Selections from Portfolio
Culture / Nature (selections from the series)
mixed media paintings ©1989 - 1999
To integrate and expose different kinds of realities, illusions and appearances, I combine paint with other materials such as splices of photographs, found objects, and hand-made embellishments. I am also interested in stylistic juxtapositions such as realism with abstraction, decorative with allegory, minimalism with expressionism.
When I put diverse media and styles together, I attempt to challenge some of our preconceptions and biases of what we may believe to be real and authentic. Put another way, the relationship between the "reality" of the photo, photo-realistic painting, and the "abstract" squish of paint, represents the idiosyncratic way we view and conceive of the physical and spiritual world around us — our individual and collective histories and myths.
The Historian, (selections from the series)mixed media paintings © 1992 – 1993
I was commissioned by the Minneapolis publisher, Milkweed Editions, to create a series of 12 paintings for the award winning book The Historian, by Eugene Garber. R.V.Cassill describes the book as “…a rich fictional odyssey that is a meditation on the American character and experience…a rollicking tale of a metaphysical nature…”.
Thankfully, both the author and the publisher gave me the freedom to circumvent the specificity of conventional illustration. While I was influenced by details of the narrative, my goal was to capture the overarching tone of Garber’s compelling tale and elegant prose—allowing my imagery at times to veer off into parallel territory.
Set Design for Mirabell’s Book of Numbers
Southern Theater, Minneapolis, Minnesota © 1991 - 1992
Corn Palace Productions Composer, Maura Bosch Director, Linda Kuusisto
In 1991, Corn Palace Productions commissioned me to create a set design for Maura Bosch’s compelling new opera, Mirabell’s Book of Numbers. Though I had no experience in this particular field, it was this very lack of expertise along with my unique vision and creative process — that would work so well for their provocative, edgy opera.
I was exhilarated and challenged by this new dramatic art form and the opportunity to collaborate with the composer, actors, singers, and dancers. I was responsible for the entire set—from conception of the overall design and construction of props—to practical considerations involving how my design would affect and facilitate blocking, staging and performance.
Some of the elements I designed and created included a 15’ x 30’ Ouija board, a sculpture-like dance platform of scaffolding for the dancers, gigantic chandeliers, glowing furniture, and backdrops of my imagery projected against layers of billowing fabrics. The poetic “spirit-world” of the opera was evoked further through dramatic shifts in color and light—a collaborative effort with Southern Theater’s artistic director / lighting designer, Jeff Bartlett.
Desert Wind: Music and Painting / Performance
Music by Homer Lambrecht
Art / Performance by Kathryn Nobbe
Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota © 1993
This music / visual art / performance piece was a collaboration with composer Homer Lambrecht and the Ancia Saxophone Quartet. Originally, Mr. Lambrecht asked me to create a painting on stage for the premiere of his musical composition, Desert Wind, a compelling piece alluding to the war in the Persian Gulf.During initial discussions, I convinced Mr. Lambrecht that his piece cried out for a more non-traditional, interactive performance—involving choreography, costumes, and painting of much larger proportions.
In preparation for the performance and to evoke the themes inherent in the music (war, conflict, life, death and redemption), I wrapped the entire stage in canvas, sketching a graphic template as a guide. My choreography involved simple march-like movements for myself and the musicians—while I poured brushed, splashed, and dripped buckets of paint around the stage and actuallyon the musicians. Costumed with chemical protection suits and plastic-wrapped saxophones—the musicians’ breath rhythmically pulsated the plastic bags in and out—evoking at once menace, mystery, and human life force.
Pillsbury House Mural
Minneapolis, Minnesota Prototype - Mixed Media Painting Mural - 62’ four color electrostatic print © 1992 - 1994
The mural on the exterior of the Pillsbury House is a large-scale print of an original painting / collage which I created in collaboration with the community of Powderhorn Park. The project began with my research and development (including site location, politics, fundraising, etc) and evolved into a two-year odyssey of sharing, cooperation and art making.
I began with a series of small studies and ended up with a 2’ x 10’ painting / collage. Much of the imagery came from materials I collected from the community—historic archives, family snapshots, memorabilia, written stories, newspaper photos, children's artwork, etc. Though my primary goal was to represent the spirit and history (past and present) of the people who live and work in the Pillsbury neighborhood, I was also inspired by my mother's girlhood stories of growing up there.
By traditional definition, a mural is artwork painted directly on a wall or other large permanent surfaces. As my work on the project evolved, I realized I needed to find an alternative to the historical convention of a hand-pained mural. I felt it was essential to find a way to preserve the original look of the collage and the individual materials I had gathered from the community.
As I researched a variety of vendors and technologies around the country, I finally discovered the perfect solution in my own “backyard”. St. Paul’s own 3M had recently innovated a digital print system called “Electrostatic Scotchprint”. The company generously donated their services to photograph my original artwork, digitze it, and produce the 30’ x 70’ print (on a vinyl substrate). In 1992, large format digital print technology was still very new—and the idea of utilizing it for an artistic mural was certainly innovative. Currently, more and more public art / outdoor murals are utilizing computer and digital print technology.
As I researched a variety of vendors and technologies around the country, I finally discovered the perfect solution in my own “backyard”. St. Paul’s own 3M had recently innovated a digital print system called “Electrostatic Scotchprint”. The company generously donated their services to photograph my original artwork, digitze it, and produce the 30’ x 70’ print (on a vinyl substrate). In 1992, large format digital print technology was still very new—and the idea of utilizing it for an artistic mural was certainly innovative. Currently, more and more public art / outdoor murals are utilizing computer and digital print technology.
Facing the Real and the Imagined: Crime, Violence and Fear in America
mixed media paintings © 1995
I received a Research and Development grant from Forecast Public Artworks in Minneapolis to create a series of billboards based on fear and violence in America. The images below are several prototype-paintings I created for this project.
