A very long road took me to Duluth, Minnesota. That is why it's especially gratifying to at last (in print at least) begin giving back to my new home, and to be able to call merited attention to the work of people who've become friends, advisors, and allies in realizing positive change. To say that devastating personal losses are an opportunity to build our resilience is kind of a tired cliché for anyone mired in them. But I can now vouch, having come through another side of grief, that there's some truth in this bromide. Art is a tonic for struggle, a way we leave our metaphorical and literal marks, and it is sustenance. Here's to all of us still striving.
"Having an ever-changeable body of water like Lake Superior
in your midst on a daily basis affects people, perhaps in particular
those committed to making art. It creates an awareness of matters that
are tenuous, conditional, and frequently shifting. The artworks chosen
for the 60th Annual Arrowhead Regional Biennial
demonstrate this cognizance in subtle, at times funny, sometimes
sobering ways. It is notable, the number of objects that have been torn
into, abraded, and otherwise distressed. Their recurrence calls to mind
the precarious balances artists negotiate -- between expression and
income, prestige and self-regard, utility and uselessness." Full text here
