Clogtown: The Art Shanty Projects 2020!

 I've never been in Minnesota when the Art Shanty Projects have bee on, as it's usually in the depths of winter, and I've already returned to Venice from the holidays. This year, I'm here, it's on, and I finally got to go on what was maybe the coldest day of the year so far out on the ice of Lake Harriet.

The Art Shanty Projects are a big group art show out on the frozen lake, kind of like ice fishing houses that are all pop-up art galleries. I've read about it and seen photos for the last few years, have just been dying to go, and it was just as good as I thought it would be.

Art in public spaces is always at the top of my list (Art for Everyone!), and this experience is among the coolest - literally and figuratively. It's quintessential Minnesota for a whole bunch of people to come out on a freezing cold and super windy day to see art on the ice, and have a blast doing it.

It had snowed the night before, so there were shoveled off lanes to get to each of the structures in the Shanty Village. It was so cold you kind of had to hustle to each one to get inside and warm up before hitting the next one. In addition to the art shanties, there are also performances, games, and plein air painters out capturing it all.

As I was walking from one shanty to the next, a group of Russian babushkas (Nitka) strolled past, singing an enchanting folky song that made me feel like I was enjoying a Siberian winter.

A few of the shanties were working on time-slots, so I need to return to enjoy some of the ones I didn't get in to, like the Minnesauna! A five person sauna out on the lake! I love it so much.

There is an activist, educational vibe to several of the shanties (which is clearly all the way up my alley), and one of my favorites was the "Pollinator Shanty", all about creating gardens for pollinators to help save our Earth.

You could strap on a helmet and see through the eyes of a pollinator, you could learn about butterflies and what to plant to attract them, and create butterfly puppets. I loved all of that, but I especially loved the chimenea that warmed me up to get to the next one.

There was a rocking boat (Rocky the Rocking Sea Shanty) ...

And a giant kaleidoscope from Spectra Gigs you could stick your head into ...

There was a adult sized Lite-Brite shanty ...

Where inside you could move the pegs to create your own vision (while you kind of warmed up).

There was the excellent "Shanty Of People Who Know Things", showcasing the work and wisdom of people over 55 years old. Nice.

There was a Seed Bank, featuring the native plants of Minnesota (where you could take seed samples with you and plant them when all this ice melts) ...

There was an "Opticon", a camera obscura that showed you how that works and check out the sights outside on the ice ...

There was a shanty for you to show your love for our regional parks (for every five love letters written to the parks inside the shanty a tree will be planted!) ...

Another favorite was the Glass Half ______ Shanty, a factory for stories! The brightly painted shanty was already fun from the outside, but then you went to a roll of paper sticking out, where there was either a phrase or a picture, and you would either write a new phrase for the picture above, or vice versa.

You then went inside where the roll of paper is creating one long story - with pictures! - made by everyone who participates at this shanty.

 It would be cool for them to make a real book out of it at the end of it all, because what I saw and read was pretty beautiful.

Another touching shanty was The Archive of Apologies and Pardons. You went inside and wrote an apology and a pardon for whatever you're feeling, then leave them behind inside among all the others, for a collective body of remorse. By writing both, you admit that you are capable of both receiving and committing harm. Split up into areas like "Sexism" and "Racism", it was very moving to see what people contributed, and it got very deep for a whimsical day on the ice. You could almost see the load come off some people as they emerged from the little hut.

One fun interactive one was Nauticault: A Cautionary Tale. Steampunk style explores have gotten their ship stuck in the ice of Bde Unma (Lake Harriet) and are in terrible need of rescue. They're desperate and need a guide to get them out to safety.

I played along, as they were looking for a mermaid to help, and we all know I am one (part-time). The lady inside said they needed a lock of mermaid hair, and I thought she was kidding, but she really did reach back and snip off a good inch of my hair. I can't really tell where it was (in the back), but they better get rescued if I gave up my real hair for the cause. Wow. Pretty sure I get the Good Sport Award from them.

Of all the shanties that I saw (and there are a few remaining that I still need to check out - like the one from our friends at the Franconia Sculpture Park!), it will come as no surprise that my favorite of them all was the -7 Degree Entry Danceteria (a play on our beloved 7th Street Entry at First Avenue).

If you were cool enough to be on the list (and I was SUPER COLD!), you went inside to see a full-on dance party, complete with D.J. spinning and a light-up dance floor!

A perfect way to get moving and warm up, I shared a song with a family with little kids, and we all just jumped around for a bit, laughing and smiling the whole time that we were at a dance party in an ice house on Lake Harriet! I could not have loved it more.

It was such a delight to see all the hearty people out enjoying art and fun and winter, despite the cold. Most of the men I saw had their facial hair full of icicles, but they were smiling. As was everyone. This super special spectacle is on weekends through February 9th, Saturday and Sunday from 10am- 4pm. It's a free event, but they ask for a $10-$20 donation to keep it going for years to come, yet no one will be turned away.

This is the perfect way to put a smile on your face in the dead of winter, and I hope everyone gets the chance to get there, because it will truly make your day. Thank you to all the artists, staff, volunteers, and Minnesota Nice people that make the Art Shanty Projects so cool! You're doing a wonderful thing.


Art Shanty Projects 2020
Weekends through February 9th
10 am - 4 pm
Lake Harriet (Bandshell side)

Clogtown: Meet Walvis The Whale By Bartz Snow Sculptures!

Now that I've decided to embrace the Minnesota winter, the (literally) cool things to do in our most extreme season just keep popping up. If you're going to visit the Ice Castles in New Brighton, drive another mile or so and you can meet Walvis, the massive whale snow sculpture created by the Bartz Brothers of New Brighton!

This is the 9th snow creation made by Austin, Trevor, and Connor Bartz, with help from family and friends - and the super cool neighbors that don't seem to mind the constant crowds coming to see the latest sea creature made from snow and ice right there in the Bartz front yard.

As I'm usually not here in the winter (except for Christmas), this was the first time I've been able to see a Bartz snow sculpture in person. It's really impressive, and educational too!

There is a little roped off area for visitors to line up to take their photo with Walvis (which means "whale" in Niger, which will benefit along with Uganda from the donations given by Minnesotans who have come to behold the ice behemoth), and along the way they have placed trivia questions about whales, so you can learn a little something too. Like, did you know whale vomit is used as an ingredient in perfumes? Yep.

The adorable Bartz brothers just got the idea to make a sculpture one snow day in 2012, and the attraction has grown and grown in the years since. When they started to get so much attention, they decided to use their local fame in an effort to raise $50,000 to bring clean water to places around the world that don't have access to it. So not only are they super creative and talented, they're good guys (You can donate online also, and for a $25 donation, Walvis the Whale will blow steam out of his blowhole!). They even have merch for sale!

I talked to one of the bros outside their home (Austin?), and he said the city will come destroy the whale on February 4th, as it starts to look less awesome, and they have to stop the crowds from coming at some point - plus they can't really have jobs during the snow sculpture hoopla, so they have to get back to their own real lives too.

A giant snow whale is real cool, for sure, but even way way cooler to know that Walvis will melt ... and turn into real, drinkable water all the way across the globe. Walvis the Whale is Wonderful!

Meet Walvis now through February 4, 2020

2777 16th Street NW
New Brighton, MN 55112

Clogtown: Visit The 2020 Ice Castles!

Minnesota Winter! I recently made the decision to get my Mom out of her nursing facility (long story, bad care, she didn't belong there, I couldn't leave her there, here I am), to be her caregiver myself. We're going to figure it out day by day (and I'm hoping she'll soon take to the idea of being a Venice girl ...), but for now I'm here in the thick of winter for the first time in 25 years. Rather than freak out, I've decided to embrace it and go full on Winter Lover. Today that meant that my friend Tonya and I took her daughters to visit the Ice Castles, this year in New Brighton, Minnesota. And WOW!

We went during the day, and it was not nearly so cold because the sun was high and the skies were clear ... and I think the Castles create a barrier from the wind, so it's not that bad except on your feet. But still, bundle up!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today meant that kids were out of school and grownups were out of work, so there was a good crowd there, but they had timed tickets, so it never felt too packed (unless you met a pack of kids in one of the narrow tunnels - someone had to back up). There were two slides, a little one for little kids and a big one for everyone. They give you a little blue sled and off you go ... short but fun!

There's a little snack truck for hot drinks to warm you up, and sweet treats for the kids to beg for. They even have hand warmers for sale, but they weren't necessary today.

It was so bright you had to wear shades, but I imagine the Castles might be even better at night, as they're all it up and probably pretty dreamy. I can see it being a popular date spot, for sure.

The Ice Castles (and I kept telling the little girls that they HAVE TO watch the movie Ice Castles - "They forgot about the roses!") really are a winter wonderland, and with all of our new snow, they sparkle and dazzle like in the movie/s Frozen 1/2 ... and there's even costumed Elsa and Anna walking around to take photos with the kids (and a few Dads that I saw too).

I was thinking a lot about Dr. King today, because he really is the reason we were able to go to this frozen attraction today. We all know him best for his I Have A Dream speech, and it got me to thinking that cool things like this all started with someone's dream as well. They bring people of all ages, races, religions, whatevers together, united in the name of fun and beauty. Ice Castles might not be the obvious choice of a way to honor one of our greatest leaders, but the thought was definitely there - and discussed.

Thank you to Tonya, Elsie, Inga, and the staff and creators of the beautiful, super Minnesotan Ice Castles visit for MLK, Jr. Day - we loved it. Let It Go!!!

Ice Castles
1500 Old Highway 8
New Brighton, MN 55112
Ice Castles Minnesota

Clogtown: Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975 at Minneapolis Art Institute

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! Welcome to the Roaring '20's! I'm excited. I have all sorts of stories to tell, but for the first one of this new calendar year, I have to tell you about the exceptional exhibit happening at the Minneapolis Art Institute that is ending THIS SUNDAY. Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975 and Artists Reflect: Contemporary Views of the American War are both real pieces of work that will stay with you for a good minute after you leave. It's HEAVY. And as it's looking like we're playing war games all over again (Iran today, North Korea always looming, Russia just getting away with everything ... ), this show is more important than ever ... so that we might THINK - and avoid such war horror all over again.

The show opens with a typewriter printing out current news constantly, filling the entire atrium at the entrance. News, 1969 (reconstructed 2019) by Hans Haacke emphasizes the challenge of sifting through mass amounts of reporting, as well as conflicting perspectives from various news outlets (think MSNBC v. Fox News - a whole different universe!). It sets the ominous tone from the moment you purchase your ticket.

I don't have any personal memories about the Vietnam era, as I was too young, but this show creates the feelings that all parties were having. The Eleventh Hour Final, 1968 by Edward Kienholz asks "What can one man's death, so remote and far away, mean to most people in the familiar safety of their middle-class homes?" and recreates the 70's living room that most sat around their black and white t.v.s and got their news of the war. The title refers to the last news hour of the day, and also gives more of that ominous feel.

Vietnam, 1967 by Phillip Jone Griffiths was one of twelve of his gelatin silver prints, all of which show the actual humanity among the people living in the war theater. Incredibly touching, all of them made you feel that the soldiers and the Vietnamese citizens got along and seemed to like each other - and, as always, they were following orders from old, white, dangerous men that would never be personally affected by it. So sad. So disgusting. SO evil.

We all know the famous poster War Is Over! If You Want It, 1969 by Yoko Ono and John Lennon, but this was its origin. Ono and Lennon were not having the Vietnam War, and this poster release followed their infamous "Bed In" to protest the war. I wonder what Lennon would think of these modern times? We could sure use him now .... Imagine.

Carol Summers contributed Kill For Peace, 1967 (from the portfolio Artists and Writers Protest against the War in Vietnam), showing families dealing with this tragic war.

Next to it was one of the heaviest ones for me, that made me physically nauseous. The Art Workers' Coalition. Active 1969-71 asked the horrific question Q. And Babies? A. And Babies., 1970. UGH. THIS is what those evil, old, white men don't seem to care about when concocting their wars for profit. War is Hell.

Equally rough was Untitled (The New York Times, Sunday, September 13, 1970), 1970 by Liliana Porter. It's especially moving as it takes the viewer from the macro to the micro, from the generic to the personal. She is You. She is Me. She is US - and that's what makes war so hard to understand. It takes the humanity away ... but Ms. Porter brings it back.

Big Daddy Paper Doll, 1970 by May Stevens shows yet another depiction of the bald, white, old cigar-wielding nemesis to society that creates war. Taking up an entire wall of the room, her point is clearly made.

Corita Kent had a wall of six screenprints, all Day-Glo bright, in what the Catholic nun called "advertisements for the common good." yellow submarine, handle with care, right, phil and dan, stop the bombing, and news of the week (all 1967) take the look of commercial packaging to pack their punches.

Political posters really took off during the Vietnam War, and Eat, 1967 by Tomi Ungerer is one of the very memorable ones. Force feeding the Statue of Liberty down a Vietnamese person's throat doesn't leave much room for ambiguity ... and the U.S. government doesn't seem to have learned much in the decades since.

This next one is hard for me to even type out, but Flag For The Moon: Die Nigger, 1969 by Faith Ringgold. She makes visual commentary (and the title is there in the work) on the fact that African Americans were fighting our war, while being the victims of racism at home. The country was spending massively on space exploration, while ignoring our black citizens. Oof. I told you it was heavy. And TRUE.

1A, 1972 by Timothy Washington was a statement on the destruction of the draft. "1A" meant you were available for war ... and the defaced draft card embedded in this piece says "John Doe" and the 1A status is listed as "forever". UGH. I'll just never understand war, ever.

Untitled, 1967 by William Copley asks us all to THINK. Please.

Yoko Ono was represented again in a film being played on a t.v. called Cut Piece, 1964/5, where Ono invited audience members to approach her and cut off a piece of her clothing.  People had to choose how to respond ... stop, interfere with, or escalate the action ... much like what was happening in the country with the war. The piece was performed just weeks after Marines arrived in Vietnam, and raised those above questions that needed to be asked. Ono has always been provocative - and smart.

Reading Position for Second Degree Burn, 1970 by Dennis Oppenheim is a photograph showing the artist in the before/after five hours in the sun with a big volume of military field tactics covering half his torso. This was to comment on the U.S. soldiers shown basking in the tropical sun while Vietnamese citizens were being burned by napalm. Oh my gosh. It's really hard to be a proud American at show like this. Seriously.

Jim Nutt offered Summer Salt, 1970 is a play on words for "Some assault". Civil unrest and media accounts of the human toll informed this work, and though it's bright and cheery looking - the content is quite the opposite.

Now, if I thought this show was incredibly heavy and tough to take in, I can only imagine what veterans of this awful war feel like. There was an elderly man in the gallery, sitting alone, seemingly in reflection. He got up to take a closer look at Target Practice, 1968 by Peter Saul (who meant it to be a "cold shower of bad conscience"!), and I got a lump in my throat thinking about what he must be thinking. I don't know if he was a veteran himself or not, but he was visibly moved - as was I. The museum had a room set aside for silent reflection if people needed it ... and I think it probably gets a lot of use. 

A huge piece taking up another entire wall was Vietnam II, 1973 by Leon Golub. He was a vocal activist before using the war as a theme in his work, and intended the large scale of his work to equal the "grotesqueness" of the U.S. military might. That was a great word for it - and still is. Maybe even more so. WILL WE EVER LEARN?!?!?!?

Judith Bernstein created A Soldier's Christmas, 1967 to protest the war, mimicking the graffiti she saw from soldiers. It depicts a woman's spread legs, adorned with Christmas lights, graphic in both word and image. Bernstein said of the work, "I wanted to make the ugliest paintings I could. I wanted them to be as ugly and horrifying as the war was." She sure succeeded.

Chicago was a key hot spot during the war, producing many artists and activists against the invasion. A whole room is pretty much dedicated to trashing LBJ, from LBJ, 1967 by Dominick Di Meo (a Chicago organizer and artist). LBJ is depicted atop a mountain of human skulls, in a none too subtle pointing of the finger.

LBJ Butcher, 1967, also by Di Meo, was even rougher, and were printed on actual aprons meant to be worn in street actions and public protests. Think about all of the Trump merch out there these days ... again, we haven't come very far in this area at all.

Another Chicago artist, Ralph Arnold addresses bigotry, social injustice, and the Vietnam war in his collage titled Above the Earth, Games, Games, 1968 portrays football players against U.S. soldier in Vietnam, to show how the media would attempt to normalize violence. Oh, Men ... you sure have wrecked a lot of lives.

Tet Inoffensive, 1968 by Ed Paschke looks like a photo collage, but was hand-painted. Butch Cassidy and John Wayne are alongside the famous Eddie Adams photo of a Vietnamese general shooting a Vietcong guerilla in the head and Ho Chi Minh smoking. All the tough guys. Ruining lives and the world. I was getting madder and madder the more I saw.

At first glance, Madame Nhu's BarBQs, 1963 by Wally Hedrick seems like a folk art sign for a deep south restaurant. Until you realize that it's about Thich Quang Duc, the Buddhist monk that set himself on fire to protest the Vietnamese government's oppression of Buddhists. Madame Nhu was a member of the South Vietnamese ruling family, and at the time publicly said that she was "willing to provide the gasoline for the next barbeque". Can you imagine being such a repulsive human being? Does she even get to be called a human being? No. She doesn't. Do not rest in peace, Madame.

Edward Kienholz was back with The Non-War Memorial, 1970/1972, an imagining of the thousands of soldiers killed in the war ... that he wanted to place in a chemically destroyed field in Idaho to portray the same destruction that had been done to Vietnam. It was an unrealized plan, but still cool.

Kim Jones created his "Mudman"  persona after serving in Vietnam. He walked Wilshire Boulevard for 18 miles from sunrise to sunset, and back again, wearing his structure of sticks covered in mud, to evoke the red dust of Vietnam. He confronted passersby with the reminder of the just-ended war, that for many like himself was still going on in their minds. His Mudman Structure (large), 1974 is there at MIA, bringing us all right back - to the future.

Humanscape 43, 1968 was by Mel (Melesio) Casas, a leading member of the Chicano art group, Con Safo. He had served and been injured in the Korean War (we never learn), and had learned that lesson himself. "The skills of war are killing," said Casas, and he also rightly believed that the war was financially motivated - like it almost always is. Gross.

The war ultimately ended, but its consequences resonate still. The show finishes with depictions of Southeast Asia today, addressing the exodus of its citizens, and the seemingly tranquil country of Vietnam today. Sixteen panels by Cy Thao represent the Hmong Migration, 1993-2001. The bright, cheery panels trace the history of Hmong people from their origin story to their immigration to Minnesota.

While in refugee camps, Thao saw others making "story cloth" tapestries, he saw the power of pictures to tell stories without words. Once you know your history, you can understand the world and your place in it a whole lot better, and Thao was hoping to give some closure to the generations that lived through the war.

Pipo Nguyen-duy ends the show with his modern photographs of life in Vietnam. Icarus, Father and Son, My Brother, and Bubbles, 2005-11. The photographs look happy and fresh and now, but upon closer examination, his brother is missing an arm from the war. Life goes on, but scars of war remain.

This show is very extensive, and though I know this story is long and seemingly comprehensive, it isn't. Hardly. There is so much more important art to see than what I have included here, made even more important by the storm clouds of war gathering again today in the news. This is the last weekend to see this gut-punch of a show curated by the Smithsonian American Art. There were slips of paper to write what this exhibit made you feel, and then hang with the others on the wall. So many of them said something like I have here ... Will we never learn? Have we not figured out that no one wins in war? The inclusion of so many female artists and Southeast Asian artists responding to this nightmare of American History make this an even more impressive - and inclusive - undertaking. I have a feeling it's going to stay with me a long, long time. Please go if you are able.

Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975 ends this Sunday, January 5th.

MIA
2400 3rd Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404
(888) 642-2787
visit@artsmia.org

Farewell, 2019! Moving Forward With 20/20 Vision ...

What a year. It's almost hard to believe we made it ... but we did. This is the longest I've not posted on Blogtown, and it's for very good reasons - mainly having to do with my Mom. What a year of learning. What a year of loving. What a year for realizing what is most important ... Time with loved ones.

I was taking an end of the year reflection walk, and noticed at the south end of Lake Bde Maka Ska (formerly Calhoun, and well past time to get over that) there is a new public art installation recognizing the area's Native American roots with sculpture and words. Dakota words that mean Perseverance. Generosity. Courage.

Of course I had to look them up, but once I did, I thought, Yep. That's what we all need, and that's what I want my new decade to be about. This past year has been a nightmare dealing with the American healthcare and insurance systems (scams), and has certainly required perseverance. And will continue to.

Friends and family have shown generosity in the most unexpected ways, making me want to be more generous myself, both with my time and anything else I can provide. Generosity is the only way I see our country moving at all forward, with income inequality, greed, and capitalism having nearly ruined everything good about this "Democracy". It's time to share, and to look out for each other, because with the climate crisis already ending certain ways of life, we are all going to have to chip in way more to help each other out. There is no choice.

Dealing with all of the above, as well as a zillion other issues, (like electing a less corrupt national leader {they all are to a degree in that racket}, and figuring out how to TRY to save our planet.), is going to take a lot of courage. That's one thing I'm not that worried about. Most people I know are brave enough to do what any dire situation takes ... and things ARE dire. But they're not without hope.

Beauty persists. In nature, and in our hearts. The holidays usually bring out the best in people, and I've seen a lot of grace both personally and in the news in recent days. People WANT to help. They know it makes you feel better inside. They know it makes the world better outside. We CAN make our world a happier place to be in for everyone, I just know it. It starts with ourselves, and I vow to carry the banners of perseverance, generosity, courage, as well as LOVE throughout the roaring decade of 20's we're about to kick off. On my honor.

It looks like I'll be in Minnesota longer, as there's no way I can leave my Mom when she needs me (we might end up going back and forth together, if possible, for the best of both worlds, but that remains to be seen). That alone has been very hard on me, as I haven't been away from the Ocean and Venice this long in 25 years, and that thing gives me my peace every morning. I can find peace in Minnesota in the woods and the lakes, but it's not the same to my heart. It's also hard to find work here, so if my L.A. people can throw me some gigs this upcoming year, or help me find a publisher for my Blogtown collection book - that could be some of your generosity (or a year end donation to @CJGronner on Venmo if you've loved a story this year!).  Thank you!

2019 - and the Teens in general - was super hard, but also super beautiful at times. I suppose that's like life every year, but this one seemed to be in the extreme. I'm heading into the new decade with gratitude above all, but also hope and some serious determination - to make things better for EVERYONE. Happy New Year 2020! Happy New Decade! True love to all until I can give it to you in person myself! X