The work of four alumni artists was honored during a reception for the Alumni Art Show Friday, Sept. 16 at the Gallery St. Germain.
The Alumni Art Show featured 29 pieces of artwork by St. Cloud State Alumni and was displayed through Sept. 24 at the Gallery St. Germain, 921 W. St. Germain St.
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The 29 pieces in the show were chosen from 93 pieces submitted by 35 alumni artists.
The juried exhibition was the first of 11 Creative Art Series events to be held throughout the 2016-17 academic year.
The Alumni Art Show is being held in conjunction with the St. Cloud State Alumni Association, Office of Alumni Relations, Paramount Center for the Arts and the South Side University Neighborhood Association.
Four artists earned recognition for their works. The Alumni Art Show winners were revealed during a reception Sept. 16 during Celebrate St. Cloud State.
Winners included: First place, Julie Christensen ’05 for “The Nurse Who Loved Me”; second place, Blake Weld ’11 for “Alley Blur”; third place, Andrew Nordin for “Rope Dancer”; and honorable mention, Mic Stowell ’78 ’83 for “Untitled 7”. Cash prizes were awarded to the first three finishers.
Hear from the winners in their own words:
First place: Julie Christensen ’05
“The Nurse Who Loved Me”
Major: Fine Arts, with an emphasis in printmaking.
Julie Christensen’s “The Nurse Who Loved Me”
Q: What drew you to art?
A: As a young child, I would draw pictures in my mind as I was trying to fall asleep and realized that I could draw anything in my mind’s eye this way. The next day, I would re-envision the image(s) and try to replicate them on paper the same way I drew them in my mind. This became a way for me to observe and look at things in the world more closely — to notice how things appear from certain angles, how they move, how sunlight hits objects and landscapes, etc. I first became drawn to visual art through this practice because it helped me to understand my surroundings more intimately, genuinely continuing to evolve from there.”
Q: What are you doing now?
A: “I am currently working for a strategic marketing company in St. Paul, helping to initiate a new division of the company through screenprint/design work. It is a new endeavor for me and is proving to be both exciting and rewarding.”
Q: What is it like being part of an alumni art show at St. Cloud State?
A: “It’s definitely quite an honor to have my piece selected and also it is interesting to see how my peers and fellow alma mater graduates have developed artistically over the years. I also enjoy seeing the variety of media and varying degrees of subject matter among the pieces that were chosen to be part of the alumni show, and I am looking forward to meeting some of the artists at the opening as well.”
Q: What pieces did you submit to the show? Why did you choose them?
A: “I submitted three pieces that were all connected by theme, not necessarily by aesthetic. They used their respective media differently, to reverberate similar subjects surrounding the reactions of beings in crisis. Desperate times… (as the saying goes), well, they have the potential to produce strange and emphatic outcomes. My interest in this point of our existence as instinctual, intellectual and naturally self-serving creatures is the reason that I chose these similarly allegorical pieces for this exhibition.”
Q: What defines you as an artist?
A: “Right now, I think the evolution of my ideas organically translating to graphic prints and carvings to achieve optimal representation is what defines my practice and purpose as an artist. I am at a point in my life where this occurs naturally and am glad to be able to let it happen without any heavy manipulation or planning.”
Second Place: Blake Weld ’11
“Alley Blur”
Major: Fine Arts, with an emphasis in photography
Blake Weld’s “Alley Blur”
Q: What drew you to art?
A: “As a photographer, I like to believe it is through this idea of perception and how we see and experience our world around us. We all experience the world differently, and it is through art that in a way gives a platform for diverse conversations with others that brought me into the art world.”
Q: What are you doing now?
A: “I am pursuing a Master in Fine Arts at University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.”
Q: “What is it like being part of an alumni art show at St. Cloud State?”
A: “I am extremely honored to be part of the alumni art show. St. Cloud State, the faculty and my colleagues in the art department have played such a huge role in my career as an artist as well as my outlook on life. I am so thankful for meeting them and having them be part of my life.”
Q: What pieces did you submit to the show? Why did you choose them?
“I submitted a piece called “Alley Blur.” It’s part of a series of work where I was really fascinated with these ideas of this illusive character that simple wanders his surroundings, a passive observer that walks for the simple enjoyment of being. Honestly, after I started this series I realized that I was becoming in some way the suburban rendition of Big Foot.”
Q: What defines you as an artist?
A: “Perhaps it is these ideas — of being absurd and somewhat under-handedly humorous.”
Third Place: Andrew Nordin
“Rope Dancer”
Major: Fine Arts, with an emphasis in graphic design and painting
Andrew Nordin’s “Rope Dancer”
Q: What drew you to art?
A: “I always made drawings, but my time at St. Cloud State solidified my interest in art as a career path.”
Q: What are you doing now?
A: “I teach art and run the gallery program at Ridgewater College. I am also an adjunct instructor in the art department at St. Cloud State.”
Q: “What is it like being part of an alumni art show at St. Cloud State?”
A: I know a lot of great alumni that were peers when I attended, but many are alumni from different times. I’m proud to be a part of great history.”
Q: What pieces did you submit to the show? Why did you choose them?
A: “I submitted a work titled “Rope Dancer” as it is something brand new.”
Honorable Mention: Mic Stowell ’78 ’83
“Untitled 7”
Major: Art
Mic Stowell’s Untitled works
Q: What drew you to art?
A: “Simply, I like it. I like making things and the transformation that occurs when firing a clay object.”
Q: What are you doing now?
A: “I live and have a studio in South Minneapolis, and I am an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota.”
Q: “What is it like being part of an alumni art show at St. Cloud State?”
A: “It’s great. I think that the exhibition space is being well-run and making a valuable contribution to St. Cloud.”
Q: What pieces did you submit to the show? Why did you choose them?
A: “I choose the pieces that are in the show because they represent the current direction of my work.”
