Archives

The “Twenty Views of Dundas” collaborative print project will be shown at the top wine bar and bistro “Fermentations” in Dundas for the foreseeable future. All twenty works will be exhibited. Please take advantage of this opportunity to have a fine dining experience and see some great art from twenty local and regional artists such as David Burt, Ray Jacobson, Carolyn Swiszcz, Xavier Tavera, Carol Van Sickle, Diane Schrader, Fred Hagstrom, Meg Ojala, James Boyd Brent, Scott West and others.

A quote from a persnickety patron from the film “Dinner Rush” indicates how artists oftentimes view hanging their art Continue Reading…

Northfield received support for the “Riverwalk Arts Quarter” from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Fund a few months ago, and at last Tuesday’s meeting four projects were chosen to go ahead to the next round of the funding process. Two of the four projects were proposed by ArtOrg: 1) “The Big Print”, and 2) “Five Sculptures”.

The “Big Print” is the re-printing of the 1180 print blocks done mostly by kids during the “2008 Thousand Print Summer” project. The resulting large quilt-like print will measure roughly 50 feet tall by 80 feet wide. We are now developing additional sponsors, searching for an appropriate venue to unveil this large work, and anticipating a very huge turnout for this unique and unusual unveiling event. Continue Reading…

[Note: Greenovate has been moved to the front of the California Building in Northeast Minnesapolis for the big Art-A-Whirl celebrations. It will remain there until late May of 2009] As you drive down the north side of the railroad bridge into Northeast Minneapolis on 2nd Street, look to your left at 3rd Avenue and check out the latest in collaboration between ArtOrg and the Art Jones Gallery 2nd Street Annex art project “Sign of the Times”. Entitled “GREENOVATE”, it stands to honor people from the Cabrini-Green housing project in Chicago, Illinois. Modeled after a building which stood for fifty years at 1015-1017 North Larrabee St. on the near north side of town, the sculpture features relief-printed panels, found objects, and lots of wood and screws. Two windmills, solar power, and a floral “green roof” have been added to the structure. The solar power lights four small dioramas at night that feature Continue Reading…

The ongoing hours of this show will be announced soon. Here are several photosets that show the opening event from January 16, and other information about Vermillion and Master Printer Steven M. Andersen.

OPENS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16 AT 3PM. “The Twenty Views of Dundas” is a collaborative print project to honor the history of the small town of Dundas, Minnesota, which celebrated its 150 year anniversary in 2007. Twenty artists are each interpreting one aspect of the City’s history in a work of art, and working together with an art printer to create hand-pulled sets of prints in a very limited edition size. In this way, important aspects of Dundas will be memorialized in art, and accessible to many to contemplate and enjoy for years to come. Join us for the opening of this exhibit on Sunday, November 16 from 3 to 7pm at the ArtOrg Moving Walls Gallery at 200 Division Street (Riverside Entrance) in Northfield, Minnesota. Hours are by appointment, and Thursdays and Fridays from 6 to 8pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4pm until December 7.

Dan Riggens of Goodbye Blue Monday Coffeeshop recently pointed out that the latest copy of Art News contains a local scene. There is a full-page announcement of a solo gallery show in New York City of the artist Linden Frederick, and it appears that one of the paintings is the storefront of the Touchette Electric Building at 801 Division Street in Northfield, Minnesota. The painting frames the right-hand side of the building that contains a tuxedo rental business. Good catch, Dan! A link to the artist Linden Frederick can be found here, and his representation by the Forum Gallery here. The Spring 2007 issue of The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship Newsletter however provides a strong clue: “This summer Linden Frederick (Belfast, Maine) is riding a bicycle from Seattle to Boston as a part of his two-year project, “American Studies,” which will culminate in a show of the same title at the Forum Gallery in New York…”

[Here is a photoset of this completed event, enjoy!] On Tuesday, October 28 from 10am to 2pm, ArtOrg will be participating in the Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) celebration of the important holiday Day of the Dead, or Dia De Los Muertos. We will be setting up the 104-foot-long Northfield Day of the Dead Steamroller Print in the college atrium. There will be food like Pan de Muerto and Mexican hot chocolate, posters, and ofrendas. This event is sponsored by the Chicano Latinos Unidos Club of MCTC. For background on this holiday, please see this recent post by ArtOrg of a couple weeks ago. Join us if you are in the area!

ArtOrg was formed 5 years ago in Northfield, Minnesota, and at that time ArtOrg founders suggested the Visual Arts be a separate division within another group called the Northfield Arts Guild (NAG). That proposal was turned down in August of 2004, and ArtOrg has proven itself with actions and enjoyed some good results in the meantime. Recently, the vacated Executive Director position at the NAG afforded an additional opportunity. ArtOrg Director Dave Machacek applied for that spot, and suggested that ArtOrg be integrated with the NAG. Dave did not make the final cut in that hiring process, but we would like to sincerely thank the directors of the NAG for the consideration. We would also like to thank the many people who expressed their support and also to those who wrote letters on Dave’s behalf: Ray Jacobson, Doug Padilla, Susan Jacobsen (MIA), Mac Gimse, Peter Dahlen, and Fred Rogers. This post is just a simple way for us to inform our members and other stake-holders of this concrete attempt to work together. We felt that each organization would benefit–and that’s the simple reason why we suggested it. (However, now stay tuned for the impending announcement of the “Twenty Views of Dundas” exhibit opening, and much more!)

ArtOrg has built two new “fan” pages on the popular social networking site MySpace for the illustrator John Berkey and the singer Winnifred Green Alberg. John Berkey enjoyed a long and wonderful career in illustration, and local Northfielder Winnifred Alberg (née Greene) was a top soloist for the St. Olaf Choir. Winnifred’s page includes some seldom-heard recordings such as an 1948 interview and performance from the Arthur Godfrey show. Enjoy!