A Historical Tour of Cold Spring

Today, Cold Spring Historical Society President took me on a historical tour of Cold Spring.  We started with one of the legendary springs that gave Cold Spring its name, home of the old pop factory at the turn of the century.  Shortly after we visited two fire rings that marked the Native American forts that existed when the first settlers of the 1850s arrived.  We also went to see the Assumption Chapel, built in thanksgiving for the salvation from the grasshopper plague of the 1870s, and several of Cold Spring's parks.

At one fire-ring lookout, the president pointed out many historical landmarks lining the river, some still standing and some only a memory of the past.  The Flour Mill (now gone, bought by the Cold Spring Granite company), one of the first buildings in the area, used the river to generate electricity.  The railroad, which just recently stopped being used in 2010, has a bridge crossing the river.  One can also see St. Boniface Church in the distance.  If I were to pick a specific view of town to use as a backdrop, this would be a nice one, as it shows such a concentration of history.

 Above:  Where the Flour Mill used to be

I met with a local Cold Spring artist and muralist today, and she is interested in helping out in the painting process.  She gave me some good advice on how to work with volunteers painting a mural - Once she has traced the design out on the wall (from a projector), she puts notes inside the larger, general shapes to tell volunteers what color they should be painted - sort of a "paint by number," she said.  This reduces the amount of questions that she gets and makes the process more efficient.  After the volunteers leave, she finishes off the form by adding highlights and shadows.  I think that this process may be especially effective for volunteers who do not consider themselves artistic.

La Perla

Today, following the wise advice of Mayuli, I spent several hours at La Perla Mexican store.  I sketched the atmosphere and promoted the mural project, handing out fliers for the workshops and asking questions to get people started brainstorming.  It was very fun because I got to use so much of my Spanish.

One shopper told me that he worked at Cold Spring's Gold'n Plump, and that 40% of the workers there are Spanish-speaking  (workers come from all around - even all the way from Willmar). I think this could be a valuable place for me to visit.  

La Perla's store owner gave me several ideas that she thought would be nice to put in the mural, and she recommended that I talk to a college art student who painted her store sign a couple years ago.  We went and visited the student in the trailer park and she said she would like to help out!  Our brigade of muralists is beginning to grow.

That's all for now,

Shannon

A Visit with Gustavo Lira

Last Friday I visited the studio of Gustavo Lira.  In a mix of Spanish and English, we began discussing the symbolism behind the Mosaic of the Americas.  One element that stuck out to me was the monarch butterflies that represent freedom of migration from North to South.

Lira often divides his murals into sections: 1) the problem 2) the solution 3) the dream, or utopia.  In the Mosaic of the Americas, the "dream" section is at the top.  The Human Rights Mural that he did at South High School is also divided into similar sections.  As I reflect on this way of organization, it occurs to me that Diego Rivera also took a similar route in his History of Mexico in the Palacio Nacional.  Rivera's utopia lay in the indigenous past.

Like Rivera, Lira is also fascinated by Pre-Columbian artwork, but he is most interested in instruments.  I got to see his collection of Pre-Columbian style flutes/silbadoras and listen to him play a few notes.

Gustavo also showed me a special tool that he made by taping a piece of chalk onto the end of a stick of bamboo.  This allows for tracing of a projected sketch onto the wall.  On the other end of the tool is a small pad of cotton-stuffed leather about the size of an apricot.  Lira showed me how he touched the pad to the wall and used the stick to brace his hand as he painted details, thereby avoiding smudging his previous work.

I was very excited to find out that Lira has lead a youth workshop based on the Brigada Ramona Parra, the muralist brigade that served as a huge inspiration for my thesis project.  This group protested the dictatorship of Pinochet.  Their work was characterized by bold, flat colors and black outlining, which had to be done quickly to avoid getting caught by the carabineros (police).  Lira lent me a copy of his lesson plan so I could see how he organized the workshop.

I was so inspired by my talk with Gustavo Lira.  He is a very amiable person with years of experience teaching art and making collaborative murals with youth and other artists.  Talking with Lira gave me some ideas of how I might possibly organize the Cold Spring mural and new perspective on working as a collaborative artist.  He mentioned the possibility of the two of us working together on something ourselves, which would be very exciting!

On Thursday night, I presented the mural project to the Lion's Club in Cold Spring.  They were very receptive; a few people came up to me afterwards and mentioned that they knew artists with whom I might like to work!  I am trying to get in contact with the high school art teachers...

Yesterday after the meeting with Dan Kippley,  I walked all around town talking to business owners, seeing if they might be interested in hosting our mural.  The manager of the Legion told me that they will discuss it in their Board meeting on Monday. 


I also distributed several posters advertising the art workshops that I will lead in June.  My first workshop will be on June 7, and is focused primarily on Diego Rivera.  The discussions and artwork generated in these workshops are essential to the brainstorming process for the mural. 

We have a meeting set up with the Cold Spring Planning Commission for June 27.  In preparation for this meeting, I have been researching mural ordinances in other cities.  Most cities with murals do not mention them in their ordinances, but a few do.  Minneapolis' definition of a mural (as a sign exempt from the sign ordinance regulations) is as follows:
 
"And, within section 520.160, Definition of Mural: Mural. A work of graphic art painted on a building wall, which contains no commercial advertising or logos, and which does not serve to advertise or promote any business, product, activity, service, interest or entertainment." (From Mary Altman, Public Arts Administrator of Minneapolis)


Long Prairie also regards a mural as an exempt sign:

"Exterior walls must be free of graffiti and advertising except as allowed by the Chapter 16.510 – 16.519, Sign Regulations, of this Code......
 

(5) Murals painted or applied to a building require a sign permit and an artist’s conception of the painting."

  Lastly, I want to mention that I talked with Gustavo Lira, the muralist who worked with Bruce on the Mosaico de las Americas.  We have plans to meet on Friday, June 10th!  I am very excited to get to talk with him about his experience as a Latino muralist in Minnesota. 

 

We have a WALL!!!!!!

Today Raquel, Yesi, and I met with Dan Kippley, owner of the Cleaning Center laundromat in Cold Spring.  He seemed glad to offer us one of his walls for the mural.  We are very excited about this progress! 

The Cleaning Center has a nice flat, long wall in a pretty good location, but we're still keeping our options open.  The Old Opera House would be a fantastic building, both for its history and central spot with a lot of traffic.  This building is owned by the Cold Spring Coop, and a representative told me that they were thinking of tearing the building down or selling it...

More to come!  I have to go pick up some disposable cameras that were donated for the workshops I'm doing next week!