Winter Carnival @ St. Paul, MN
Monday 09 February @ 15:56:02 |
 by Valerie Valentine
Bundled against subzero temperatures and blinded by snow glare, many Minnesotans may marvel at their own audacity to occupy a near-Siberian environment. The St. Paul Winter Carnival shows Minnesotans for the brave souls that we are, and thumbs its nose at the (perhaps slightly saner) inhabitants of warmer worlds. During the Carnival, we suffer the chill and we like it.
If you’re looking for artwork at the Winter Carnival, it’s not hard to find. The Landmark Center (or, “King’s Castle”) in downtown Saint Paul is brimming with visuals. On the third floor in a former courtroom, Showcase Saint Paul Art Show intends to represent community talent through a juried exhibit of local artists.
Landscape paintings evoke still summer days of greenery and sunshine, a cheerful reminder that other seasons will eventually exist. The lush impressionism of Kathy Gates Gilmore and David Willits celebrates the temperate moments in our climate, and record rural visions that are becoming rare due to sprawl and development.
There are splashes of well-known, new and diverse talent amidst these nature paintings. The illustrious Frank J. Brown’s clay work, “Full Circle – Not Yet,” details a visual cycle of African American history towards liberation and equality. Inclusion of Ray Rolfe’s abstraction, “Psychedelic Shaman as Pop Artist,” positively indicates Minnesotan’s acceptance of art from the fringe, in this case, a homeless man. Carly Stein Schmitt hails cityscapes in the gorgeous shadowbox, “Toledo,” and with a huge cutout, “Parallel City,” where a burly figure leans on a skyscraper.
Besides the fine arts Showcase, we’ve got winter-specific art in Minnesota. The Ice Castle’s shimmering architecture is testament to Minnesotan’s endurance in the harsh climate. The brevity of its existence reminds us that winter shall indeed pass, but why not enjoy it, for what it’s worth?
Similarly, the temporality of the ice and snow sculptures reflects value in momentary beauty. Artists require rugged resilience; there’s no cozy studio when you’re creating with frozen water. Snow sculptors built beings that are breathtaking; these larger-than-life wizards, goalies, birds and mythic creatures would make your humble snowman sulk with envy.
In Rice Park, culinary artists explore the wildly creative, carving far beyond your typical ice-swan-in-the-buffet. We’ve got “Larry the Robot,” studying a book on human physiology, looking totally surreal. Thinking about the shimmering ice pixies’ melting demise, or the slow, disintegrating drip of the prizewinning ice dragons, one almost laments the end of winter. Almost.
Through Sunday, Feb. 8
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