Arts

New Deal era mural faces destruction

December 12th, 2018

photography by C.S. Hagen

SEBEKA, Minnesota – Nearly a century ago the nation was racked by inclement weather, soaring unemployment, and despair following World War I and the lucrative Roaring 20s. The 1930s were an era of dust storms and lunch lines, where banks closed and Wall Street brokers leaped to their deaths from New York City’s “suicide pinnacle,” the Singer Building.

Under such chaos did then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt initiate the Public Works of Art Project in 1934. The government…

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‘Take only what you can carry in your heart’

December 5th, 2018


cover by Raul Gomez

“If I go to France and eat French food and write like the French. When I was in Yugoslavia I was working as a Yugoslavian. When I went to Paris for three years I worked with a French influence. Then I came here and I become American and work as American. This multiple personality might be drastic to somebody who look from the outside but to me, they’re all familiar to me. It’s not a drastic change.” said the twin cities based, Yugoslavian born artist Zoran Mojsilov.

He went on…

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West Acres Artist in Residence Builds Body of Work, Creates Mural for the Public

October 24th, 2018

photograph by Melissa Gonzalez

by: Melissa Gonzalez

melissam.gonzalez@outlook.com

From music, to sculpture, to grand scale murals, one local artist is working tirelessly to share his work with the community.

The West Acres Mall is currently hosting its fifth artist-in -residence, Brandon LaPlante, and facilitates his reconnection with his passion for creation, connection to his ethics and the beginning of his next adventure.

LaPlante, 34, describes himself as a thrill seeker. It’s not a surprise then, to learn that the…

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Mineral Point, Wisconsin: Where art and history meet

October 17th, 2018


Mineral Point - Shake Rag Alley scene - photograph by Alicia Underlee Nelson

I came to Mineral Point, Wisconsin for the art. The tiny town among the rolling hills about 50 miles southwest of Madison is home to just 2,491 souls and 25 art galleries and studios. Any community with that much creative energy woven into the fabric of everyday life is worth a pilgrimage.

But it only took a quick glance at the lovingly restored historic storefronts, handsome stone homes and beautifully manicured gardens to understand that art was only part of the story here. In Mineral…

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Fargo Arts and Culture Commission Strives for Artistic Presence Across the City.

October 10th, 2018


photograph courtesy of Jeff Knight

by Melissa Gonzalez
gonzalezme@mnstate.edu

With “The Redball Project” making its way to Fargo-Moorhead, the possibility of more public art is quickly becoming reality. The Fargo Arts & Culture Commission is at the forefront of developing free, accessible art to the community to give residents the chance to enjoy creativity and open peoples’ minds to conversation.

Arlette Preston sits down at a downtown coffee shop to enjoy an afternoon treat. Art hangs on the brick walls of Atomic…

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Annual Studio Crawl Opens this Weekend

October 3rd, 2018


photograph by Michael MT Photography - Design by Raul Gomez

by Ryan Janke
ryanjanke@hpr1.com

Artists from Fargo-Moorhead and the surrounding area are opening their studio doors and putting their artistic talents on display as the Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists (FMVA) 15th Annual Studio Crawl kicks off this weekend. The crawl will feature over 70 artists in 38 studios.

A Glimpse into the FM Arts Community

The Studio Crawl is an event that takes place every year on the first weekend of October. It is a chance for artists to show the public what they…

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Fargo to Host World Traveling Art Installation

October 3rd, 2018

photograph by Tom Martin

by Melissa Gonzalez
gonzalezme@mnstate.edu

On Oct. 4 “The Redball Project” will bounce its way to Fargo-Moorhead from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

For seven days, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., the 15 foot ball will travel through the community with a new location each day. The ball will be squeezed in between buildings, placed on bridges and alleys around town.

“The Redball Project” is a public art installation traveling around the world. The installation has visited more than 31…

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The birdman and the bees, the art of Morganne Behl

September 26th, 2018




For the month of October, Fargo’s Red Raven Espresso Parlor will feature the work of local artist Morganne Behl, whose ink, graphite, and colored-pencil sketches are a perfect fit for the Halloween season. This horror-themed exhibition will contain at least fourteen framed drawings, featuring images of skulls, bees, and bird demons.

Among the most intriguing of Behl’s pieces is “Bird Man,” a graphite sketch that took six months to complete. Though original drafts of this creature…

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​Abby Balkowitsch: The next generation

August 15th, 2018

Abby Balkowitsch taking a wet plat of her father - photograph by Sabrina Hornung

It may be cliche to say the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, but when wet plate artist Shane Balkowitsch found out that his 15-year-old daughter Abby Balkowitsch was following in his photography footsteps, he was thrilled.

“I can remember the day, on May 24th of this year, I went down to my studio and I could just tell someone had been in there, I was not sure what was going on, then I looked in the drying rack and there it was, a finished wet plate of her brother Greyson,"…

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Dan Mihuta: The Art Maker

June 27th, 2018

Daniel T. Mihuta, the By Rod Hadland
rodanthonyhadland@gmail.com

The name Mr. Mihuta may not be familiar, but for most of my life, I’ve known that name. There was a television show where Mr. Mihuta taught art projects, in various mediums, that I remember fondly. Back in 2008, I wondered what became of Mr. Mihuta, so I tried to find him. I eventually found a Dan Mihuta, now 95 years old, and contacted him after nearly ten years of searching. Mihuta, or Dan to me, was kind enough to speak to me recently from…

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