Makers

On Thursday, I was told that the News Tribune was forced to cut my position due to slipping revenues. Several other newsroom positions were also cut.

I feel bad about this because this means that there will be no arts and entertainment reporter on staff. Without that position, I fear that the arts and music I love in this city won’t get covered.

You will  perhaps see my byline occasionally on freelance work (unless posting this blog entry  is somehow against the rules!) but as you know that’s not at all the same as having someone on staff covering this beat.

If this dismays you, let the paper know.

And keep in touch–I will be writing for other venues as well, and I would like to hear about your events. My home email is klefkal@cpinternet.com, and my cell phone is 218-393-9149.

Love to you all, and thanks!

Ann Klefstad

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is a wonderful place, hundreds of acres out in Chaska (you likely pass it on your way to the Rennaissance Fair in Shakopee) that’s both a study resource (it’s part of the U of M) and just a hell of a garden, or actually lots of gardens. Every year they do a show of outdoor sculpture and landscape art, and it’s time to submit your ideas. What follows is their Call for Entries.

Call for Entries for Waterosity 2009 Summer Exhibition

Waterosity: Go Green with a Splash is the theme of the Minnesota
Landscape Arboretums summer 2009 exhibition, opening June 6.  Waterosity will
feature a juried exhibition of 10 innovative designs that explore the interplay
of people, plants and water.
Designs may consider waters beauty, its
life-giving nature for plants and people and our stewardship of this most
precious resource.  Designs may include water, but this is not a
requirement.

The Arboretum encourages proposals that consider the
exhibitions theme from diverse perspectives, including those of artists,
designers, architects, landscape architects, horticulturists, scientists,
educators, environmental organizations, or perhaps a collaborative team of
these. 

Waterosity also will feature exhibits on sustainable landscape
practices including rainwater harvesting and water-efficient lawns.

A
mandatory pre-proposal meeting for all interested parties will be conducted from
1 to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, at the Arboretum. Please RSVP by Oct. 8 with
Thom Dreeze, Arboretum events coordinator, at 952 443-1425 or dreez001@umn.edu.  Only those who attend this
meeting may submit an entry.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, Nov. 21.
Ten winning designs will be announced on Dec. 2. Two levels of stipends toward
construction and installation costs will be awarded:  four stipends at the
$5,000 level and six stipends at the $2,500 level.  Winners names will appear
in Arboretum promotional materials.  Winning designers will meet with Arboretum
staff in January to discuss installation and maintenance.  Winners will install
their designs on Arboretum grounds in May.   For more information: www.arboretum.umn.edu.

Doomtree

The (semi)annual Hip Hop Back to School show starts 2 p.m. Saturday at Bayfront Festival
Park, and runs til 10 p.m.

Headlining this year is Doomtree featuring
all members of the crew, a Duluth
first. Their new record sat at #1 on
the CMJ hip hop charts; they just did a sold-out concert at the hallowed venue First Ave in Minneapolis. Doomtree’s part of the rich Twin Cities hiphop scene, characterized by both complex sound and thoughtful lyrics. The wonderful and playful
Heiruspecs will also perform, along with the Crest, Unknown Prophets, Die[Ode],
Smokey Bogart, Parallax and Catalyst Dialog.

heiruspecs

Food and drinks from the Brewhouse will be available.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.myspace.com/hiphopbacktoschool
and locally at Electric Fetus and Damage Boardshop for only $15.

"The RNC Look," by Ann Marsden

Twin Cities photographer Ann Marsden attended the RNC and gathered a few pretty amazing portfolios of photos. See them on her blog here. Do you know of other artwork inspired by the conventions that you want people to know about? Let us know, ok?

The upcoming Sept 25 Wave will be on art and politics. I’d like to focus on that on the web as well. If you have suggestions, post them here.

Thanks!

Last week I got this email about the touring production of "Chicago" that’s coming to town next Monday.

"In the WAVE on page 3 of todays’ edition is a picture of the cast of ‘Chicago,’ the Broadway musical coming to Duluth. In the picture, to the left of Roxie is David Raimo, Jr., from Duluth.
"He’s a 2003 graduate of Denfeld High School. He and Ben Elledge were both cast members of the winter and spring 2008 touring company of ‘Chicago.’"

The woman who sent me the email is Raimo’s mother, Julianne Raimo–mothers make the best press agents. Aspiring actors, treat your mothers well!

Elledge played Amos Hart; David alternated between the lead roles of Roxie’s murdered lover Fred Casely or Roxie’s attorney Billy Flynn.

Says Julianne, "David actually loved the role of Fred because it allowed him to dance and sing more than playing Billy Flynn. David is based out of NY City now, and this summer played the lead as Joe Hardy in "Damn Yankees" for the Premier Theatre, and the lead of Fantasticks as well. This year he plays the role of Munk Strap for the "Cats" national tour. David has also done commercials and voiceovers while in NY City as well. David thoroughly enjoyed his time with Ben and the cast of "Chicago.""

Our local thespians are thriving, it appears, in many far-flung locales. Does anyone know of more wandering Duluthian performers? Drop me a line if so . . .

The Minnehaha window to be sold is on the right, next to the door. The other window is not to be sold. Photo by Bob King, Duluth News Tribune.

This morning I got these emails about the proposed sale of the Minnehaha window, to be debated tonight (Monday, Sept. at the City Council meeting:

Penny Clark is a glass artist who also runs a gallery, and she’s upset that the city is looking to sell the Minnehaha window. Here’s her take on it:

If you know me well you know that I don’t ask for help often but I am passionate about the absolute need to keep the "Minnehaha" Tiffany window in Duluth. I am appalled that this current . . . administration feels that they have the right to sell one of our most treasured cultural masterpieces to help balance the city’s budget.

More about that window…

A note from Samantha Gibb Roff, Executive Director, Duluth Art Institute:

It is a very sad thing that the city has been put in a position of selling off its valuable cultural assets. As an administrator, I understand the pressure Mayor Don Ness and the City Council are under to balance the budget and secure a good credit rating for Duluth and its future.

–Samantha Gibb Roff

Sometimes I get news about bands too late to wedge them into an already sort of overcrowded Wave section (we get a lot of good music in this town). Such was the case with Sick of Sarah, an all-girl band from Minneapolis with a Babes in Toyland alum. They’re loud and fun and they all have legs nine miles long. What’s not to like? And besides, they’re playing with our own The Keep Aways and Nina the Pinta.

Hear the girls on their Myspace page.

They play at Pizza Luce at 10 p.m. tonight, which is Friday, so get your stuff done so you can go see them.

my boat Star at anchor off Sand Island.

You may have noticed a shocking lack of blogging activity here this summer. Why? Because in Duluth the temptation to just live instead of make stuff is overwhelming when the sun shines.

Instead of making art or taking it in, I’ve been sailing and swimming and walking and running and biking. And though I could blog about that til the cows come home, it doesn’t seem to quite fit the mandate.

Politics, however, are fair game for all bloggers during convention season, right? So here’s a political sailing story:

Last evening I was sailing on the harbor, dusk began to fall, so I fired up the outboard to head for the dock. I had to pick up my daughter after her play practice, so I was in a little bit of a hurry. The wind had quit, and what little breezes there were were contrary. Suddenly my motor quit, and I couldn’t get it to start again. Then I realized I didn’t have my radio with me. And that I’d left my cell phone in the car. Oops.

So I got out the headlamp and started waving it at a passing sailboat, who loaned me a cellphone and also radioed for a tow. Bless them!

A little while later, a powerboat crewed by kindly souls responded to the tow request, and pulled up. But after I handed them my bowline, they said, "Before we give you a tow, we have to know who you’re voting for."

It was a moment of truth. I mean, powerboaters and sailboaters are sorta like red states and blue states. My father, a devoted ChrisCraft owner, was a Goldwater Republican all his life.

But I thought, now’s the time to live your convictions. So I told the truth. Obama, I said, hoping they’d forgive me. But to my surprise, they cheered!

When powerboaters cheer for the skinny black guy, things are definitely looking up.

Italian Cinema  at St. Scholastica, October 17 -18

3 MOVIES! 2 DAYS!! 1 COUNTRY!!!

Three masterworks of Italian cinema by three of the greatest directors in film history will be screened over two days in the CSS Science Auditorium. Timeless and relevant, these three films represent a small sampling of one of the most important national film industries outside Hollywood.  Admission is free and catering is provided.  Each film will be introduced by CSS faculty.  All movies will be digitally projected.

Friday, October 17, 6:30pm:  Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957, 118m). Fellini’s classic character study involves the emotional life of a Roman prostitute named Cabiria, played by the incomparable Giulietta Masina, Fellini’s on-screen muse and off-screen spouse.  In a performance for the ages, Masina empathetically evokes both Charlie Chaplin’s lovable tramp and the inner life of a defiant figure in tragic times who refuses to let life destroy her innocent worldview as she looks for love.

 Saturday, October 18, 2:30pm:  The Flowers of St. Francis (Roberto Rossellini, 1950, 87m) Sponsored by CSS Catholic Studies, Rossellini’s masterpiece is a study in minimalist understatement.  Composed of nine morally instructive episodes from the life of St. Francis, in true neorealist style this film notably features non-professional actors, indeed actual monks, in its starring roles.  Meditative and finally transcendent, this lesser known title strikingly reflects Italy’s cultural relationship with Catholic principles.

Saturday, October 18, 6:30pm:  Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948, 89m) Few films in the entire history of cinema have enjoyed both the critical and popular response of De Sica’s neorealist triumph.  With De Sica’s signature pathos for his characters on full display, this towering monument to the virtues of elegant simplicity depicts in moving detail the relationship between a father and his son in economically deprived post-War Italy.  It is a film about family, country, and ultimately the human condition.  Celebrating the 60^th anniversary of its release, Bicycle Thieves is an appropriately poignant conclusion to this Italian film festival.

from "Hustle and Flow"

Chris Godsey is doing a hip-hop film series at the College of Saint Scholastica this fall–be sure to put it on your calendar. It oughta be fun. See below:

professor guttergrit productions and The Supreme Dignitas Rockers present The College of St. Scholastica Fall Hip-Hop Film Series, Wednesday nights at 8:00 sharp in Science Auditorium 2122 (15 October’s showing is in Science 3211). Admission is $1 benefitting the Damiano Center.

10 September
Wild Style

17 September
80 Blocks from Tiffany’s

24 September
Beat Street

1 October
The Freshest Kids

8 October
Infamy

15 October
(in Science 3211)
Breakin’
and
Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo

22 October
Scratch

29 October
8 Mile

5 November
The Show

12 November
Krush Groove

19 November
Deep Crates and Deep Crates 2

3 December
Hustle & Flow

10 December
Bomb It

For more information contact Chris Godsey at cgodsey@css.edu or 218.310.8048