On Sunday, August 10, at 3pm the large sculpture by Mac Gimse called “Between Earth and Sky” will be unveiled at the Lampe Law Group offices at 105 East Fifth Street in Northfield. Facilitated by the local group ArtOrg, the outdoor dedication ceremony will celebrate this important work with music, poetry and stories from Mac’s former students and colleagues. Speakers will include Pat Quade, Glenn Switzer, Carl Arnold and some surprise quests. Music will be provided by Peter Diggins. The sculpture will be placed in Northfield for the next year, until which time it is permanently sited at the Dundas trailhead of the Northfield to Dundas ARTrail. There is information about the ARTrail here, and a photoset of other abundant sculpture in the area here. This activity is part of this year’s Art Swirl festival.

The ARTrail Group promotes the siting of art and sculpture along the Northfield to Dundas section of the Mill Towns Trail. Several important organizational and legal steps have been accomplished since the ARTrail formation circa 2005. For example, the Dundas trailhead of the Mill Towns Trail will see the siting of the first sculpture in the summer of 2009. ArtOrg has been asked to host this page which will accumulate information on the ongoing activities of the ARTrail Group. Contact us if you have ideas, or want to have sculpture on your favorite site.

A story about ARTrail and the Gimse sculpture titled “A Towering Tribute to Dundas” appeared in The Northfield News in April of 2006. Mac is also a part of the ArtOrg project called “The Twenty Views of Dundas”, and his artistic contribution is a copperplate etching based on this sculpture; here is that artist’s statement.

Mac Gimse’s “Between Earth and Sky” is the first sculpture to be formally placed on the ARTrail, and this will be sited at the newly-completed Dundas trailhead parking lot. Until the final installation is accomplished, the piece will temporarily be exhibited at the Lampe Law Group offices at 105 East Fifth Street, in Northfield. A big thank you goes to the partners of the firm for establishing a wonderful location to exhibit local sculpture. This is a great example of how art can be supported directly from the private sector.

The local area is rich with sculpture. Marybeth Fredrick and Raymond I. Jacobson completed an important sculpture inventory in April of 2005 and this has been expanded to include additional pieces:
Click this link to see photos of the nearly three dozen area sculptures.
Click this link to see these sculptures on an interactive map.

Other sculpture related links:
2006 ARTrail Walking Tour Photoset, with Ray Jacobson
Sculpture Garden, Anderson Center, Red Wing, Minnesota
Franconia Sculpture Park, Franconia, Minnesota
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Forecast Public Art, St. Paul, Minnesota