Minneapolis 55408 @ Intermedia Arts
Wednesday 31 July @ 11:01:51 |
 by Jenny Assef
On a map, the 55408 zip code is a grid of rigid lines, numbered streets spanning the gap between Lake of the Isles and Highway 35.
The zone encompasses disparate neighborhoods, often linked by little more than roads. And yet, for the seventh year running, Intermedia Arts’ Minneapolis 55408 exhibit provides a connection: what 55408 residents have in common is an endless desire to create.
You can see it in the artists’ resourcefulness. Monty Nielsen’s collage combines labels, warnings, and logos from old spray paint cans, while Cathy Camper’s intricate mosaic is constructed entirely of seeds. Near a window facing Lyndale Avenue, Michelle Winowiak’s “Filters” features plastic page protectors, a la Office Max, strung like laundry on the line.
The sheer variety in Minneapolis 55408 could overwhelm if it didn’t go down so smooth. The exhibit feels distinctly personal, like being invited inside for cold drinks. Ket Khambounmy’s “My Family” made me linger the longest. Shot from a child’s-eye view, the photo highlights a boy and girl whose gaze the camera seeks but does not grasp. The children look elsewhere, inattentive, restless in the summer heat.
If Khambounmy’s children lived next door to you, you might commit yourself more fully to making the neighborhood safe. Remembering the stickers that identified “safe houses” in his own childhood, co-curator Peter Haakon Thompson created “Scarlet A’s,” signs featuring large red A’s above the message, “The household displaying this letter supports arts, artists and the ideas they contribute to our neighborhood.” All visitors to Minneapolis 55408 are invited to take an A for their own front window.
It wouldn’t be right to talk about this exhibit without pointing out the following two artists: Erin Garey, whose pastel portrait “Breath” simultaneously defines the words elegant and spare, and Joe Nixon, whose larger-than-life painting “1234” proves he is an artist to watch out for. I could say his work is Basquiat-meets-Pollock with a here-and-now flair, but the truth is, he’s got his own style. Nixon is preternaturally, almost alarmingly talented, and thankfully, very young. We can cross our fingers and hope for much more.
Minneapolis 55408 runs through Aug. 18. Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Avenue South. 612-871-4444. The gallery is open every day, noon to 5 p.m.
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