Area Voices: Nemeth Art Center exhibits ‘Couples Counseling’ series

PARK RAPIDS — The Nemeth Art Center has a “Couples Counseling” series, where they feature artist couples that exhibit together. The latest features Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez and Charley Friedman.

Both were interested in art from a young age. Friedemann-Sánchez grew up on a farm and made drawings outside of petals and leaves.

“I just always knew that I was an artist,” said Friedemann-Sánchez on Area Voices on the KAXE Morning Show.

Friedman grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and in kindergarten, he went home for lunch, but usually, he did not eat. He just drew at the kitchen table the entire time.

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Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez and Charley Friedman

“I would just always be drawing on a piece of paper, always drawing either things that I saw or things that were in my brain,” Friedman said.

When Friedemann-Sánchez graduated from high school in Colombia, she went straight into art school and never looked back. Friedman, however, didn’t think of art as a career until he was in college. After taking a few art classes, he got the bug, and art became a passion.

The work

Friedemann-Sánchez’s work is unique by combining different art styles like painting, sculpture and found objects. She said she became inspired after reading the book The Savage Detectives by Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño, which featured a complex narrative told by 40 different narrators.

“And it kind of hit me then, that why couldn't I make a complex narrative, too, told in different ways?" Friedemann-Sánchez said.

"And so, I started making sculptures and books. ... And I needed the freedom to be able to move from medium to medium, and that has been very convenient because it allows me to kind of take a breather.”

Friedman works in sculpture, photography and drawing. He explores the way images and objects can take on value, whether it’s something sacred or consumable. He also approaches his artwork with the same enthusiasm, whether pieces tackle bigger cultural issues or small personal ones.

“You just have to listen to the artwork and the artwork will tell you what it wants to be and what direction it needs to go in,” Friedman said.

Friedemann-Sánchez added that she thinks of artists as being antennas of the world, along with poets, writers, musicians and people in the creative arts.

“We're always trying to make sense of the world that we live in. And I don't know, for me, I'm interested in looking at history and understanding history and how that history has brought us to the present,” Friedemann-Sánchez said.

Inspiration

Friedemann-Sánchez said her inspiration comes from going back and forth between Colombia and the United States, along with historical research to help her understand the legacy of the past and how it reflects in the present.

Friedman said inspiration comes from observation.

“The key is to always have all of your senses open, and that's how I try to live my life from the moment I wake up until I go to bed. I am trying to consume reality,” Friedman said.

Friedemann-Sánchez also said migration plays a huge role in her work.

It can be a big shock for migrants moving to another country, trying to learn everything, including how to survive in their new home, she said. She added how important it is to her, while assimilating, to not lose what she left behind.

“It's migrating from South America to North America. It's presenting to the world how similar those two Americas are and an identity as an American from the Americas,” Friedemann-Sánchez said.

Friedman started incorporating humor into his pieces.

“I was looking at my own cultural baggage and being raised Jewish. I realized that under the cultural umbrella of being Jewish, Jews have often used humor to deal with tragedy and to deal with atrocities," he said.

"So, it's come out as a way to deal with anti-Semitism and with bigotry, and it comes out with humor. ... I thought that was conceptually an interesting thing. An interesting device to talk about complex and not always pleasant issues.”

Friedman also looks at people who see his work as participants rather than just viewers. He wants people to envelop his work not only intellectually but also emotionally. He feels humor allows him to do that more effectively.

Park Rapids experience

Both described a pleasant experience working with the Nemeth Arts Center for their exhibits. They’re especially happy to share their work together and showcase the connecting threads.

“We have very different practices, but when you put them in the same room, there's lots of connective tissue between us. And you don't see it on the surface because we work generally in different materials," Friedman said. "... I always think that the underlying issues that we're interested in come out, which is a real pleasure. It's a real pleasure.”

Their exhibits at the Nemeth Art Center are up until Sept. 30. You can find more of their work at Friedemann-Sánchez’s and Friedman’s website.

Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.

Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.