City: A language we Spoke!

It was a good problem to have! Rosemary Ann Davis curated and organized a reading for the Susan Hensel Gallery last night. Twelve readers, including Susan Hensel, read about cities they have known and loved.
There were actually too many people to all fit inside for the festivities. Luckily, it was our first balmy night of spring. Crown Coffee, the new shop next door, stayed open late selling their Fair Trade coffee and putting out lawn chairs for the overflow.Reader's read. Listeners listened. Jaipur, Seoul, Istanbul, San Francisco,Buenos Aires, McMurdo Station, Cairo, Quetzaltenango,Paris,St. Petersburg and The Cities That Marco Polo Left Behind were all represented.Don't let the serious faces fool you. There was, as usual, much laugher, much levity.

Reading at Reader's Art

Towns, Villages, Cities

We've all been there, we live there. On April 8, writers will be reading about the various cities they have been in. I'll be doing something about Alice Springs...gulp! I've started the work, but I am no writer! So, expect some images f rom me;-)

Cities: A Language We Speak

hosted by Rosemary Davis

April 8

7-9pm

The "Geist" of Dean Ebben

Geist is a word that comes up in discussion with Dean Ebben...There is not a precise definition or translation of it, but it seems to be the "uber" meaning, the unspoken totality or subconscious underpinnings of experiences. It relates to his understanding of the meaning of "wisdom work." Although Dean works in the Museum of Biblical Art, his understanding of wisdom work is not a religious one. Like the writers of deep history, he seeks wisdom through the exploration of ideas, materials, mythology and narrative...He seeks the "geist."

Dean has made a series entitled Geist .They are gouache paintings, painted on over beaten flax that he beat and sheet-formed at Cave Paper in Minneapolis, MN. The images stem from imagination, dreams, personal mythology, media, art history and popular culture.

The series continues with increasing subtlety and will likely be part of his show, In the House of the Mineral Spirits, opening in January.

In the House of the Mineral Spirits

I had a wonderful talk with Dean Ebben today. Those of you who have taken workshops from him, know what I mean when I say he is open and charming, but thinks deeply and carefully about what he is doing in this world.

Dean grew up in the Twin Cities, graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Pratt Institute. His media is drawing... but not in the way that most people think of drawing...as an elegant line done in pen or pencil. He draws in multi-media, works video, handmade paper, cyanotype and goache in a meditative manner akin to the discovery process inherent in drawing.

image from Bound, a series of Cyanotypes Ebben made in Austerlitz, NY. They are the result of a video-taped action of Ebben wrapping his hands and feet.

As he works on his January show, In the House of the Mineral Spirits, Dean is considering this gallery space, this city, this neighborhood and how they will affect the presentation and the meaning of his work. Stay tuned. The actual date is not yet chosen, but the event will be exciting. We spent the morning discussing the use of video projection, performance and evidence that can be possessed by the observers. Gamelans will likely be played!

From Rust Belt to Artist Belt

Leslie Sobel, here tonight in the gallery, is involved in the Rust Belt to Artist Belt conferences and was instrumental to bringing the conference to Detroit. http://www.detroitmakeithere.com/article/20100405/DM01/304059989

April 2010...

"Wayne State University's TechTown led the city's bid for the conference, working with a number of other local organizations, including The Heidelberg Project, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design and WSU College of Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts.

The group should know in the next couple of weeks when the conference will be held, said Julie Brock, development director for TechTown.

TechTown has hired Leslie Sobel, an independent artist from Milan and president of the Milan Area Arts Council, to help plan the conference and to expand participation of arts organizations beyond Detroit to those in other Southeast Michigan counties, Brock said.

“The conference is centered on the idea that rust belt cities are the perfect breeding ground for new artists, with low-cost living, industrial spaces and open land you can't get in New York or (Los Angeles,)” Brock said.

“Because it's been so successful in Cleveland the past two years, they wanted one of the other rust belt cities to take it.”"

A Community Call for Art

CALL FOR ART

THE ARTS OF COMMUNITY

March 19- April 16, 2010 At Intermedia Arts 2822 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis

Sponsored and curated by SMARTS, South Minneapolis Arts Business Association, a new association of artists and arts related businesses that unite to connect, cooperate and support the arts in South Minneapolis. The focus for this first annual show is COMMUNITY. The jurors want to see work from, about and in support of community, communi- ty building, and the glories of South Minneapolis. Other themes will be considered as SMARTS would like to promote a broad range of South Minneapolis artists. The exhibition will also serve as the launch of the SMARTS guide which is a map of visual and performing art destinations, artists, education and art service businesses in South Minneapolis. The SMARTS GUIDE will lead visitors to arts businesses and destination points in South Minneapolis.

For more information on SMARTS please visit www.southminneapolisarts.org.

WHO MAY SUBMIT

All artists living and working in south Minneaopolis may apply. The borders are roughly south of Franklin Ave, east of Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, north of HWY 62 and west of the Mississippi River.

MEDIA

All visual media are welcome, including video. Our exhibition has some restrictions in terms of size and form of piec- es. Specifically: sculptural/3D work should be able to be shelved on walls or rigged from the ceiling . Work requiring pedestals may not be accepted. Please contact Intermedia Arts before proposing work that is unusually large, heavy or fragile for the exhibition. Call or email: 612.871.4444 or info@IntermediaArts.org with questions.

HOW TO APPLY

Send accurate jpegs of the work you plan to show to info@southminneapolisarts.org . Statements about the work are welcome. Please provide your complete name, email, website, address and phone # in the body of the email. Accept- ed artists will be expected to provide a resume and artist’s statement about their work and press clippings, if available.

SALES AND INSURANCE

Intermedia Arts will retain 40% of artwork sales during the span of the exhibition. Intermedia Arts will insure the work for the duration of the show.

PUBLICITY

• At least 1000 postcards will be distributed • local, area and national press kits will be sent • email publicity

DATES

February 8th - jpegs for up to 5 works due at info@southminneapolisarts.org

March 12th or March 15th - Accepted work due (ready to hang/install) at Intermedia Arts from 10am-6pm. Friday,

March 19th - Artists reception, 7-10 pm at Intermedia Arts Monday,

April 19th - Pickup of artwork from 10am-6pm

Leap of Faith has been chosen

The artists have been chosen for Leap of Faith: give it a rest opening Nov 6,

at both

Susan Hensel Gallery and ArtSpace at Lake Nokomis Church (1620 E. 46th st).

Jacob Akerson

Terry Bebertz

Vincent Berg

Mary Bowman Cline

Cristina de Almeida

Roz Dimon

Sharon Farrah

Bill Haas

Robyn Hendrix (postcard image is hers!)

Charles Knutson

James Michael Lawrence

Sushmita Mazumdar

Sarah McCoy

Michel Pleau

Johanne Renbeck

Mary Rivard

Regula Russelle

Lisa Stegman

Beth Sullivan

Nicole Thompson

Dan Tran

Kate Van Cleve

Christine Waugh Fleischmann

Anita White

There will be painting, drawing, photography, digital prints, wood, handmade paper, artists books, sculpture, storytelling, banners.

Poetry! on Thursday!

Susan Hensel Gallery SUSAN HENSEL GALLERY REMINDS YOU Thursday, October 15th, 7-9 p.m. Still Walking: The Poetry of Tenacity. Hosted by Lisa Calame Berg inspired by TAKE ANOTHER STEP by MARK EDWIN CARLSON See Take Another Step, Carlson's most recent body of work. He chronicles the women that he walked alongside during his experience completing the Twin Cities Breast Cancer 3 Day. Up beat, lushly painted. Then listen to poetry! You must experience this! Don't forget! The potluck comes next! Friday, October 30, community potluck, 6-9pm Susan Hensel Gallery 3441 Cedar Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55407 612-722-2324 612-202-9644

What forms might healing take?

I became aware of the Combat Paper Project and the Warrior Writers about a year ago through a contact at Minnesota Center for Book Arts. The email said they thought these artists were right up my alley. Subsequently, I showed a Combat Paper Portfolio, made of handmade paper from pulped uniforms, a catharsis for the group of vets who produced it, a catharsis for the vets who viewed it here at Susan Hensel Gallery.

Art takes various forms: comforting, recognizable, new, challenging, frightening... Healing does too. The Combat Papermakers and the Warrior Writers offer the opportunity for local vets of any conflict, of anytime, free of charge, to collaborate in a creative re-invention, a re-organization, a re-formating...a new way of thinking about the personal costs of their service.

The Combat Paper Project in Residence at MCBA September 21–28, 2009

MCBA and Susan Hensel Gallery are proud to host The Combat Paper Project for a week-long residency in MCBA’s studios. Through papermaking workshops, local veterans are given the opportunity to use uniforms worn in combat to create cathartic works of art. The uniforms are cut up, beaten into fiber and formed into sheets of paper. Later, text and imagery created by veterans are printed on the sheets. The public is welcome to visit MCBA’s studios and view the project in progress through the duration of the residency. Registration info at mnbookarts.org.

Please support this residency with your attendance, your donations, or your voice. Please tell others about this. It is far too important to ignore.

Full details are available at mnbookarts.org.

Leap of Faith chosen + Podcasts?

The artists for Leap of Faith: Let Peace Reign have been chosen. Although the show does not open until November 7, you can begin to get an idea of who's who by checking out their websites.

Jacob Ackerson
Alex Appella
Vigee Blue
Liliam Dominguez
Debra Elmore-Nesheim
Andrey Feldshteyn
Marcia Haffmans
Sarah Haig
James Michael Lawrence
Marvel Maring
Drew Matott
Melinda McCannell-Unger
Sarah K.McCoy
Debora Miller
Jeff Rathermel
Jeff Skemp
Karen Wilcox
Bonnie Wolf

You will also notice, in the side bar, that the great podcast experiment has begun. There are 2 audio segments. One is the first actual podcast, an interview with James Leonard about his WAR BONDS performance. The other audio is the audio from my show, JUST LOOKING. The script for JUST LOOKING was developed from a nationwide survey of retail looking behavior. The performers are Susan Hensel, Tom Cassidy, Mark Carlson, Sandy Beach and Alison Morse. Enjoy, and rest assured that the audio quality will improve as our equipment improves.