by Ann Klefstad   November 14, 2005 There�s a long tradition in Minnesota of art auctions benefiting arts organizations. The most recent was the 12th annual Photo Bravo auction and party that benefits the Minnesota Center for Photography. There have been others, too, all across the state. Of these annual auctions, PhotoBravo is among the oldest. Vance Gellert was present at this years� version; he was the…

by John Orth   October 27, 2005 Intentions are always just that: intentions. A painter�s intentions may include a notion, speculation, an idea, or a concept. The now-common fashion of introduction to an artist�s work, the statement, gives the rationale upon which the work rests. The statement functions as a roadmap for the particular art form. Kristen Copham�s intentions, as detailed in her statement, were…

by Sam Spiczka   October 13, 2005 Growing up in rural Minnesota, I experienced, however remotely, the early break in human nature: what happened when hunters and gatherers settled down to farm the earth. To this day, the shift seems to permeate the very ground. These two orientations toward life are often thought to be similar, but they are, in fact, radically different. They pull at each other. One impulse…

by Cynde Randall   October 5, 2005 Nearly ten years ago, I discovered a strange and wonderful thing: I experience exactly the same feeling feeding an orphan songbird as I do making art. The project known as Bird x Bird began with the simple intention of honoring the birds that were patients at a little wildlife rehabilitation clinic on the north side of Minneapolis. For two years I served as one of…

by Christopher Atkins   October 4, 2005 On Wednesday September 21, Theatre de la Jeune Lune hosted the Public Meeting to present the Minneapolis Plan for Arts and Culture. According to the Executive Summary, the effort is �a 10 year strategic plan that defines the role of the City in supporting arts and culture, and it defines the role of art and culture in accomplishing the City�s broader goals.� After…

by Graydon Royce   September 13, 2005 Good gossip is always fun, particularly when it concerns you. A friend who acts occasionally in community theater told me the story of some backstage grousing about a review in which I had skewered an actor’s performance. The argument was that the actor was doing what the director had wanted. Royce should have blamed the director, these thespians said. My…

by Ann Klefstad   September 10, 2005 We�ve all watched, rapt, the coverage of the wreckage of New Orleans, and thought our own thoughts concerning what it says about the nation. Many of us have tried, are trying, to make up for the failures of the various governments by donating what we can to those who�ve lost so much. Here in Minnesota, many are wondering about the fate of Coral Lambert and Paul Higham…

by Shannon Gibney   September 1, 2005 �Mom, it�s windy � hold onto your cloud!� exclaims a six-year-old tow-headed girl skipping behind a blue woman on stilts. The mom nods, and clutches a blue and white cardboard square harder. �We�re almost there!� the blue stilted woman in front exclaims. She is waving a white flag and weaving her way to the right and left sides of the bridge, leading the group. �See the…

by Jaime Kleiman   September 1, 2005It�s happened to most of us at least once: you�re sitting in your theatre seat wearing your Friday evening best, excited to be watching the Highly Acclaimed Experimental Theatre Troupe from England � perhaps courtesy of the Guthrie�s World Stage Series � and, about ten minutes into the �show,� you start to get annoyed. You feel ripped off, played for a fool, and even a…