he might one day get bored driving around North Dakota, looking for his next shot.

For years he had been working with large format cameras, even going so far as transforming his basement into a darkroom, but then he realized “something didn’t feel right.” He began to play with digital cameras and quickly found it to be his preferred medium. His darkroom was soon replaced with a computer and hard drives; his subject took slightly longer to discover.

For eight years Kimmerle drove around the rural Grand Forks area, taking in the landscape. It wasn’t until four years ago that the scenery caught his photographer’s eye and held it. When asked why it took him so long, Kimmerle admitted, “It’s easy to get lost in the vastness that is the prairie.”

He had to look for “the little quirks and hiccups” instead.

Armed with his digital camera, Kimmerle now drives the back roads of Grand Forks and Walsh counties, covering the area “pretty darn good.” He laughs about the fact that sometimes he gets excited that he has found a new spot only to realize he’s been there before. Despite this, and the fact that 90 percent of the time he has no idea where he’s going, Kimmerle acknowledges his inner need to get in the car every chance he gets.

He stresses that his black and white work is all done on personal time: “It’s all weekends and nights. I’m not receiving any grants or payment for these pieces; I do this for myself.”

Kimmerle’s view of North Dakota does not lend to traditional landscape. As he put it at the opening reception of his show, “Like Wayne Gudmundson’s work, it’s not just nature, all pretty clouds and hills. I see it more as the interplay between the agricultural community and mother nature. Some people think landscape photography is simply a matter of finding something to shoot, but to me, it’s a matter of deciphering what I see.”

Kimmerle’s digital photographs display the landscape in a sharpness that mimics the land. “My pieces don’t apologize for what they show, just like North Dakota doesn’t apologize for how it looks. It’s part of its nature and history. The land is very much like the people who live on it: honest.”

The Unapologetic Landscape is on display at the North Dakota Museum of Art from June 30 to August 30. An extremely well-attended reception on June 30 kicked off the show in style with a small string band and a few brief words from the artist. Kimmerle’s show runs in conjunction with a sculptural exhibit by Zoran Mojsilov, whose work in natural stone and steel plays well with the black and white photographs on the second floor.

The North Dakota Museum of Art is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The gallery is located on the University of North Dakota campus at 261 Centennial Dr., Stop 7305. For directions and questions, please call (701) 777-4195 or visit their website at http://www.ndmoa.com.

Celebrating Culture on the Plains: The Pekin Days Events

2009-06-25T18:28:44+00:00

The commitment of arts advocates in the small town of Pekin, North Dakota, continues at an energetic pace as the Pekin Days Art Show opens with juror awards selected by North Dakota’s own Walter Piehl—acclaimed Western Americana painter, art educator and Bush Enduring Visions award winner. Participating artists include well known practitioners like Ellen Diederich, Michael Dunn, Janna Warcup, Guilleimo Guardia, Robert Kurkowski and 87 others, with a total of 237 artworks.

Witness a prairie town at its artistic best by attending the eclectic art exhibition and a number of attendant events, including a special exhibit featuring the work of Jim Dow. The North Dakota Museum of Art is sponsoring Dow’s noteworthy photo show of North Dakota and Minnesota landmarks called Marking the Land.

Supporting small town Dakota is a worthy endeavor. Not only will fine art be on display and for sale, but an arts and crafts fair punctuates the weekend activities, along with music from bands like Old Tyme Kings and many others. In addition, Fargo glass-blower Jon Offut will be on hand to demonstrate his extraordinary skills on Saturday and Sunday. The Paul Durocher Family will perform bluegrass, country, folk and traditional music following a 5-7 pm Saturday beef barbeque.

Additional reasons to find Pekin on the map and motor there include: Street dancing to the music of the Albert Lee Band (9 pm - 1 am Saturday) sponsored by the Peek-in-Pub and the North Dakota Council on the Arts. On Sunday, the day begins with a pancake feed from 8-11 am, and the afternoon features the North River Ramblers, an up-and-coming blue grass group from Grand Forks who will perform in the park.

One unique aspect of the festivities is charitable. The Nelson County Motorcycle Club will “Ride for Cancer” in memory of Pekinite Norman Rude, a supportive member of the Pekin community. Register for this event after 10:30 on Saturday.

Hats off to Pekin as it once again hosts a multitude of art and musical events—too many to mention here—that help to keep our rural communities hip, hopping and art and music savvy. Growing culture in the hinterlands has been a mission of many Dakota artists, including Piehl and Offut, plus many others. Local and regional arts organizers, and arts councils like NDMA and NDCA are also key to these successes. And Pekin businesses and community members are to be heartily commended. Pekin is certainly the place to be this weekend. For further information contact NCAC Director Brenda Bjorlie at bebjorlie@stellarnet.com.

Questions and comments: pamelasund@cableone.net

INFO:

What: Pekin Days Art Show and Events
When: Thursday-Saturday, June 25-28
Where: Pekin, North Dakota
Cost: None

A New Gallery Space in the Neighborhood

2009-06-11T19:25:16+00:00

The June 18th opening of the innovative Kaddatz Galleries, Ltd. in Fergus Falls features woodcut demonstrations by acclaimed artist Charles Beck, along with gallery talks by artists Scott Gunvaldson, Jeff Zachmann, Chuck Christianson, and Jay McDougall. The artists will present works-in-progress and discuss the artistic process, techniques, materials, and sources of artistic inspiration.

The overall mission of the gallery, which is housed in the historic Kaddatz Hotel, is to provide the viewing public with a venue in which to experience the artwork of some of the finest visual practitioners in the region. Director Gretchen Boyum describes Ottertail County as having “a wealth of artists and cultural happenings.” She adds that “not many people are aware of the visual artists active in the area or where to find their work.” Kaddatz Galleries, Ltd. was designed, in part, to solve that problem. Kaddatz will also provide educational art programs as it collaborates with the public schools and other regional arts organizations.

Regional themes play an important part in the work of many of the gallery artists, including art heavy-weight Beck whose images of fields and hills and trees and seasons have delighted viewers for decades. Mural artist Gundvaldson is adept at capturing the scope of regional life as well, and McDougall even uses regional Minnesota trees as the material base for his elegant sculptural works.

All in all, this new art space adds significantly to the region’s vibrant art community. The June 18th events begin at noon in the gallery space at 111 W. Lincoln. One lucky winner of the benefit raffle will take home a woodcut print called “Awakening” by Charles Beck. This is just one reason to attend the opening. Another is to welcome yet another gallery to the neighborhood. A third is to view the extensive high-quality work that will be on display.

A Raging Fire in the Art World—Literally

2009-05-14T11:46:09+00:00

“Mother nature stepped in,” pop-art icon James Rosenquist told HPR when describing a fire that completely destroyed his Aripeka, Florida, studio and home in late April. Aripeka has been Rosenquist’s primary residence for nearly four decades. “A raging, raging forest fire burned everything . . . I lost 14 million dollars worth of art. It just couldn’t be stopped. I escaped with the clothes on my back.”

Included among the canvases destroyed is a mural-size painting Rosenquist designed and executed for the Plains Art Museum. “This is just a tragic loss,” Plains Director and CEO Colleen Sheehy said, “We are really, really saddened.”

In addition to the Plains mural, several canvases ready to be shipped to New York City’s Acquavella Gallery were also lost, along with a 133 feet French-government commissioned piece—a ceiling mural to be installed at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. Rosenquist acknowledged that a career-long collection of his prints “were also burned up.” A loss of this size in the international art community is shocking news. As Sheehy put it, “This is a huge loss for the art world. I can’t imagine this happening to any artist.”

Add to this, the destruction of personal belongings, collectibles, memorabilia, archived materials, address books, files, and yes, family picture albums, including those that once belonged to Rosenquist’s North Dakota mother, including a picture of the child Rosenquist with Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Sadly, as is often the case with artworks, the Rosenquist paintings were not insured. According to the artist, whose early childhood was spent in Grand Forks, North Dakota, “If you look at paying the cost of insurance for paintings over the years, it can equal the cost of the artwork itself.” He added that he had insured the “contents” of his property, and that the “insurance company is being very fair” in the handling of these claims.

According to St Petersburg Times reporters, investigators from Florida’s Division of Forestry are continuing to search for the cause of the blaze. Rosenquist described a frightening account of the scene in which a fire-fighter’s life was in jeopardy, but thankfully, his life was not lost. “That’s the good thing,” Rosenquist said.

Moving forward has meant a retreat to his New York residence and a recent trip to D.C. where he was a dinner guest of Hillary Clinton and others at the State Department. “I did a lithograph for our Embassy program [which got him the invite] so I attended the dinner and chatted with Hillary,” he reported. In addition, Rosenquist is ready to resume painting, using his Aripeka guest house as a studio, and he is wrapping up work on a book about his life, which covers all periods, “from babyhood to the fire.” “I’m a busy boy,” he said with levity. The title of his autobiography is Painting Below Zero. It is due to be published in the fall of 2009.

When asked about his emotional response to such a tremendous loss, he admitted a reluctance to address the “emotions” of the situation right now. It’s apparent through conversation that his vision is to see far past the fire. His outgoing personality and Swedish tenacity seem, already, to be carrying him well beyond the tragedy, though reminders are everywhere.

He spoke of his daughter, the “lovely Lily,” who is a student at the Rhode Island School of Design. “I said to my daughter—she was working on a project—I’ve got a bull skull with big horns that you could use . . .” but he stopped himself, and what quickly followed was, “oops, I don’t have that anymore.” He spoke of similar instances—telling individuals he would send posters or prints to them, but his offers were followed once again by “oops, I don’t have that anymore.”

Rosenquist was partially responsible for bringing figurative imagery back into American art after an early-to-mid 20th century non-objective art drought—no small feat. He is a world renowned artist and a North Dakota Native Son. “Few share Dakota,” as a poet hath said. How true. A loss of this magnitude for James Rosenquist is a loss for all of us.

North Dakota Abandoned: Dan Francis Photo Exhibit

2009-05-14T11:44:37+00:00

We often rely on photographs to capture life’s happiest moments. Weddings, birthdays, graduations, and other events with friends and family are typical targets for photographers, amateur and professional alike. On the other end of the spectrum, photojournalists often photograph moments of pain and suffering, tragedies and wars, to create a permanent record of them as important events in human history. But, perhaps it is as important to capture those moments in between happiness and sorrow as well. Perhaps there is something of value in those moments of loneliness and desolation.

Fargo-based photographer, Dan Francis, presents a collection of these moments in his exhibit, “North Dakota Abandoned.” For example, in one image an abandoned car peeks from a mound of snow, surrounded by miles of white and the contrast of a darkened sky. In another, a sign reading “DEAD END,” illuminated by the full moon, stands beside a road to nowhere.

Francis, who was born and raised in North Dakota, is the owner of Dan Francis Photography, 417 Main Ave. Suite 210, in downtown Fargo. Although Francis worked for a professional photography studio for almost seven years prior to opening his business in early 2009 and has more than 10,000 hours of Photoshop experience, “North Dakota Abandoned” is his first exhibit.

“I chose these prints because even though they show a lonely side to North Dakota, they show the beautiful side as well,” said Francis. “I look for the simple, beautiful scenery in North Dakota and I use my knowledge of composition to create an art form.”

The images in the collection are similar in that they are all devoid of people. Many of them show reminders of what people have left behind, such as the abandoned car or the solitary street sign in the above descriptions. “This selection of images shows North Dakota through blizzards, through abandonment, and through an artistic eye,” Francis said. “I try to keep the viewers eye on my picture as long as I can. And to do that, [my] pictures have to stand out and they have to be different; it has to be something nobody has seen before and if seen before, seen in a different way.”

Francis, who also teaches Introduction to Photography at M-State (formerly Northwest Tech., where he graduated with a degree in graphic design in 2003), said that although not all types of photography are always considered art, “there is a place for photography in the art spectrum. There is a way you can compose a photograph to represent what you see in your mind such as a painter would with a paintbrush. Fargo has been very kind to local artists. We have many creative, talented artists and many supporters [of the arts] in Fargo.”

“North Dakota Abandoned” is on display at Babb’s Coffee House, 604 Main Ave., May 19- June 20. Francis’ other works can be found around Fargo and on the web. Francis’ print of the Vietnam Memorial Wall is now on display at the Fargo Air Museum as part of their Vietnam Memorial. His piece, “A Walk Down Broadway,” was chosen to represent the 2007 Fargo Film Festival and he has received several awards through the F-M Camera Club, where he will serve as vice president for the 2009-2010 term. His work has also appeared in online publications, and is available for purchase online at http://www.danfrancisphotography.com.

Anything but Achromatic: Eric Johnson’s Surreal Cityscapes

2009-05-07T17:00:24+00:00

The bright colors of spring will have a new competition this season as Eric Johnson’s colorful, reduction prints make an appearance at the downtown Ecce Art + Yoga gallery on Thursday, May 14.

Anyone who catches a glimpse of his work will be struck by the kaleidoscopic effect produced by the twisting buildings and squirming color patches. His pieces bear a strong resemblance to stained glass windows with their solid colors and intricate details that give the work movement and life. Each print is the culmination of countless passes through the printing press and the even greater culmination of skill and patience.

The chromatic images are created through the printmaking technique called the relief process. In this manner, a large Sintra (or linoleum) block is slowly carved away as each color is printed. The closer the print is to completion, the less of the original block remains until, in the end, everything has been carved away save the last color. Because Johnson must destroy the block to create his work, he can only produce one series of each print. While this limits the final number of prints, it makes each one more valuable.

Johnson grew up in the area and attended North Dakota State University for his undergraduate degree. It wasn’t until he travelled to Chicago and New York City, however, that he found his inspiration for the images that have graced his relief-cut prints for the last ten years. He began printing his colorful, curved buildings in 1999. According to the artist, the inspiration came from a spiral candlestick he bought in New York. “I just kept drawing it and then something clicked,” he says with a laugh. “So I guess you could say I was influenced by a candlestick.”

That inspiration led Johnson to begin creating his uninhabited cityscapes while in graduate school at the University of North Dakota. He took a break from the buildings after graduation and did not return to them until 2006. His other most notable series, begun in 2005, features solitary trees, all assigned a number. “I decided one day I was going to do thirty of them,” he says as he shows a page from his sketchbook filled with pen and ink drawings. “I’m up to twenty-seven, so I’m nearly done.”

His trees are sometimes titled, sometimes not, but their number always accompanies them. In this way, Johnson leaves the interpretation in the hands of the viewer.

“There’s so much symbolism and so many meanings with trees,” he said. “I didn’t want to get stuck with one.” He had been in such a postion in graduate school, when his apocalyptic series tried to convey too many meanings. “I put in everything for meaning and then I got artist’s block,” he admits.

There seems to be no end to Johnson’s artistic creativity now, however. As an adjunct professor at the NDSU downtown building, he makes good use of the space and equipment, filling many flat file drawers with new prints. His work was chosen as the official Fargo Street Fair logo last year. His show at the Ecce Art + Yoga gallery will cover a wide range of years and showcase new work as well as a few pieces that haven’t been seen before. The reception for the opening will take place Thursday, May 14 from 6 to 9 p.m. The artist will be present to discuss his work. The show will run for two weeks.

Confounding the Sublime: Andrew Stark MFA Painting Exhibition

2009-05-07T17:00:08+00:00

No matter the advances of science, not one person on planet Earth can explain where matter originally came from. Science is woefully inadequate in elucidating ultimate mysteries, such as the “matter” question. Andrew Stark is interested in bringing this matter—no pun intended—into public view.

His paintings are mostly two-tiered. The background layer often represents deep space in the form of a nebulous pastiche of pigment in monochromatic hues. The foreground consists of an Op art pattern of perfect geometric shapes, whose often white or black circles form atmospheric clusters.

The dot patterns in “New Yellow” or “Green Cloud” seem to represent a solid crystalline lattice at an atomic level. They appear symbolic of solid matter construction across the universe and may represent the particle make-up of solid objects.

By foregrounding this intrusive grid, Stark seems to be saying that the understanding of the subatomic level is irrelevant to appreciation of the beauty of the mysterious natural world and that it can, in fact, be a stumbling block to the perception and experience of the sublime, which often lies beyond these circular shapes in his provocative compositions.

In point of fact, there is always a smaller atomic particle for a scientist to chase, just as there is always a larger expanse of universe for him or her to grapple with. The extreme edges of this exploration spectrum are essentially indefinable and unknowable. The sub-atomic particle pursuit leads to ever-dwindling minutia.

Exploring the vastness of the universe leads ultimately to a distance that cannot be measured or comprehended, to the edge of current exploratory ability. Stark seems to suggest that neither path leads directly to a crescendo of understanding. One might say, pondering these heady images, that herein lies an almighty rub. Or maybe not.

The nebulous forms in the background could also be seen as Prime Mover-made complexes of forms in unique shapes, and the foreground could be viewed as human-made objects with fewer dimensions of complexity, with monotonous, predictable patterns. A viewer might feel drawn to the work, but not always in a pleasant way, since the foreground Op art systems thwart the visual comprehension of the deeper realities hiding beyond reach.

Whatever the intention of the artist, Stark’s work elicits questions about ultimate reality, and within the framework of visual art, the viewer can ponder the inexplicable alongside the explicable, the gloriousness of the cosmos, alongside the tediousness of human-made marks.

The opening reception will be held on May 12, 4:30-7 p.m. in the UND Eugene E. Myers Gallery, Grand Forks. The exhibition will run through May 14.

“Some Enchanted Evening…”

2009-04-15T15:50:03+00:00

Only last November the UND Theatre Department put it on, and it’s been performed recently by the Crimson Creek Players, Thompson High School, and the Grand Forks Summer Performing Arts program. And now, last weekend Red River High School did “South Pacific,” amazingly the very first time the title has been scheduled as the annual spring musical since the school opened some 40 years ago!

Set at an island navy base during World War II, the plot works in the standard love-at-first-sight romance and plenty of comic farce with its restless young sailors and nurses. However, it quickly develops into a story that probes deeper than typical musical-comedy fare.

The script remains as timely as ever with its exploration of love and racial prejudice, as well as ageism and political issues. Yet despite its wartime setting and many serious undercurrents, “South Pacific” is generously laden with comedy and has become beloved for its popular songs, including “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Younger than Springtime,” “Bali Ha’i,” and “Nothing Like a Dame,” among others.

Co-directed by Grand Forks’ musical theatre dynasty of Brad, Connie, and Ken Sherwood, along with Rich McFarlane, Red River High School, as expected, put on a highly enjoyable production to sold-out attendance. The pit orchestra was very good, though had occasional rough spots in the brass, and Red River’s student singers were uniformly strong.

Callie Berg had a wonderful voice and engaging personality in the starring role of Ensign Nellie Forbush. Tending to steal the show whenever he was on stage was Cody Gerszewski, hilarious as Luther Billis, with some entertaining support from Phil Jensen and Scott Amundson as Stewpot and The Professor. Matt Hippen did a nice job as the troubled marine Joe Cable, who falls in love with native girl Liat, played sensitively by Sasha Yearwood.

Makeup could not disguise the fact that middle-aged characters were played by teenagers, but the students handled themselves quite well. Alex Hovey had a strong bass voice as plantation owner Emile de Becque and gave a good acting performance. Britt Lazur was not only excellent as Bloody Mary, but was about the only person able to upstage Gerszewski’s Luther Billis. Jordan Speare and Luke Snudstad were just fine as the crusty Navy officers Brackett and Harbison.

While there was less dancing in this production than some (including last fall’s UND show), a major factor in helping to put over Red River’s show was the consistently energetic chorus who provided the ensemble of sailors, nurses, and native girls. For a cast of about 65 students (not to mention more than 150 others who were involved in putting on the show), the overall level of enthusiasm was both amazing and contagious.

Cancel Your Subscription: “Miss March” Kills Brain Cells by the Minute

2009-03-20T04:50:45+00:00

There is almost nothing humorous about “Miss March,” a putrid road trip comedy written, directed by, and starring (as far as that word might go in this case) Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore, a pair of bland goofballs best known for the sketch comedy series “The Whitest Kids U’ Know.” Raunchy sex comedies are not always expected to combine wit, sensitivity, and depth of characterization with the ribaldry in their arsenal of familiar situations, but “Miss March” is a complete black hole – a void that crushes everything the filmmakers so desperately throw in the mix.

In “Miss March,” a naïve high school kid named Eugene Pratt (Cregger) finally agrees to have sex with devoted girlfriend Cindi (Raquel Alessi) on prom night but gets drunk and seriously injures himself before the act is consummated. He awakens from a coma four years later to discover that his sweetheart has left him to appear in the pages of Playboy. At the urging of his rubber-faced, oversexed best pal Tucker (Moore), Eugene resolves to travel to California to reunite with Cindi. Hilarity should ensue, but “Miss March” never gets a solid footing. It is the work of unseasoned feature-filmmaking beginners, which emanates from every frame like body odor.

In the screening I attended, the movie only delivered two audience laughs. One involved an unfortunate character bounced through the window of a moving bus, and the other was a sight gag in which a terrier relieved itself into a champagne flute. The remainder of the (mercifully brief) running time was accompanied by an airlessness so complete one could hear the proverbial rodent peeing on a cotton ball.

Bodily functions, including a gross running gag in which the protagonist voids his bowels – sometimes graphically and in view – form one of the unwanted leitmotifs of “Miss March.” Others include a lame subplot involving the pursuit of the heroes by an angry mob of vengeful firemen and the repetitious correction of boorish rapper Horsedick.MPEG’s idiotic name. Characters inevitably forget to add the “dot MPEG” and are corrected every single time. All of these things do not sound particularly funny, and they are even less so when realized on the screen.

“Miss March” suffers all the marks of a bargain basement production: the dialogue looping is wretched in several scenes, the sound mix flat and lifeless, the editing clumsy and the pacing haphazard. The producers didn’t even cough up enough cash to land the J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold” – which is certainly an inspiration for the movie’s storyline – on the soundtrack.

The pop smash, which spent six weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 beginning in February 1982, manages to convey in three and a half minutes what “Miss March” fails to do at feature length. Even the venerable Playboy Mansion loses any of the luster, glamour, and mystique it can demonstrate when photographed for smarter shows like “Entourage” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

“Miss March” carries with it the essentially worthless stamp of official Playboy approval, which leads one to wonder whether the once mighty empire turns down any media requests these days. It seems like a student moviemaker could secure permission to shoot at the Playboy Mansion. Octogenarian Hugh Hefner, in trademark jammies and smoking jacket, appears in a painful extended cameo in which he mumbles through some condescending romance advice, looking more tired than ever. Like the rest of “Miss March,” the scene is as flat as soda without the fizz.

State of the Arts

2009-03-06T03:34:19+00:00

Sometimes an artist will paint a scene from story that we already know. What part of the story will the artist choose? The most exciting scene? The happy ending? Artists can also introduce us to people from long ago or describe places that we have never seen—some are real, others are imaginary.

These artists provoke us to think about our own stories: the characters and caricatures, the morals and messages that define our real and imagined lives.

If you were to look closely enough, it must be that everyone has the experience, just a poetic experience of being here in the world, an experience we have poor language for but which is felt as the miraculous fact of life, the mystery and wonder of life.

And we don’t have a background that recognizes this or supports it. So, it gets lost and people have to simply make a living. They fall under the mass ways of living and forget about the Art and what it might give us or inspire us for bringing in a new wave to our routinely led lives.

With the Renaissance of downtown Fargo, unique and special art galleries have begun to appear. The number of art galleries in Fargo is not that enormous, and a lot of them aren’t making a profit. Art is difficult enough to sell in real life.

Money, meanwhile, make its circuitous way around the art world. It is dangled by commercial enterprises. The art should not exist just for people interested in it, but instead the principles and concepts implemented in art creations might be applied to everyone. As you discover more about the art, you will add an imaginary candy to a bowl, an action that later might become the first step forward to love the art and contribute to its prosperity.

Rusty Freeman, vice president of Curatorial Division at Plains Art Museum put his first candy into the bowl long time ago. Art gave him a chance to reflect and see the reality of life in even more than three dimensions, to reveal the beauty of art and show it to people.

“Art is an insight into human nature, a privileged glimpse into the primary state of things and who we are, into our identity and souls. It’s a way of making poetry out of living,” Freeman said.

Nevertheless, art cannot be considered as just a pink conception. The romantic notion of the artist’s struggle as part of the creative process merely obscures a much more mundane issue of simply getting funds for art creations. That eternal struggle to have the time, energy and sponsor to pursue creative goals more fully and thoroughly is one of the main issues for becoming an artist in today’s world.

Freeman agrees that today’s artists face many struggles on their way to creating art works and masterpieces.

“Most of the modern artists are forced to have a day job to make a living out of it and to allow themselves to create art works. Art also has its price,” added Freeman.

He believes that modern artists are constantly in search of time, resources to buy art supplies, a studio space, and galleries to show their works at.

What has finished, however, is not artistic production, but a certain way of thinking about art. Art has not always been that what we see today. Before becoming an art work an object might not have been perceived as piece of art when it was created. Especially these days as artists use new materials and emerging technology to create art works. But art still remains an act of expressing the feelings, thoughts, and observations that come to the mind of artist.

Freeman believes that there is no certain line that distinguishes between craftsman and artist.

“I don’t think we make a distinction between those people. You can do both, and in both cases you will be doing the work of art,” Freeman said.

He went on to say that it also depends on the point of view of the spectator and the interaction between the object of art and person who looks at it. The value of the work of art is determined by its capacity to transcend the limits of its chosen medium in order to strike some universal chord by the rarity of the skill of the artist.

The art reflects the aesthetic interests of our various communities. It inspires, engages, and sometimes, surprises us. According to Kiki Smith, one of the today’s famous artists, art is just a way to think.

“It’s like standing in the wind and letting it pull you in whatever direction it wants to go,” Smith said.

The great service of the artist is to transform the sometimes unbearable discrepancy between the way things are and the way they ought to be, into something that makes us want to adore the product of Art.

The assumption of new values in art or the rebellion against accepted notions of what is aesthetically superior need not occur alongside with a complete rejection of the pursuit of the art works which are aesthetically appealing. As Joan Miro, Spanish painter, sculptor and ceramist, once said: “The painting rises from the brush strokes as a poem rises from the words. The meaning comes later.”