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KAXE Programs -
Culturology
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With Travis Ryder and
volunteer/freelance contributors
Select Thursdays at 8:10 a.m.
Discover and get involved with the broad and
deep world of arts and culture in Northern
Minnesota. Each edition features profiles of
artists from a wide spectrum of creativity,
from painters, potters and sculptors to
fine-arts and heritage musicians, authors
and poets. The program also endeavors to be
an entry point into the rich cultural past
and present of our region.
Join in the
cultural conversation by using the calendar
of events, and providing stories and reviews
of events you attend. A variety of arts and
culture voices, textures, and topics await
you select Thursday mornings in the 8
o'clock hour.
The program is made possible
with support from the Minnesota Arts and
Cultural Heritage Fund.
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Culturology Blogs: Click here for the latest
Culture Calendar and story information. |
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The Latest
Programs:
 Feb,
2, 2012
Mary Strother
discusses how her art
has evolved to her current medium of toned
and hand painted photography, and how she
gathers her subject matter. Her art appears
during February at The
MacRostie Art Center.
Jan.
19, 2012
Stipple artist
Rob Christensen talks about his
progression toward settling on such a
precise and time consuming style of drawing.
Rob also discusses his process for choosing
the subject matter in his current exhibition
at the
Lyric Center for the Arts in Virginia.
Lisi
Wright
of
Galactic Cowboy Orchestra talks with
Dave Lathrop about their two recent full
length releases, and about making this
diverse sounding band work both in the
studio and on stage.
Jan.
5, 2012
Travis Ryder talks
with Katie Marshall from the
MacRostie Art Center about this months
exhibits. Steve Saari also joins Travis to
preview art exhibits, short film showcases,
and the
Saarens Productions upcoming
presentation of "Ruby Lips Above the Water"
taking place at the Wild Rose Theater in
Bemidji during January.
Dec.
29,
2011
Diane Pittman tells
about a New Year's Day tradition on two
wheels in Bemidji; we catch up with young MN
blues-rock guitar slinger Trent Romens; and
Jamie Lee shares her memories of ice skating
with her dad.
Dec.
1,
2011
Justin Cook previews
the Christmas concert this weekend at the
historic log church in Coleraine; the
history of Isle Royale's earliest users and
inhabitants; and Travis' special
comment on throwing the pigskin on
Thanksgiving weekend.
Nov.
10,
2011
A visit with the
members of Bipolar Bear, headlining the
Terrapin Fest at Terrapin Station in Nevis
this weekend. Patrick Dewane talks
about his grandfather's World War II service
and the upcoming show, The Accidental
Hero. 14 year-old cellist Maggie
Anderson talks about the thrill of working
with professional musicians from the
Minnesota Orchestra.
Sept.
29,
2011
In light of the
Pagami Creek blaze, Ed Nelson from the
Forest History Center reviews our
state's worst forest fire disasters.
Jo Wood tells us about her intricate
bead art and her role in the
Bemidji Community Art Center's current
programs.
Bemidji Symphony director Beverly
Everett visits about their adventurous
season, which begins Sunday.
Sept.
15, 2011
The Ervens show off and discuss their work
with bent willow in advance of the Goods
from the Woods artisan show this weekend,
and we hear about the Caravan du Nord music
showcase and workshops for working popular
musicians. Plus the Culturology
Calendar and the Minnesota History Datebook.
Sept.
1, 2011
Dave Lathrop goes to the races,
watercolorist Lory Worthing tells us what
art does for her soul, the Grand Rapids high
school marching band hits the road, and
Chris Quaal Vinson mistakenly cheers for
Barney in a Tennessee ball game. |
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Submit poetry,
prose, event reviews, or story ideas. |
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Recent Story
Highlights: |
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"In Search of
Enough" - Travelling exhibit on Display at
MacRostie Art Center.
Art that examines to
idea of having enough inhabits the MacRostie
Art Center during January.
by
Travis Ryder
January 13, 2012
What do consider
to be enough? Do you have enough physically,
emotionally? If you already have enough are
you willing to share what you have with
someone who doesn't? "In Search of Enough"
is part of a statewide effort to eliminate
poverty in Minnesota by 2020. Director of
the
MacRostie Art Center, Katie Marshall
joins Travis Ryder to discuss the art in
this travelling exhibition which examimes to
concept of having "enough."
The exhibit also features art created, with
guidance from artist Lea Friesen, by
students from the Northern Lights Community
School in Warba.
Katie
Marshall talks about "In Search of Enough."
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Willow shoots
become graceful seating
Don and Pa tti Erven's
furniture and decor items will be at Goods
from the Woods, Sept. 17
by
Travis Ryder
September 15, 2011
Don
Erven first took up willow work 24 years ago
when he was a teacher in Togo. Now he
and his wife Patti build chairs of several
sizes, garden benches, and even loveseats
from fresh, pliable willow boughs.
They also have home items like coat racks,
picture frames, and custom signs made from
smaller pieces of willow.
The Ervens and 70 other artisans will show
their Northwoods-oriented wares on Saturday,
Sept. 17 at the IRA Civic Center in Grand
Rapids.
Don
and Patti Erven, willow artisans
Learn more about Goods from the
Woods here.
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From defunct
train yard to cultural centerpiece?
Range man hopes to
rebuild Mitchell Yards engine house as metal
sculpture, performance center
by Travis Ryder
August 8, 2011
From 1906 to
the early 1960s, the steam trains of the
Duluth, Missabe and Northern and its
descendent, the DM&IR, were housed, serviced
and fueled in a massive brick building just
north of Hibbing. These trains hauled
the ore that became American skyscrapers,
and the Allied ships, tanks and munitions of
two World Wars. Bob Dylan would have
heard the whistles from this yard, perhaps
fueling the frequent references to trains in
his songs and poems.
After the switch to diesel locomotives, this
building spent five decades slipping into
disrepair and ignoble service as a
scrapyard. Now, the owner of the
Mitchell Yards engine house and its 80-acre
grounds has a grand plan to give this relic
a new, proud future.
 David
Aho at the Mitchell Yards
Find
Aho's plans and images of the yards' past
and present here.
Aho's metal sculpture work can be seen here.
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Effie native
stars in McNally Smith production of
Godspell
Jake Rahier and
company bring the show to Bigfork
by Travis Ryder
August 11, 2011
 The
NcNally Smith College of Music
production of the smash musical Godspell
came to
The Edge Center in Bigfork this
weekend. And with it comes Effie native and
2008 Bigfork High School alumnus Jake
Rahier. Rahier has the lead role of
Jesus.
Culturology 8-11-2011: Jake Rahier
on "Godspell"
Performances were at 7 p.m.
Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at The Edge
Center, adjacent to Bigfork High School.
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Loon Opera keeps
it fresh
Director Abe Hunter
makes his case for vibrance of form with
Figaro this weekend
by Travis Ryder
July 28, 2011
The Loon Opera Company is out to prove
that opera is not stuffy, but fresh and
exciting. Their production of The
Marriage of Figaro is on stage in
Bemidji Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., at
the BSU Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex. I spoke
with artistic director Abe Hunter, a
Bemidji-based freelance pianist and artistic
director of the troupe. His company is in
its second year of producing opera. Hear my
interview with him and performances from a
recent rehearsal here:
Abe
Hunter and the Loon Opera Company
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Puppetry is
not just for playtime
Theresa Linnihan offers giant
puppet-building and improv workshops
by Travis Ryder
July 12, 2011
Puppets aren’t just child’s play. They’re a
longstanding theatrical tradition and they
can take on serious roles on stage and in
the public square. That’s part of what
Theresa Linnihan is going to be teaching in
a series of workshops starting this week in
Grand Rapids. Linnihan has run a children’s
theatre in Massachusetts, and worked with
the improv group Brave New Workshop in
Minneapolis. Now she works with the
Czech-American Marionette Theatre and
the
Puppeteers' Cooperative in New York.
She’s visiting family here this summer and
presenting
sessions on puppet building and
improvisation at MacRostie Art Center.
I started my interview with her by asking
about how puppetry helped her children’s
theatre performances adapt to an outdoor
space:
Theresa Linnihan on Puppets, Improv,
and this summer's workshops |
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