Sideshow Soo...Celebrating 10 years.

On June 4th Soo Visual Arts Center will be celebrating our 10th birthday with a carnival inspired party, which will run until June 19th. Why Sideshow Soo you may ask? And I decided to cull through our archives of exhibitions to give you an answer.

In our 10 years of operation SooVAC has exemplified the most positive aspect of the sideshow, a place where the unique and unusual can find a voice. Here is a collection of art that we have exhibited over the years that appears to encapsulate those qualities and a sense of the carnival. I couldn't include everything that fit the bill so this is just a small sampling that starts at the beginning in 2001 and concludes with an image of one of the artist created booths that will be on display at Sideshow Soo. The included image is created by Amelia Biewald, other participating artists in Sideshow Soo are: Aaron Dysart, Jaime Carrera, Will Grant, Mary Johnson, Levi Murphy, Mark O’Brien, Chris Pennington, Liseli Polivka, Amy Toscani and Eric Veldey.

Pop Culture Perversions in Robert McCann's Paintings

We decided to research a couple of the most enigmatic characters in Robert McCann's paintings. The first appears to be a mash up of part comic book character and bathing beauty. The other is an alien bent on world domination and last but not least is a character from Mad Max, aren't apocalyptic visions grand.

First up is the Galactus mashup...created by the always awesome Stan Lee in collaboration with Jack Kirby...pure silver age goodness. Not only does Galactus appear in over four decades of Marvel, making its first appearance in in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), but the character is ranked #5 in IGN.com's list of "Top 100 Comic Book Villains".

Galactus is a devourer of worlds that needs their energy to survive, his visage transposed on the bikini clad female figure could imply any number of fascinating metaphors...

Next up is my personal favorite, R0-Man from the 1953 SciFi movie "Robot Monster" and I admire the obscurity of this reference. This one is a bit verbose but I just couldn't leave out the bit about the dinosaurs.

The evil alien Ro-Man Extension XJ-9 (who is simply called "Ro-Man" by the humans) has destroyed all but eight humans on Earth with his death ray. The survivors consist of a family of five, a scientist, and two unseen assistants to the scientist in a spacecraft bound for an orbiting space platform carrying an also-unseen garrison of human soldiers. All eight have developed an immunity to the death ray as a side effect of an antibiotic serum developed by the scientist.

Ro-Man must destroy the earthbound survivors, albeit by physical means, before his subjugation of Earth is complete. After fruitless negotiations he destroys the rocket ship headed for the garrison in orbit, and later strangles the youngest daughter off-screen and tosses the younger scientist off a cliff. He is waylaid in his mission, however, after developing an illogical attraction towards Alice, the eldest daughter of the family. He refuses to eliminate her, forcing "The Great Guidance", leader of the aliens, to personally finish the task of genocide by killing Ro-Man (who has just killed the young boy) and unleashing prehistoric dinosaurs upon the Earth, by which time only the elder scientist and his wife of twenty years are the only humans on the planet.



This last featured character is from Mad Max: The Road Warrior
which seems appropriate to finish this odd ode to villainous figures:

The Humungus, the violent, yet charismatic and articulate leader of the wasteland dwellers. The Humungus' face is never seen, as he wears a hockey goalie's mask, possibly to hide radiation exposure; as far as clothing, he has a bare torso adorned only with leather biker paraphernalia. In a brief cutaway, as The Humungus pulls his revolver from a case and loads a single bullet to shoot out the radiator of the Mack truck, we see a black and white photograph of a family with a military officer in the father's position, though it is unclear whether this would be The Humungus's former family.

Thanks wiki for doing the research for me and perhaps accurately. None of this has been confirmed or denied by the artist so take these conclusions with the fun they are intended.

Some us have a touch of animal in us...and other curious things

So as some of you are working furiously on your Untitled application I decided to take a slightly less art centric approach to this week's blog entry. Though I did take inspiration from Jessica Teckemeyer's exhibition title, We Are Animal.

First off this season of NOVA Science Now has been really great and this is one of the best episodes, How Smart Are Animals. It is especially brilliant for those of you out there that find octopuses amazing...the extent of their intelligence is really stunning. I am sure most of you have heard about the exploits of Paul the Octopus and his powers of prediction, this episode is even better than that.
During my daily consumption of MPR Science Friday I heard a fascinating segment on a new book:
Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution

One interesting little tidbit from this discussion was the popularity of transfusing animal blood for humans, this happened mostly in the early 1600s by the way, some were even successful including the first transfusion performed on a young boy with sheep's blood curing him of terrible fevers.
So this last one isn't really about animals and humans as much as it is about insects and robots, close enough right? Apparently caterpillars are a new source of inspiration for cutting edge robotics. Apparently the interest stems from caterpillars ability to make a speedy exit by rolling up into a circle. You can read more about it HERE and HERE.

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day...who knew

So I just heard a fascinating tidbit of information on MPR on Friday, it would seem today is International Pinhole Camera Day. In fact they have an official website and gallery of photographs to celebrate the day each year. The pinhole camera gallery website started in April 2001 making its' 10 year anniversary very near SooVAC's, who is turning 10 years old on June 4th. Armed with a little bit of new technology to honor the old we used, yes you guessed it a cell phone app...a pinhole camera app. We took a bunch of images of the current show's Robert McCann's You Had Me At Goodbye and Jessica Teckemeyer's We Are Animal, now wallpapering this post.

So everyone reading this should go make a pinhole camera take a picture and submit it HERE.

All About You...Jessica Teckemeyer

1. What is your first art related childhood memory?

Making a vase from a skinny glass jar by covering it with torn pieces of masking tape and then staining it with shoe polish. I remember being amazed at how the stain transformed the drab tape to appear to be worn leather. Next, I made flowers using tissue paper and pipe cleaners. Quite a nice gift from a second grader to her mom!

2. As an artist, who is your biggest influence?

I have had amazing mentors along the way. This seems like the moment to thank: Martin Meersman, Chris Walla, Andrea Stanislav, Chris Larson, Jan Estep, Chris Bauemler, and Siah Armajani. Each person has had a significant impact on my development as an artist.

3. What did you listen to in the studio while creating this show?

The Ting Tings, Adele, Rilo Kiley, Regina Spektor, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, and The Current (89.3)

4. Name three unexpected items one would find in your studio.

a claw foot bathtub

karaoke machine

a prosthetic limb device which gives me an additional four arms

5. What is your least favorite famous work of art?

This is a tough question. But, I have always disliked Kiki Smith’s “Tale” from 1992. The piece is a nude female figure on hands and knees with (approximately) a 100-inch tail of excrement coming from the anus. Until I saw her show “Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980-2005” at the Walker, I had pretty much written her off as an artist I would never relate too. Seeing the works firsthand versus in the pages of books was an eye opening experience. In fact, I purchased the exhibition book. My favorite piece by Kiki is “Lilith” from 1994. It is a bronze female figure crouching upside-down on a wall confronting the viewer with piercing glass eyes. This piece has had a lasting impression on me and inspired using human glass eyes in my animal sculptures.

6. What art do you have hanging on your walls?

Interestingly enough, most our artwork is sculpture made by friends who are emerging artists! Wall works include: miniature room shadowboxes made by Sarah Baker, soft sculptures by Rebekah Champ, a glass blown bunny with light blue pigment kiss prints by David Fox, and a few paintings by Bart Vargas. Our living room also has an iceberg sculpture by Laura Primozic, two Jasmine Wallace ceramic sculptures, a bronze bird made by Fawzia Khan, and female bust by my husband Derek Gunderson. All, but Fox and Gunderson, attended the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

7. What are you working on now?

I am applying to galleries for the 2012 exhibition season. Applications have been submitted to spaces in Chicago, IL; Richmond, VA; Cincinnati, OH; South Bend, IN; and Cazenovia, NY.

I am also writing a proposal for a group show at the MAEP gallery at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Several emerging artists in Minneapolis are using animal imagery, so I contacted a strong diverse group. If selected, the show will feature photography, ceramics, drawing, and sculpture.

8. What will the title of your retrospective at MOMA be?

Hmm, what a wonderful thought! Titles take me weeks to figure out, so I will have to refrain for the sake of finishing this interview.

Thanks Jessica!

Be sure to stop by SooVAC to see Jessica's work in person, We Are Animal, up through May 22nd.

To learn more about Jessica Teckemeyer visit HERE.

In Case You Missed It...

Here is a little picture collection from last night's opening. In the Main Gallery is paintings by Robert McCann, You Had Me At Goodbye and in Soo Local is new work by Jessica Teckemeyer, We Are Animal. Two extremely impressive exhibitions:

A look back to SooFUZE 2010 for inspiration.

SooVAC is now accepting applications for SooFUZE 2011 a juried exhibition for Minnesota artists between the ages of 14 to 18. You can apply now thru April 30th HERE!

One of the participating artists will receive a $500 award in acknowledgment of outstanding artistic achievement. For a little inspiration below is last years exhibition, and follow this LINK to hear a review of last year's show on MPR's Art Hounds.


Last year's participating artists were Lydia Bickal, Jane Gardner, Sarah Purgett, Anna Renken, Violeta Rotstein, Jack Schneider, Katherina Vang and Madison Van Holmes. All amazing artists, apply now to be counted among the artists in SooFUZE 2011!