"Twenty Views of Dundas" Artist Statements

Billy Breckenridge Kari Alberg, Northfield Lithography I grew up on a farm with large workhorses. When I saw the photo of the little child, Billy Breckenridge, on the huge horse it reminded me of my family and other rural families who captured their pride by photographing their children and animals. Yet given the scale of the boy with respect to the horse, I thought how frightened the child must have been a top that massive horse, as his small hand appears to hold a clump of mane hair.

I met the real Bill, now retired, who remembers “to this day” the photo, his fright, and the name of the horse “Pingo.”

Dundas James Boyd-Brent, St. Paul Intaglio (etching, aquatint, engraving, drypoint) Once the hub of activity, today mill ruins and tendrils of trees create an 18th century view of the world. The ruin gives a sense of everything that has happened here. On the distant island a couple dances to the music of an invisible band. Echo listens to sounds of animals, of the wind, and of the river. Narcissus gazes at his image in the water. This evokes a flavor of time, a feeling not all that commonplace.

Grain Elevator David Burt, Dundas Lithography Waiting for the train to pass, I got lost in the moment and noticed the grain elevator. I was struck at the way light flowed across this giant wonder. The structure has a timeless aesthetic beauty and represents the great technology of its day.

The Gift Hope Cook, Mankato Lithography chine collĂŠ to embossment My choice of the original map of the City of Dundas represents the forming of order over which a city grows. First, I placed the small original map right in the middle. Laid over that is an embossed view of the same map. This is the way a city expands to influence the surrounding world. The river runs through the center of Dundas, the small town that has a special place in many hearts.

Between Earth and Sky Mac Gimse, Dundas Engraving Re-creating a 28 foot tall sculpture as a two dimensional print allows the energy of lines to create the wild abandon of birds and insects puzzled as they try to decide where to land. Each pillar is a wave pattern from the Cannon itself. The crash of thunderstorms, the gathering of winter snows, and the colors of falling leaves create the flailing abandon of lines emanating from the engraving.

Ted Reuvers defeats NFL arm wrestling champ Ed White at L&M Bar with Marguerite, Larry and JoAnne Anthony watching Alex Hage, Boston & St. Paul Woodcut Like the story of the boy on the horse and of the ocelot, the story of the arm-wrestling match at the L&M holds an air of mythology.

As in the Norse myths, this is a contest of strength, impossible and lopsided, taking place in a bar that has been in the same family for six decades, a landmark and the setting of many stories.

Bill Nelson Fred Hagstrom, St. Paul Woodcut The baseball field at Memorial Park is central to Dundas, and Bill Nelson is central to the Dundas team, the Dukes. So I knew I wanted my print to be about either the Dukes or Bill in particular.

Hundreds of amateur ball players agree that the Dundas ball park is one of the nicest in the state. The people of Dundas built this with love and hard work. A park is mostly grass and dirt, but come to a game on a spring evening and watch this park come to life.

Interstate Mills Marty Harris, St. Louis Park Intaglio In your mind’s eye you see a young mother putting up laundry on a dreamy, sunny, breezy day in Dundas. It’s a photo you can capture with your cell phone as you drive through the town today. This image is one that might apply to any small out-state community.

With today’s technology it would take very little effort for this woman to be sipping coffee in Paris the next day. I see Interstate Mills as a merchant trading the familiar and provincial for the exotic and the worldly.

Harvest Ray Jacobson, Northfield Lithography with bronzing powder The role of wheat in the history of Dundas makes a close connection with my own growing up on a family farm. In those days the full stocks of wheat were cut and formed into shocks left to dry before threshing. Milling technology developed by the Archibald Mill resulted in the production of widely acclaimed and sought after wheat flour. The role of wheat in the history of Dundas connects closely with my own background.

Chance Meeting in North Africa Lilla Johnson, Northfield Stone reductive lithography Reductive lithography elements of the original photo and new hand-drawn elements come together in this work done on a 200 pound block of limestone probably mined in Germany years ago.

I like the way Jasper Johns uses the images of flags in his prints.

They can seem faded, sometimes even reduced. Youth and idealism go hand in hand, but today idealism is not always easy to maintain.

Maureen & Marlene Sharol Nau & Pat Lampe, Northfield Multimaterial relief Intrigued by the opportunity to preserve some of the rich history of Dundas, I wanted to work with my longtime friend, Pat Lampe.

After selecting a loosely posed photo of children, possibly at a school picnic, we opted to present the twins, Maureen and Marlene, as children. There is a certain dual nature shared by twins, by Pat and me as artists, and by the towns of Northfield and Dundas.

Cannon River Meg Ojala, Dundas Photoplate intaglio The photograph on which this print is based records a moment in early spring when the ice retreats just before the waters flow under the bridge on the way to Northfield and eventually to the Mississippi. The Cannon River brought people and industry to this area. For me it enriches and enlivens my spiritual life. The importance and beauty of the Cannon River encourage its protection.

Dundas Rhythm John Saurer, Northfield Digital print chine collĂŠ with copper etching My artwork is a metaphor for order. This work was created by collecting photographic images of freshly painted lines on the new asphalt parking lot near the mill. The intaglio image is created from grasses collected nearby. The juxtaposing of man-made and organic images gives a picture of historic and contemporary Dundas.

Celebrating the Greater Dundas Roots: A Tribute to Farming in Dundas Diane Schrader, Dundas Serigraph This is a tribute to our ancestors for their rewarding but hard way of life. The farm scene comes from the turn of the 19th century. Oak leaves represent the Big Woods. The cross design comes from an old German Bible. The border design is from my collection of old family photos and represents the history of traveling photographers from that era.

Men and Women from the Dundas Community Who Served in World War II Gaylord Shanilec, Stockholm, Wisconsin Letterpress and wood engraving Gaylord was drawn immediately to a list of names hanging in City Hall entitled, “Men and Women from the Dundas Community Who Served in World War II.” The list contains familiar and unfamiliar names in no apparent order. Whatever the reason for the order, it has been preserved including the puzzling double space at the end of the list. A small wood engraving of the eye of a lamb carries the quote, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, give us peace.”

Spring Thaw Fred Somers, Northfield Lithography March 19, 1920 was the date on this photograph of the so-called “Castle Mill� named for the parapet along the roof. The photo shows the break up of ice in the Cannon River: the end of a long winter and the promise of spring and summer warmth. I talked with Stuart Chester who remembers riding the ice floes as a boy. He went on to serve in WWII and still lives in Dundas today. This piece represents rebirth after winter, and also connects with the people and the mill history of Dundas.

Fashion Bug Carolyn Swiszcz, West St. Paul Relief and stencil Mall development has played an important role in the growth of Dundas during recent years. Box stores and developer housing are part of the recent past as well as of the present. The Fashion Bug and K-Mart could be anywhere, but here they are in Dundas, becoming part of the area and the collective memory of this place.

This is the old typeface for the Fashion Bug. Someday old photos of this may seem just as quaint as other places in town.

Chuck DeMann Depicted Xavier Tavera, Minneapolis Photogravure I had the opportunity to photograph three generations of reenactors of the James Gang. The oldest of the three impeccably dressed gentlemen reached for the gun in his belt. “Okay, you know the drill. Hands up.� I felt like complying, but his laughter stopped me. Chuck DeMann, a longtime Dundas resident, is well known for his portrayal of various characters during the annual Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield. At the end of the photography session, the three men, confident in front of a camera, said good-bye and fled the scene as fast and as silent as professional bandits.

Fun in Dundas Carol Van Sickle, Dundas Lithography Growing up in Dundas during the 40’s, 50’s, & 60’s, I thought I was related to half the town. We made our own fun. The three clowns are people from my generation dressed up for a fun day with kids at the ballpark. I tied them to the circus that was said to be held years before on the island. I love the old story about my grandfather, the postmaster, and the ocelot.

The Postman Scott West, Eagan Lithography As the story goes, there was a circus in St. Paul, and an ocelot escaped. Somehow, the ocelot made it all the way to Dundas and began to “terrorize” the town. When I saw the photo of the postmaster holding the dead ocelot, I was surprised to see that it was about the size of a large housecat. Questioning whether a single ocelot could actually “terrorize” the community, and wondering what a “hero” really is, was the beginning of this work.