Ellie Kingsbury - Photographer

Ellie Kingsbury 

Photographer

Name:                       Ellie Kingsbury

City/State:                 Minneapolis, MN

Email:                        ellie@kingsburypictures.com

Website:                    www.elliekingsbury.com

MNartist.org profile: http://mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=225477

Facebook page:       KingsburyPictures

Twitter: @                  lelebobellie

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

I have a few projects going right now.  For a few years I’ve been photographing winter bikers - sometimes a running shot, but usually more portrait style.  I’m a winter biker myself, and though I knew there’s no one type that continues their riding throughout the bad months, I never saw any documentation of it.  I thought it was important for people to see the faces of the winter biking population. Aside from that, I’m working on a project where I’m studying a shared experience between ordinary garden produce that’s irregularly formed or blemished or past its peak freshness, and middle-aged people.  The hope is that in our media-driven culture that idolizes a blemish-free youth, we find beauty and a strong life force in things that don’t fit within that predescribed archetype.  Lastly, I’m working on a series of photos of nature-made mandalas.

How did you decide to become an artist?

I got to take a photo class in 8th grade, and in it we shadowed a fine art photographer.  It became the spark for a life-long desire to question and create .  Working with my hands and being a free thinker doesn’t bode well for your average desk job, so here I am.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 

I used to feel bad if I set about making images without a clear idea of why I was doing it or where it was going.  Then someone gave me the quote “I work-but after the work, I discover the language“ (Kinji Akagawa).  This speaks to the intuitive process that artists need to honor.  Why you’re working on something is inside you, and after the images have spawned a bit you’ll find the language.  I’ve also found that writing your artist statement really helps you gain a deeper understanding of your work.  Sucks having to do it, but it’s worth it in the end.

Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself? 

Somewhere I heard you should spend 25% of your time marketing.  Not fun, but you can’t expect people to come find you.  Spend 30 minutes a day researching calls for art, contact information for galleries, putting together your next email newsletter, etc.  Also, keep a list of people who have expressed an interest in your work, and keep them up to date with current events.   

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

Rebecca Pavlenko  www.rebeccapavlenko.com

Laura Hallen              www.laurahallen.com

Beth Andrews           www.beth-andrews.com

Allen Brewer            www.allenbrewer.com

Scott Stulen              www.scottstulen.com

Jim Dryden               www.jimdryden.com

Caitlin Karolczak      www.studiosilenti.com

Keith Taylor               www.keithtaylorphoto.com

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Anywhere people have access to an amount of raw material and can put away self-criticism.  Watch what the Black Label folks do to make their tall bikes (or other huge units on wheels).  Today I saw a guy with a handmade front rack on his bike that held about 8 pizza boxes.  I didn’t know Pizza Luce delivered.....but he lifted the top flap and pulled out a beer.  Homemade beer cooler disguised as pizza boxes!  I also love what the May Day Parade or the Art Sled Rally participants think up.  Give a person a little fabric, cardboard, and paint and they just magically come up with something great.

In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

mnartists.org is the unbeatable, and I also love Springboard for the Arts.

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?

I’m part of a duo show opening on May 10th at Gallery 122.  I have some of my mandalas hanging at the Owatonna Hospital right now, and was asked if I could come back in January for a show of my garden produce still lifes.  And some of my winter biker photos will be at Altered Esthetics in June (June 6th - June 27th) The opening reception is Friday 6/7/13 7-10pm).  I’m also going to be a part of the Midtown Greenway’s art/fundraiser event “Greenway Glow”, still in concept stage. 

Altered Esthetics LAI Profile

Website

Tuck Under - Gallery Profile

TuckUnder Gallery

www.tuckunder.org

5120 York Avenue South, 

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

info(AT)tuckunder.org

For Galleries

Tell me about your gallery.

We are quirky, kooky and a tad bit off centered from the typical white cube gallery. If one was to stop by the gallery, you might smell our morning pancakes and bacon still lingering in the air.   From the street level, the gallery appears as an anonymous Archie Bunker styled home. We have three hokey butterflies, a fake woodpecker, a broken water pump, a scenic overlook, an Astroturf sculpture pad, and a raspberry patch that adorn the site. The humble midcentury environs present a peculiar and idiosyncratic interior and exterior site specific and art viewing platform.

Officially, TuckUnder is a temporary, independent artist exhibition space and sculpture site located within the Fulton neighborhood of Southwest Minneapolis.  As an alternative, hybridic home-based contemporary gallery, TuckUnder specializes in unrecognized emerging artists and curatorial collaborators, tactical institutional critique, participatory initiatives and conceptual curatorial projects. Artistic quality is based upon artist’s tactical aesthetics, participatory exchange, and conceptual fortitude rather than traditionally conservative art fair and gallery criteria. 

We are attempting to give control to artists and curators in what they choose to produce and exhibit. As an activist creative startup and non-commercial site, it has been funded by an MRAC Community Arts grant, and within the economy of the artist household. Its success is not grounded in sales, press or conventional measures set forth by the international art apparatus, but by the individual criteria set forth by the artists, curators and their exhibits. We like to engage ideas of artistic process and studio practice rather than institutional art distribution. We consider our visual artists, curators and collaborators to be partners and co-creators working in a larger ecosystem of visual cultural production. 

Who are three or four local artists who represent the quality and style of work you exhibit at your gallery?

Anne George:           
http://annegeorge.tumblr.com

Frank & Pamela Gaard:        

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Portraits-by-Frank-Pam-Gaard/132671436804022

Lisa Bergh & Andrew Nordin:

http://lisabergh.blogspot.com/

http://www.arthousenewlondon.com/

http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=134471

Scott Stulen: 
http://www.scottstulen.com/

Jehra Patrick:  
http://cargocollective.com/jehrapatrick

For Artists:

How do you prefer artists contact you regarding exhibiting in your gallery?

We prefer direct one-on-one in-person contact and love having unfocused free association meetings with coffee and/or frosty malt beverages. We are a participation and exchange model, and we begin by starting a conversation about art, ideas and project development. These dialogues happen over a period of time and a relationship is fostered. It is important that artists visit and experience the TuckUnder site as it is rather small and has unique environs. We have a call for artists/projects in January-February for the forthcoming season that is listed on our website at http://tuckunder.org/Submissions.html

What general advice would you give to artists trying to show in local galleries?

The art world and gallery scene on a local scale is meek, fickle and foible.  Showing locally takes time. Be prepared for immediate and ongoing rejection. Have patience.  Be persistent. It may take a year or more for a gallery to make a selection. Remember that gallerists and curators are human and often have lives outside of the arts. It is vital to remember that failure is a significant part of artistic success. Consider creating and developing your ideas/artwork outside of the main art stables, academic and careerist tracks. 

Despite the ongoing standard portfolio models of presenting 10-12 pieces with a canned, two to three paragraph art marketing statement, and static two page art resume, I prefer seeing lots of images, multiple portfolios and long, well written articulated statements. Unlike the push button uploads of 8 Photoshopped jpgs and a 500 character count MS Word documents for nonprofit grants and gallery cattle call deadlines, I would prefer to see idea development, large scale bodies of work, conceptual process and detail shots. Being vulnerable and showing a willingness to think outside of the application box is key to setting yourself apart from the perfectionist documentation tendencies so rampant in the fear driven art world. Show only your best work—but please move beyond showing the linear two dimensional—as we are conceptually process and project driven. Breath mints help!

For Collectors:

What is the typical price range for works for sale in your gallery?

We are not a retail “selling” gallery or commercial gallery per se. Collectors are directed to the individual artists for any possible negotiable sale.  TuckUnder does not follow traditional art boutique or art fair selling practices, and does not pursue large institutional nor nonprofit commodification techniques. As a provider of a visible alternative site for the future commercial exchange of artwork and artists projects, we are not a typical contemporary art dealer. We do not list prices nor put prices on the artworks. We prefer that the potential collector talk directly to our artists. Artists retain a sense of fiscal agency, financial power and economic prowess by being on the front lines of their sales.  The work that has shown in the past has a liminal mid level price point.

Do you have any advice for collectors looking locally to buy art?

Please look well beyond the institutional, status driven fundraisers, and arts organizational social circles for your art. Often, some of the best visible emerging art does not take place within the traditional museum settings and conservative art galas. Rather, artistic gems are often found off the beaten formal art paths.  Unique and high valued work often occurs in the fringes, non-traditional sites and smaller venues. You do not need to go to NYC, Miami, LA nor Berlin to find collectible artworks—we have a vivacious plethora of excellent, under recognized midcareer and emerging artists in Minnesota. The majority of artists in Minnesota are under collected, under represented, and under monetized. Thus, they are a very good value, and a local collector could easily begin and develop an incredible thematic and/or stylistic collection(s) of high prominence and integrity without spending much time, energy, and capital by simply participating locally.

If by chance all of the local art galleries were having opening receptions on the same night, where else would you recommend people go to maximize their art experience? (Include website links please)

Midway Contemporary Art 
www.midwayart.org

David Peterson Gallery        
www.davidpetersengallery.com

SooVac Gallery                                
www.soovac.org

Franklin Art Works                                         
www.franklinartworks.org

Rochester Contemporary Art Center         
www.rochesterartcenter.org

Rosalux                      
rosaluxgallery.com

Walker Art Center                 
www.walkerart.org

Soap Factory                        
www.soapfactory.org

Highpoint Center for Printmaking     
www.highpointprintmaking.org

Tuck Under Gallery Artists Featured on LAI:
Holly Streekstra June 2013
Jeremy Szopinski May 2013
Pamela Gaard 2012

Andy DuCett - Artist

AOT has been here forever, except when it wasn’t, 2009

Andy Ducett

Name: Andy DuCett
City/State: Minneapolis, MN
Email: andyducett@gmail.com
Website: http://andyducett.com
MNartist.org profile: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=108955
Twitter: @cettdu

Bio~ Andy DuCett is from Winona, MN and received his MFA from the University of Illinois.  He currently teaches at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Wisconsin-Stout.  His work has been shown in galleries in Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, Milwaukee and Honolulu, as well as many Twin Cities locations.  He has been published in New American Paintings, Vita.mn, Paper Darts, The Portland Mercury, Illiterate Magazine, DailyServing.com, as well as publications in Toronto, Berlin, Tokyo, and London.  He recently was commissioned to make a drawing for the First Free Saturday series at the Walker Art Center and was recently admitted to the Viewing Program at The Drawing Center in New York City.  


Working towards something (trust me), 2010


Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
My work ranges from drawing to installation to collage, with the subject matter orbiting around ideas of memory, finding importance in the mundane and how we all organize and navigate the world around us.  My current project is something I’ve been working on for a little over 2 years now, and will culminate in a solo exhibition called “Why we do this” at The Soap Factory in Minneapolis in September.  It’s different in the size and scope, and most definitely in the planning aspect. I have two sketchbooks completely filled with sketches and ideas, a scale model that I’ve been planning out the space, and an Adobe Illustrator document with exact measurements layouts and floor plans.  

I usually build something in my studio and transport it to the space, but in this case, I don’t have the space to do that, so this will be just plans until a few months before the show opens.  The Soap has cleared out a lot of space for me and my interns on the second floor to start construction, but everything we build has to be able to be carried down the narrow staircase and fit through a doorway.  Lots of challenges!  

The other big difference between this and my past work is that all 12,000 sq. feet will be one installation, using video, sound, performances and inviting viewer interaction at times…all things that I’ve never done before.


Thumbs up, we must be living right, 2008-2012


"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?
I hope my audience uses my work as an opportunity to re-examine the world around them.  I want people to find importance, notions of beauty and interest in the mundane and simple things around us at all times… from things like end tables, desk lamps and scraps of things that we think as just utilitarian or peripheral.  All of these things are the support structures that prop up our everyday actions and encounters.  Our surroundings are of the utmost interest to me, and I’m strangely thankful that people keep throwing away all of this interesting stuff for me to find in alleys and second hand stores…. I like reclaiming things and suggesting that people have a second look.


What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 
To pay attention to what you’re paying attention to.


Tell me about your work space and your creative process.
My studio is in a 2 stall garage and is packed with about 10 years of things that I’ve collected from places like thrift stores, dumpsters, estate sales and thing that people have given me because they think I’d give it a good home.  It’s pretty intense, visually speaking, but I’ve always worked best when I have a lot of visual stimuli around me.  



My creative process usually starts with me moving things around.  Not just art objects, but re-organizing or re-arranging my space.  It might be moving the stapler to the other side of the table, or cleaning off my table and moving everything to another surface, but something about it helps familiarize me with my environment.  The busywork and putzing around is really helpful, while it may seem counterproductive at times.  Having a record player in my studio is important too, flipping sides every 15 minutes helps keep me moving around.  

Image of workspace


Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
There really are way too many to mention, we as Minnesotans are really fortunate to have such a diverse artistic environment… that said, here’s a short and very incomplete list:

Allen Brewer: http://allenbrewer.com/home.html
Scott Stulen: http://scottstulen.com/
Ruben Nusz: http://www.rubennusz.com/Art/rubennusz.html
Pam Valfer: http://pamelavalfer.com/home.html
John Fleischer: http://johnjfleischer.com/
David Rathman: http://www.larissagoldston.com/artists/davidrathman/index.aspx
Jennifer Danos: http://jenniferdanos.com/
Ryuta Nakajima: http://ryutanakajima.com/
Jennifer Davis: http://www.jenniferdavisart.com/
Natasha Pestich: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=204696
Joshua Norton: http://joshuanorton.net/
Andy Sturdevant: http://andysturdevant.com/
Charles Matson-Lume: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?action=info&rid=57006
Bruce Tapola: http://www.mnartists.org/article.do?rid=173002


Lastly: I was a member of Rosalux for about two and a half years and they continue to have a great space and great group of artists on their roster: http://rosaluxgallery.com



Thumbs up, we must be living right, 2008-2012 (detail)

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Walker Art Center: http://walkerart.org/
Soap Factory: http://soapfactory.org/
Rochester Art Center: http://rochesterartcenter.org/
Dressing Room: http://dressingroom-aot.blogspot.com/
Midway Contemporary Art: http://www.midwayart.org/index.php
Minnesota Institute of Arts; MAEP Galleries: http://www.artsmia.org/
MCAD Gallery: http://mcad.edu/events-fellowships/gallery-exhibitions
Weisman Museum: http://www.weisman.umn.edu/
Franklin Art Works: http://franklinartworks.org/


Exploring while able, or, looking a little closer, 2011

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?
Daily serving: http://dailyserving.com/
Fecal Face: http://www.fecalface.com/SF/
MnArtists.org: http://www.mnartists.org/
But does it Float: http://butdoesitfloat.com/


Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
I’ll be posting updates about my process for “Why we do this” on The Soap Factory blog, as well as the Walker Art Center’s blog section (http://blogs.walkerart.org/).  

The show opens on September 8th and runs through November 11, 2012.

Image of artist

Also read, Paper Darts interview with Andy.