FAMILIAR FACES
The Sculptor Professor worked at Chicago’s Field Museum and Children’s Museum in St. Paul
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Photos by Pat Christman
NAME:
Pocket Toscani HOMETOWN: Dayton, Ohio
WHAT’S WORSE: LAUNDRY OR DISHES?
Laundry, I like doing the dishes … sort of.
COFFEE OR TEA? Both
FAVORITE ONE-HIT WONDER
Probably the U of M Sculpture. I think that will be in my obituary.
12 • FEBRUARY 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
n the corner of Second and Walnut streets is Pocket Toscani’s sculpture “After Party.” Toscani’s sculpture is one of two dozen displayed across Mankato and lower North Mankato as part of its 2020 Walking Sculpture Tour. The artist’s work has been featured across the nation, and Toscani also teaches sculpting in Minnesota State University’s art department. As a professor, Toscani instills hardwork and commends those who display their passion in their art. Toscani’s life advice is concrete: Don’t give up and keep going and show up. “This is how the world works. This is how you create luck,” she said. “This is how you are in the right place at the right time. … Take risks. Be out there and try. No one is discovered in their living room. You have to put your body outside your house.” MANKATO MAGAZINE: What have you been doing to adapt during the pandemic? POCKET TOSCANI: I only go to the grocery store and the hardware store. I always wear a mask too. I split my classes up into halves — still meeting every two days but more distance between us. And sanitizing the tools and tables. MM: Your piece “After Party” is located in downtown Mankato. What was the inspiration behind this piece? PT: It was very intuitive. I just started drawing. I did an outdoor sculpture about 10 years ago that was stacked forms, but it was also crushed and distressed by an auto crusher. I didn’t want to do that here, but I did start sketching stacked forms. What I liked about this composition was its awkwardness. It looked like the forms were just dumped out of a bag. Some of the forms are just about to fall, at least it appears that way. So this relates to a moment in time. Right before a wave crashes into the beach, or an intake of air. I like that suspension. The colors I chose ended up a bit happier than I envisioned. I still think they work, but they are so easy on the eyes. I wanted one or two to be a bit more pukey. That pink was to be a little more tertiary, toward yellow/pink. I just read a quote from Fairfield Porter, a great
