IN THE WINDOWS: NINA MARTINE ROBINSON

Neurotangle
by
Nina Martine Robinson

Nina Robinson is an emerging St. Paul based contemporary textile artist whose creative process starts wit a sewing machine.  Neurotangle, created in 2019, is an early exploration into utilizing repurposed clothing as a metaphor for neurodiversity.

In 2018, her 23 year old son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, specifically Aspergers Syndrome. Many individuals on the spectrum have self-soothing behaviors called "stims." These repetitive actions help to calm nerves and soothe them during high stress situations.  For her son, it the the deconstruction of his pants.

"I have spent hours mending belt loops, pockets and patching," the artist reports.

Ms. Robinson's recent installation work is a response to this repetitive behavior. The deconstruction of the clothing and the repetitive stitching create new forms of expression of Autism and neurodiversity as it applies to her experiences. The term neurodiversity was coined to describe variations in the human brain regarding mood, learning, attention, sociability and other mental functions in a non-pathological sense. 

"My goal in sharing these installation is about creating awareness of and being a conduit for interaction between neurotypical and neurodiverse people," Nina Martine Robinson.

 

In the Windows: Lyz Wendland

Stillwater, MN artist, Lyz Wendland Received a Minnesota Artists Initiative Grant to create and mount this site specific installation.  While it is similar to her Phipps Center for the Arts installation, pictured above, it was made especially for these windows on Cedar Avenue.

For best viewing, come by after dark and see them glow!

Lyz Wendland artist statement

My work reflects my interest in mapping and architecture, especially the appeal of repetition and the reassuring promise of reliability. My mainly abstract pieces deal with the comfort offered by repeating forms and actions and they examine the subtle rigidity of my cookie-cutter neighborhood, which offers a sometimes clear and sometimes blurred delineation between public and private spaces. The connection of the everyday mundane intertwines with predictability of structure. The lines, shapes and forms I observe in my suburban neighborhood inspire my current body of work made up of layered process of drawing, painting, installation and sculpture.

Robyn Hendrix Contraptions in the Windows on Cedar Project

If you came during the day, you may see Gideon in the window.

Do come by and see the Contraptions in the evening.  They GLOW!  During the day, Robyn's installation is  a quieter affair, wonderful to walk up to and examine closely.  

Robyn posted a bunch of photos on her website.  Go look at them.  They are wonderful!
http://robynhendrixart.com/wp/windows-on-cedar-installation/

IN THE WINDOWS: The Quilting Bee/Artist Salon Project

Artist Statement

Mary Bergs 

The Quilting Bee/Artist Salon Project

The idea for the project is modeled on traditional quilting bees in which women brought fabric scraps to each other’s homes and assembled the scraps into quilts. They worked side by side creating functional objects of great beauty.  This is no longer a common practice in our culture; in fact, there are few opportunities for side by side making.  Working with our hands in the presence of others is a condition that creates intimacy and a feeling of comfort, even amongst strangers. The level of engagement and enthusiasm of participants in the salons surprised me and confirmed my idea that there is value in creating opportunities to make in the context of community.  I am very grateful for the artists who donated work, for the many people who came to help stitch and for the organizations that hosted the events and the exhibition. 

Mary Bergs is a Minneapolis artist who works with found materials and objects, combining them into installations, collage, and community based art projects. Bergs works with objects that have been discarded or devalued, through careful selection and arrangement she examines the poetic nature of the material world and the beauty found in everyday experience. She has exhibited her work in solo and group shows in the Midwest.  Her work is included in the artist registry of the Drawing Center in New York.  She is a recipient of a 2013 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant, Jerome Travel Study Grant and a MSAB Artist Opportunity grant.

Sergio Mojica, Music and Art

IN THE WINDOWS

Sergio Mojica was born in El Salvador and grew up in New York City. A self taught artist and musician he believes that music and art influence each other. Some of the musicians who have shaped his art have been Carlos Santana and Thelonious Monk to name a few. He sees his art as a marriage between the old folklore of Latin America and the European influnces such as Surrealism, Abstraction, as well as Expressionism. It is somewhere between these vast universes that Sergio exists while trying to defy category. He says, "I still refer to some of these art movements as "cool" since their age to me is irrelevant. These styles were cool then and they will forever be "cool" to me. I am influenced by countless artists musically and artistically, even by writers such as Rod Serling or subversive poets like Roque Dalton. My inspiration comes from every day people and life."

In the Windows

Julia Babb has been a favorite artist of mine for a while now.  She thinks long and hard about things and usually comes up with a use of language that astounds and amazes me.  In the windows through November a 2 of her large scale calligraphic works: ALEPH  and AS BELOW SO ABOVE.  Though the performer is absent, to me they are performance works.  The whole body movement necessary to make these is evident.  In my mind's eye I can see Julia swaying to the letters. They sing of music, dance and deep time.  Do walk or drive by at various times of day.  The work transforms with the changing light.

Artist Statement

Julia Elizabeth Babb is a multi-disciplinary artist focusing on broad concepts and deeper philosophical meanings. A professional calligrapher's daughter, Julia developed an early love of letters and the letter arts and later, an understanding of the history and mystery behind them. These pieces then, are her contribution to an on-going conversation about letters, words, language and ideas.

~~"Aleph" is a sort of portrait of the first letter of the alphabet, a celebration of and a meditation on the beginnings of things. 

~~"Below As Above So" is a new twist on an old idea. Instead of being written across the page from left to right, the words are arranged so that they must be read up and down, or down and up depending on whether one begins reading from the left side or the right.

New Works by Marjorie Nilssen

 Marjorie Nilssen installed her show of new works in the Windows on Cedar today.  Marjorie is on the faculty of Ridgewater College, in Wilmar, MN.

ARTIST STATEMENT BY MARJORIE NILSSEN

My paintings are based on my long time interest in color, texture and unity.

While I am visually intrigued by nature; rocks, algae, moss, etc., my paintings are not

representations or ‘pictures’ of nature.

I am constantly amazed at what happens in my studio when I let go of ideas and allow the

various processes of painting;  melting wax, mixing paint, scraping, etc., to develop into a work.

It is the mystery of this process that intrigues and inspires me.

Studying under the direction of Larry and Paula Poons at The Art Students League of New York

(September 15-October 1, 2012) enhanced my artistic skills by reinforcing the significance of

color development and the concept of losing yourself in order to make a good painting.

I can still hear Poon’s saying “stop trying to make a painting!!”

Although I was aware of this concept prior to my time at the Art League this idea becomes

more clear to me as I continue to work in my studio in Atwater, Minnesota.

Below is a quote from Larry Poons that I really like:

“Ultimately, the issue with art is art.  And you really shouldn’t worry about:  ‘well….if I do this,

it’s not me.’  It’s always you.  That’s the important part of art:  that this thing comes through if

you let it.  The essential part of what you, the artist is, comes through if you don’t try to be so

overly protective of what you think is your way of doing things.  I think you have to constantly relearn this in your working career---that what you think you can’t do is what you already should be doing, and you’re just putting it off.  Simply because you’re afraid to lose yourself.   But when you lose yourself, that’s when the art happens.”

*From a 1989 interview with John Zinsser in ‘Larry Poons:  Paintings, 1963-1990