Como Park Conservatory

This week, we returned to the glory of Saint Paul, to the Como Park Conservatory, mere blocks from this blogger's home. It feels good to be on the right side of the cities again. The Conservatory has long been known in my world as a good way to beat the winter blues, but it also has a rich history and an important place in the civic world today.

One of the brochures I picked up tells me that "The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory is one of the last remaining historic glasshouses in the United States and is on the National Register of Historic Places." We here in the Twin Cities are truly blessed to have such an amazing place available to us.

The conservatory was built in the fashion of the "Crystal Palace" greenhouses that were popular from the early-mid-1800s onward, fueled by the Crystal Palace Conservatory that was the focal point of the Great Exhibition of London in 1851.

Conservatories started spreading across the US in the late 1800s, soon found in almost every major locale, and used as a sign that a city had moved from being a burgeoning settlement to being cosmopolitan. San Fransisco, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and New York were home to stunning glass conservatories, and Saint Paul followed suit in 1915.

The Conservatory building is a work of art in itself. Its glittering glass construction has a very delicate grace, yet the Ionic stone columns give it a stately aura. From the outside the conservatory appears expansive, the dome arching into the sky and the wings on either side stretching wide.

From the solidarity of the building materials, it could have been carved out of ice, and its beauty feels rather cold, that of a beautiful ice queen.

Inside, however, is a completely different matter. One step in and you are blanketed by the heavy warmth and humidity.

Every iota of space is packed with an endless variety of lush green vegetation, surrounding you on all sides and arcing over your head.

Palm trees reach up, their masses spreading into the very top of the dome.

The vegetation is thick and dense, the space inside feels smaller, packed, but deeper and with unending variety and character.

This feeling continues from the Palm Dome into the (also) tropical North Garden, but is quite different in the Sunken Garden, which showcases low flower displays surrounding a pool and walkway, with the curved glass of the conservatory arching over everything.

It feels lighter, brighter, more open and clear.


In addition to the plant displays, several sculptures are featured in the conservatory. In the center of the Palm Dome is "Crest of the Wave" by Harriet W. Frishmuth.

The statue depicts a young girl nymph, dancing, springing playfully, reaching up with and arm stretched over her head, a small wave cresting under her feet.

Placed under the very center of the Palm Dome, she gives a sense of leaping, reaching up, trying to spring as high as the palm trees that surround her and touch the top of the dome as they do.

The sculpture in the Sunken Garden is also by Frishmuth, titled "Play Days". It is featured in the center of the pool at the end of the Sunken Garden, and depicts another nymph, tentatively, hesitantly dipping her foot into the water. It is as if she is exploring the nature that surrounds her.

The third sculpture is a bit different, made out of stone instead of bronze, not an image of a playful nymph but a serene representation of St. Francis of Assisi, by Donald Shepard. Instead of being featured in the middle of a pool or fountain, he is somewhat eclipsed by surrounding lush vegetation, on the side of the pool in the North Garden.

Unlike the other two statues, he is not enraptured with his own recreation, but rather an observer of everything around him.

All of these sculptures do evoke similar themes, of human's place in nature, playing, exploring, observing the natural world. They all give a sense of being attuned with the natural world, of showing how humans and nature can go together happily. I think this is a very important theme in a botanical garden, to show that humans can not simply observe the natural world but also be one with it.

Flower and plant displays have always been the focal point for Como Park, in the past and in present day. In the beginning, displays were a great point of contention, as two different philosophies pertaining to flower and plant displays were at odds with one another. One side believed that Como Park should be completely naturalistic, void of statues or man-made designs in vegetation, along the lines of an English pleasure ground, not managed or guided by man. Opposite of this were those who believed in the value of art intertwined with parks; of managed and purposeful (sometimes exotic) garden arrangements; and of mosaiculture or carpet bedding, the art of constructing designs, motifs, and figures using flowers and plants. Though the naturalistic proponents insisted that such endeavors assaulted the lofty and poetic sensibilities of how parks should be, the pedestrian tastes of mosaiculture had the voice of the masses, as people came by the droves to revel in the man-made exotic garden habitats, and to be astounded by the figures and designs. However, this is still a philosophical argument that is alive and well today.

Saint Paul earned a place of recognition for the mosaiculture displays, and also for cultivating exotic plants successfully far away from their native climate. These plant and flower displays were important in positioning the Twin Cities as a scientifically and artistically advanced metropolis, on the level with other major cities in the US. These points are still important today, as the renowned flower displays in the conservatory are a point of local pride and pleasure.

The autumn floral display in the Sunken Garden features a colorful variety of chrysanthemums which will transition from bright pastels in early fall to deep autumn hues as the season progresses.

These are accented by the deep colors of Swiss Chard and ornamental peppers. The design was full of bright, uplifting colors. The mums are great bounding, eager masses of color and texture, and gave the whole garden space a sense of bright, light, clean loveliness.

All in all, the Como Park Conservatory is a fantastic place any time of year. It is a treasure for our Cities and a place that, without fail, lifts the spirits. It's also just really pretty.

You, dear reader, should go visit. Often.

-Catherine

A special treat:
From "Jewel of Como"
"The latest addition to the conservatory's art collection is a coin-operated animatronic figure created by Dean Lucker and donated in 2005 by Doe Hauser Stowell in memory of her husband, James Stowell. The statuette depicts a man leaning against a flowering tree while holding up a lighted carousel. With the deposit of a quarter, the carousel spins and the viewer receives a fortune. The whimsical statuette is the most recent expression of St. Paulites' strong connection to Como Park and its conservatory, and the desire to enhance it and to share with it their own favorite works of art."

Want to see it in action? And to know my fortune? Watch below...

Intermedia Arts and SOOVAC

Hello, dear readers!

Our excursion this week took us to the Lynlake neighborhood of Minneapolis, home to many trendy hipsters, bars, restaurants, coffee shops, "vintage" clothing stores, and art galleries. We will be ignoring all but the last.

The first of two galleries we visited was Intermedia Arts, which calls itself a "multidisciplinary, multicultural arts organization." It seems to focus a lot more on what I would term modern urban art.

The current exhibition is titled "Mama Said Knock U Out!" This show is comprised of female artists using Hip Hop culture to express themselves artistically through a variety of mediums. There were 28 different female artists that were featured, their work coming together to speak toward the female experience in Hip Hop culture and this world.

There were many different mediums of expression: drawings, paintings, sculpture, music and video installation, ect.

One of my favorite works was by Cateisha Pierson, titled "Sex Sells But We're Not Buying It".

It was an interesting mixed-media collage type work that spoke towards the experience of women in mass media as sex objects or commodities, and a rejection of those images. The colors and images were very bold, and the use of mixed media gave the work several dimensions.

Another piece I liked was a wood sculpture by Monica Kelly, titled "5 Steps Off The Wall". It depicted a tough female figure of Hip Hop culture in an action pose, with wings and extra sets of arms behind her, as if she were a modern cross between an angel and a Hindu goddess.

I really appreciated how the artist made such a modern, urban image out of natural wood, and really showcased the character of the wood grain in her sculpture, even using a cross cut section of a tree as a vinyl record. I really liked the combination of the materiel and the image, dichotomous in a way.

The outside of Intermedia Arts is an artistic showcase also, but for a very certain type of art: graffiti murals.

The front, side, and back of the building are covered in an array of graffiti murals, some of which match the female-oriented theme of the current exhibition. This spot can often be a showcase for some of the best graffiti muralists around, and are frequently changing.

For the arts organization, this is an excellent way to showcase the work of graffiti artists whose murals can be hard to find for the everyday observer, and also gives artists a safe, legal, eager canvas on which to do their work.

I also see this as a benefit to the larger community as well, for not only is there an ever-changing showcase of this type of art to freely view, but it also places graffiti art in a legitimate spot, and perhaps draws it away from being an unwanted nuisance in some areas, to being a wanted benefit here.


A few blocks down, we come upon SOOVAC (SOO Visual Arts Center), another arts organization that also shows more modern art. There are currently two exhibitions running: "Broken: New Works by Greg Gossel" and "Don't Worry, I Have A Map: New Works by Amy Rice".

The paintings of Greg Gossel all have a certain similar theme running through them. The images he uses are from old comic books and pulp novels, very retro pop culture.

He layers these images together in a dark conglomeration of emotion - mostly all of the women are distressed and crying, and a lot of the written conversation snippets included surround the breakdown of human relationships.

So much attention is paid to the tears of women that one can't help but wonder about his personal life.

The piece I liked from his show was titled "Runaway". Unlike most of the others, the featured female was not crying, but seemed to be fleeing (in that old fashioned, graceful way of flight), a suburban house in the background, fading behind her.

I liked the sense of a rejection of the proper life of domestication, of running into the unknown, but away from what would be a horrible and ill-fitting life with a pretty facade.

In the other gallery, the works of Amy Rice was a pleasant change from the other exhibitions of the day. Her work is simple and simply lovely, a slightly whimsical, innocent, and optimistic view of the world. She uses a variety of media, but all of her works were printed on beautifully cut pieces of wood, using the wood pieces as beautiful frames, and showcasing the natural woodgrain as background and feature. Her colors and images are light and airy, quiet yet truthful. They are very skillfully detailed, and hold a bit of childhood fantasy.

I loved them all. It's very hard to narrow it down to one, because I honestly thought they were all wonderful.

One of the other great things about the pieces was how the titles of the works were little stories or emotion or explanation of the scenes themselves, adding another dimension to the work. One that I really liked was a girl cuddling with her arms full of three geese, and it was called "You May Be Surprised At What You Grow To Love".

Between the image and the title, it expressed thoughts of things which could be viewed as everyday beings slowly becoming those dearest to your heart.


I must say, both of the galleries were nice, yet I appreciated SOOVAC a bit more. I felt that Intermedia had a lot of different styles and artists in a small space, which could be a bit overwhelming and distracting.
I liked that the exhibitions at SOOVAC focused on one artist/theme at a time, and were well spaced, giving you the ability to pay full attention to one piece at a time.

However, I think that both these spaces are important for showcasing modern and urban art that may not always get the full attention of other types of art.

Oh, and the Amy Rice works are incredibly reasonably priced. Seriously consider adding one of these to your home and also, y'know, helping local artists and all that.

Thank you, dear readers. I'll see you next week, same bat time, same bat channel!
-Catherine

The Museum of Russian Art

This week, we trekked to the far southernmost reaches of Minneapolis to visit a place a I've been meaning to check out for years, The Museum of Russian Art.
TMORA is an interesting museum - Russian art housed in a repurposed Spanish Colonial Revival church. It may seem like an odd combination, but it works well. More on that later.
There are two exhibits currently on display at TMORA, "Photographer to the Tsar: Revealing the Silk Road", and "Russkiy Salon: Select Favorites and Newly Revealed Works."
BUT WAIT! There is a twist in the plot this week! Upon walking into TMORA, it was discovered that there is NO PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED! OOOooooooOOOOOooooooOOOO! In keeping with the pattern of being a respectful and responsible adult, the only shots I took myself were of the exterior. This means....we shall have to rely mainly on the power of words for description(with a little help from other sources)! Hold on tight, my lovely readers...


"Photographer to the Tsar: Revealing the Silk Road" is an exhibition that features the works of Sergei M. Prokudin-Gorskii, a groundbreaking figure in the field of color photography. Prokudin-Gorskii developed a revolutionary way of producing color photographs at a time when photography itself was getting started. His plan, fully supported by Tsar Nicholas II, was to document the expanse of the Russian Empire using his photographic techniques. The images featured in this exhibition come from two trips he made along the ancient Silk Road, in 1906-1907, and 1911. He was able to capture images on big glass slides in his revolutionary color technique, and then presented them to the Tsar. I was told by the museum employee that the images were displayed by lighting the slides from behind, and the images in the exhibition were of the same format, allowing us to see them as the Tsar himself originally did.

The exhibition is being shown in the lower level of the museum, and the way the photographs were displayed allowed for a truly incredible experience. The room itself is dark grey and unlit, with the photographic slides displayed on the front of specially designed light boxes, illuminated from behind. This gives a glowing effect to the large images, as the only light in the room emanates from them, illuminating the rich colors in an incredible way. The beautiful presentation really brought the images to life, made them stand out in an exceptional way.

Fortunately for us, the surviving slides were purchased by the Library of Congress many years ago, making them freely accessible to all, though the reproduced images really don't have the same effect as the slides that were displayed at TMORA.
(Courtesy of the Library of Congress)
The images are quite incredible, documentation of people, places, a way of life from long ago, yet the incredible fact that the images are in color brings the experience to a whole new level. Also, the photographic quality of the images is exceptional. The focus and detail is comparable to some of the best photographic methods we have today. That quality, combined with the vivid color, makes the images feel real and present, as if this excursion had been undertaken last year, not last century, more like a feature you'd find in National Geographic than a glimpse into a bygone era.
(Courtesy of the Library of Congress)
It is hard to keep in mind that most of the images from this time are faded black and white, representations of a reality that seem disconnected and hard to place in proper context as they lack the colors and tones that make up this world. That the images are in color makes them a wonderful representation of a life and a time that feels much more real, like you can step into this place and connect with these people.
(Courtesy of the Library of Congress)
As the images feel much more present, it makes me wonder what has changed, or what is the same as it was 100 years ago.


Heading back upstairs, the main and mezzanine levels are displaying "Russkiy Salon: Select Favorites and Newly Revealed Works." These are all paintings, oil on canvas, and all pretty modern, in that the oldest work displayed was from 1884. The works covered the span from then to modern day. Unfortunately, we do not have other sources of images of these works, so you'll have to use your imagination, or go see for yourself!

There were a good number of pieces, though not a large variety. Most of the paintings were images representative of real life, perhaps "realism" would be the term, and only a handful of other styles like impressionist/expressionist, abstract, ect.

One of my favorites was "Ironworkers" by Olga Dmitrievna Yanovskaya (1930). It was a smaller piece, depicting the dark silhouettes of ironworkers in the foreground, captured in animated poses, their bodies strong and bent, hammering and working with iron, imposed in front of a fiery red background. Though the image was simple, one could almost hear the clang of metal, feel the intense heat of the fire, smell the sweat of the workers. It was a very powerful image.

Another was found up on the mezzanine level, and I have to say, I didn't realize it was a painting until I was standing right in front of it. The painting was so realistic that from a casual glance it looked like a display box that housed accouterments from a life in the Soviet Republic. It is called "Social", by Geli Mikhailovich Korzhev (1992). The background is a single sheet of Russian newspaper, hung flat, and set or hung in front of that are certain trappings of a certain life: an axe, sitting on its head, with its handle resting against the newspaper, casting a shadow towards a dirty and beat-up pair of old leather work boots, above which hangs a drab, olive green jacket, with a fur hat hanging beside it. It is a very realistic display, and evokes a sense of a lifetime of hard and unforgiving work.

Lastly, the is a painting whose image I have been unable to get out of my head. It is "Female Portrait" by Leonid Pavlovich Zusman (1930s). It is a simple image, but different than almost all the others here portraying people, which are all images of citizens engaging in activities of their everyday life, working or socializing, the things they are doing as much of a part of the image as they themselves are. This particular painting, however, was a portrait of a woman against a dark background, her head thrown back, looking directly at the viewer with slitted eyes, and pursed lips, evaluating the viewer with a slightly hostile tone, her dark hair unkempt. She has a sense of being totally self-possessed, the opposite of the female form reclining submissively for all to criticize. She looks down at the viewer with the tables turned, as you stand in judgement before her. She is very powerful.

(In Soviet Russia, paintings look at YOU!)

The TMORA building itself is interesting as well. What was once a church that was constructed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style was recreated into a museum for Russian art.
(my loyal steed Face Grater rests alone at the bike rack they thoughtfully provide)
Though it may seem an odd combination, it works well. The interior space is used well, with the center altar area used to display large works, and the smaller areas created by pillar along the sides of the nave work as smaller display areas. This allows for pieces to be paid individualized attention, as they are not all displayed in one open area, but rather given a special cove. The great height has been used to create another level (mezzanine) above the main area, with works hung all around the edges and accessed by a walkway that is open to the area below in the center, so as not to cut off the open space. even the separate rooms off the side of the altar have been repurposed into an educational area on the techniques of restoring paintings, complete with a short video that was quite interesting. Though the entire area is not that big, the space is used well.

One note I would like to make about TMORA is that I was surprised at the limited scope of the art they displayed. While the space is small, I would have thought that at least a small area would be set aside to display a larger variety of works cover a wider time frame. The Russian civilaization has spanned more than a thousand years, and to only include work from the last 100 or so seems to be a bit of a disservice, and to limit that work to one medium is unfortunate. Though I was there to see the two exhibitions, I would have loved it if my time in the world of Russian art included a broader sampling in addition. No glowing Orthodox Ikons on cracking wood, no folk arts or crafts...I was hoping for a larger slice of the vast and varied land, culture, and history of Russia.

Nevertheless, it is worth the trip.

Do svidaniya!

-Catherine

The Northern Clay Center

This week, we found ourselves at the Northern Clay Center in the always-interesting Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis.

The Northern Clay Center is a fantastic place that also houses artists' studios, teaching studios, and a retail space, in addition to the galleries.
We came to the Northern Clay Center to see two exhibitions: Regis Masters 2008/09 featuring the work of Ron Meyers and Patti Warashina, and College Bowl 11/09, featuring the work of a variety of students from colleges and universities in Minnesota. We were able to see many styles of artistry that were quite different, and many separate artistic visions represented in such a wonderful medium.
The work of Ron Meyers and Patti Warashina is all amazing, but quite different, both in the imagery and the impressions you find in the pieces.

Both of these artists have immense expressionist elements in their work, that is, their pieces both come from and evoke certain emotional elements. However, they do this in very different ways.

The work of Ron Meyers feels very raw and chaotic to me, evoking more of a crude underbelly of the world, a dark twist on innocent and benign creatures of the world, a bit menacing at times.

In a way, his work does feel very raw, the result of an image brought to life by scratching and hacking with the medium.

At times, the wide-eyes of the animals of the world that are usually prey appear somewhat filled with malice and dripping with sadism, an interesting twist on turning those usually preyed upon to those you might ought to fear.

On the other hand, the work of Patti Warashina is in sharp contrast, impeccably smooth and purposefully posed, yet cold and detached while delicate.

The figures themselves appear to be very emotionless, but the impressions they give off come more from how they are posed and the objects they pose with, in a very removed and deliberate way, in addition to the facial expressions, which can be soft and pointed at the same time, expressing wonder, worry, anguish, but all in a sort of ethereal rapture.

They are two very different ways of expression, to be sure.

A good amount of the pieces from Meyers are platters, jars, vases, or containers that have figures or images applied onto them. I believe this type of representation works very well for his work.

For the platters, the size and shape are perfectly matched with the image, and work to frame it in a very strong way.

The other types of pieces work well in a similar way, the ceramic vessel cupping the image, curving and undulating with it, making it pop with more dimension that a flat drawing.

Warashina's exhibit also incorporated two-dimensional drawings in addition to the ceramic pieces, both complementing and influencing each other.

Though her drawings were in the same line of imagery, they expressed emotion differently, using background scenarios, facial expressions, and body language in a way the other work does not.

They are two complementary methods, as they express different thoughts or emotions in different ways, the different types of representation covering the whole scope in conjunction. Where the drawings can include a more intricate concept, the ceramics can express the essence of a thought. Where the drawings can seem more emotional, the three-dimensional aspect of the ceramics brings the image into life and reality in a way that two-dimensional pieces cannot - they seem to have a living presence of their own.

Delving a bit deeper, we examine a Smithsonian Oral Interview with Patti Warashina. She discusses her personal history that has led her to this point: ancestors who peddled ceramics, difficulty in her childhood from having a Japanese immigrant parent during WWII, her mother's appreciation of aesthetic beauty, and how being surrounded by beautiful imagery instilled in her an artistic sense of the world. Her work echoes these impressions with the use of porcelain, images of a small girl surrounded by a cacophony of war, and the carefully beautiful way her images are brought to being.

She also discusses Surrealism in her art forms, and the differences inherent in expressing such images in drawings or three-dimensional clay pieces. She talks about one method being to isolate the essential forms in surrealist drawings, to translate them into clay representations. I can see such influences strong at work in her pieces.


Not to be forgotten, in the other galley we found "College Bowl 11/09", filled with a multitude of brilliance.

I was astounded by a number of pieces here, some soft, some harsh, some realistic, and some fantastical. However, the main theme that I was impressed by was the amazing levels of intricate detail that is possible when working with a three-dimensional medium such as clay. Layers upon layers of fascinating detail reveal themselves with every angle. It is a way to express an idea, an emotion, an image, in a way that brings it into living, breathing reality so much more than any other material.

"Accumulation" by Jennifer Anable


"Untitled" by Sara Scroggins


"NCS, Proof Cylinders" by Tom Meyers


"Gauged Spyhole" by Colin Klimesh


"Flower Brick #1" by Jasmine Wallace


"Vascular Bundle" by Todd Shanafelt



I would be horribly remiss if I did not give a special place to "Humphrey" by Rhonda Chan, a favorite piece of the day for my wonderful Grandmother, who I was quite pleased to have come along with me on this particular excursion.
Thanks again, Grandma! You may be my only reader, but quality beats quantity every time!

-Catherine