MANKATO —
Psst. Don’t tell the folks in San Francisco, New York or Minneapolis -- but Brian Frink believes you may not have to travel outside your own backyard to find innovative contemporary art.
“There is this model of thinking that new styles migrate outward from the city to the rest of the world,” said the Minnesota State University art instructor. “I just think that’s totally on its head now, and I don’t think people realize it.
“I think there are artists living in places like Mankato that are cutting edge.”
With that notion, Frink began conceiving the idea behind Rural America Contemporary Art.
During a blizzard two winters ago, Frink started the Rural America Contemporary Art organization on Facebook. Artists in the region began joining almost instantly. Soon, word of Frink’s radical new idea began proliferating in social media circles and artists from Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa and elsewhere began joining. Now, membership numbers more than 850 artists from across the country.
Seeing that others believed in the artistic paradigm he was theorizing, Frink created a website -- www.racart.org -- and started a blog. Last December, he curated an impressive exhibition of works created by RACA members at the Arts Center of St. Peter.
Now, he’s launching a twice-yearly online magazine to showcase the work of rural artists as well as discuss the wider implications of a traditional artistic hierarchy that has been turned on its rural ears.
The first issue debuts in the next week.
“Now, there is no hierarchy,” said Frink, who has hosted art parties at his rural Mankato home (which is also the former site of the Blue Earth County poor farm) with the intent of bringing together area writers, musicians, artists and creators to share and discuss their work.
“With the Internet, there is this constant flow of information. É There is a whole lot going on out there and a lot of it is happening right here.”
The website’s gallery -- which rotates about every six weeks -- features a mix of artists local and national. Among them are Gregory Euclide, an area artist whose work was featured on the cover of Bon Iver’s recent Grammy-winning album and has held several exhibitions across the country of his ephemeral, fantastic landscapes that combine sculpture and painting. Also featured are husband-wife pair David Hamlow and Liz Miller of Good Thunder. The former creates large-scale, three-dimensional sculptures out of discarded items while the latter utilizes felt and foam to create similarly large-scale installations of repeating patterns that disintegrate perceptions of shape.
But the site also showcases artists like Erik Waterkotte, a rural North Carolina artist whose stunning mixed media prints and collages blur the distinctions between reality and fantasy.
Frink said both the website and the magazine will be geared toward a national audience. Content, he said, will be aimed at causal readers rather than academicians. The first issue will include contributors from around the country as well as local art thinkers like Curt Germundson, and MSU art instructor who’s writing a piece about a Mankato sculptor.
“A lot of sites tend to be too scholarly and boring,” Frink said. “We want to have stuff that is accessible and entertaining.”
Currents
Related Photos
-
Brian Frink started Rural America Contemporary Art on Facebook two years ago. Now, he;s operating a website and debuting an online magazine. Tanner Kent
-
Benjamin Gardner of Des Moines is among the artist's featured in RACA's online gallery.
-
Area artist Gregory Euclides is among the artist's featured in RACA's online gallery.
Local artist Frink creates website, magazine to showcase 'cutting edge' rural art
- Currents
-
-
Keeping the saddle warm
Clothed in a pair of decrepit cowboy boots, dusty blue jeans, a western style shirt, and a 10-gallon hat with a thick mustache resting below the nose, folk musician Pop Wagner is a man who seems to have rode horseback onto stage from the bright eye o
-
Entertainment Calendar
Today Author John Thavis “The Vatican Diaries” Q&A -- 6:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 1850 Adams St., Mankato, 345-3444. Blue Earth County Library storytime -- 10:30 a.m., Blue Earth County Library, 100 E. Main St., Mankato, free,
-
MSU grad to continue Broadway run in 'Once'
The story continues for Claire Wellin, the 2008 musical theatre graduate from the Minnesota State University Department of Theatre & Dance, who appeared on Broadway in April and May in the Tony Award-winning musical “Once.” She has been told that sh
-
'In Stitches': Bethany theatre costumes on display
'In Stitches' will be on exhibit through May 29 at the Twin Rivers Council for the Arts Gallery.
-
Fall of faith
I 35W Bridge Survivor Recounts Falling 60 Feet For Lois Welman, plummeting 60 feet during rush hour traffic when Interstate 35W’s Mississippi River Bridge collapsed on Aug. 1, 2007 -- killing 13 people and injuring 144 individuals -- was essentially
-
Partner art
ST. PETER -- Charlie Putnam and Le Ann Gehring-Ryan don't share a studio. They very seldom paint together and don't really share influences. Yet there are similarities between the artistic couple. For starters, both are teachers. Putnam has taught ar
- Exhibits Arts Center of St. Peter — Paintings by Charlie Putnam and Le Ann Gehring-Ryan, Friday through June 16 at 315 S. Minnesota Ave., St. Peter. Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Blue Earth County Library, M
-
Links to cancer still mixed for low-calorie, high-protein soy beans
Q: I have heard a lot about how healthy soy foods are for me, and that I should be eating or drinking them, but I am a bit leery because of all the talk about soy and breast cancer. Is soy a good choice, or should I avoid it? A: Soybeans are a widely
-
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
MANKATO — There are those people in life whose unyielding kindness and warmth lift up those around them, whose focus is always outward — never on themselves. Lois Jaeger, fine arts director at Bethany Lutheran College, is certainly one of those peopl
-
Cooking 101: Dana Elliott, chef, to lead Taste of Home Cooking show
MANKATO -- Dana Elliott has given interviews about food all over the country. As a seven-year "seasoned" veteran of the Taste of Home Cooking School -- as the Indianapolis chef expert wittily characterizes herself -- Elliott delivers simple, easy-to-
- More Currents Headlines
-
Did Mariah Carey Lip-Sync on Idol?
Will Smith: Jaden 'Does It the Way He Wants To'
Alice Eve Talks "Star Trek into Darkness"
$1M in Jewelry Robbed From Cannes as Emma Watson's 'Bling Ring' Steals Show
Beyoncé Pregnant With Second Child
See Kanye West's Scratched Up $750,000 Lamborghini
Justin Bieber Hit With Big Bill For Munich Monkey Business
Pucker Up - Celebrities Kissing!
See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion
Beyoncé Afraid Blue Ivy Will Hate Her Voice
Kim Kardashian Plans to Take Baby on Kanye Tour
Demi Lovato Wants to be a Mom Soon
Lindsay Lohan Gaining Weight in Rehab
Kris Allen Going Under the Knife
Jennifer Lopez Sports Sheer Top
Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev Cross Paths After Break Up
Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos
Britney Spears Indulges in Her Love For 'Junk Food'
Rihanna Pulls Up Her Pants to Avoid a Wardrobe Malfunction
J.Lo: More Kids Would Be An 'Absolute Blessing'
