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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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The Weather Reports
Wednesday 08 November @ 11:53:19 |
 LIBERTY FINCH
Melisande Charles is not your average granny. At 75, this sharp-witted matron prefers computers to crocheting, and has dedicated her most recent work, The Weather Reports, to measuring the political barometer of our society. The exhibit is prominently on display in Gallery 13 through Nov. 14, then will move to the back of the space.
 Artistically her work blends historical elements with Pop and abstract art, as well as expressionism and computer-generated design. Impressions from this exhibit of stunning graphics and pithy prose are likely to stay with you long after you’ve left the gallery.
The Weather Reports is a series of limited edition postcards that Charles created during cross-country travels that began in 2002. Recovering from a major illness, she embarked by train to visit friends in the west and escape the Minnesota chill. Armed with a laptop computer and digital camera, Charles describes her early postcards as “tame seasonal tributes that celebrated the wonder of still being on earth.” But as her journey continued, her attention began to shift to the political landscape, where she “began to take the temperature of the American political climate.”
As her mailing list grew, so did her fervor to speak out against the administration and its policies. The Weather Reports combines arresting, satirical imagery with pithy, critical prose and covers many of the political shenanigans of the last four and a half years, including the war in Iraq, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, botched domestic policies, the Valerie Plame hijinx and the Jack Abramhoff scandal.
Charles is as clever with words as she is accomplished with imagery, so plan on taking your time with this exhibit. It all commands attention, from the poster-sized digital prints, to the poetic musings on the postcards. Even the individual titles of each piece are relevant.
In “The Yellow Cake Road” Charles turns the light on New York Times reporter and former jailbird Judith Miller in a colorful rendering that harkens back to a 1950s Betty Crocker-esque era of female domesticity. On the postcard Charles writes, “Judy, Judy, Judy. She just loves to cook up WMD stews and to bake yellow cake for the boys to enjoy. She keeps recipes secret and prefers to go to jail rather than divulge any ingredients. A true domestic diva who can also whip up a wicked batch of the Lying Virus and can launch it under the cover of All the News That's Fit to Print.”
The Weather Reports showcases about 30 postcards, but Charles' work is far from finished. She intends to fuse art and politics for as long as she can. For an $80 subscription fee you can join the mailing list and receive copies of her latest postcards.
Gallery 13 owner Steve Sugarman says he’s working with others to move Charles’ work from galleries to public spaces. “I think Melisande is one of the best digital artists in the Twin Cities. We’d like to find corporate support so we can do outdoor installations, such as billboards,” he says, adding, “She is very well read and her work is well researched. Melisande puts ideas together in a way that's not dishonest or propagandistic, but as an incarnation of what's happening.” ||
The Weather Reports runs through Nov. 14, then moves to the back of the gallery. Gallery 13 is located at 302 13th Ave. NE, Mpls. 651-592-5503 or gallery13.com. Hours are Wed. noon-4 p.m.; Thu. & Sun. 1-6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 1-8 p.m.
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