Thoughts on Culture

I have been thinking about two unrelated but synchronistic experiences recently. I read an article  online about the four things white Americans fear about racism. One of these fears is the fear of losing control of the cultural narrative of this country. They believe, until now, the American culture has been defined by white people. With the rise of minority populations and (I am adding this male perspective here) equal rights for women, white men are afraid they will lose control of their own culture, one that has benefited them more than others.

I recently purchased Laatikko/Box, a sound recording by my friend Sara Pajunen. On this recording Sara plays her violin, edits in other sounds and effects and has documented interviews with five or six Finnish immigrants. Sara and I both share a Finnish heritage. This project was highlighted in City Pages. In that interview, Sara stated that one of the things immigrants said they missed the most was their culture. In essence, by emigrating, they lost their culture.

As an artist who spends his time consciously creating culture, these two revelations hit home for me. I find the relationship between one's personal culture and the larger societal culture very interesting. The United States has always been a culture of immigrants with various influences coming in waves from overseas. With each wave, individuals found their own space in which to foster their own personal culture; their set of values, conventions, or social practices.

It seems obvious that, throughout history, one's personal culture was almost a subset of the societal culture - communal shame and influence were so great. But in these anonymous times of 7 billion living people the sheer number of personal cultures have watered down the control mechanisms of societal culture. It has become like news on the internet, you can find a culture that resonates with your personal psyche and claim it no matter whether it is your original culture or not. Or you can create a new culture if you find enough like-minded people. Emo and Goth are examples of this.

Obviously, not all whites fear this loss of cultural control. Many have very little say in the overall cultural narrative as it is. We just bump along and use what we can and leave the rest. As I stated, communal shame has been watered down, so people are more free to choose. My latest thoughts are that those who fear losing control of the cultural narrative are really just afraid of not being able to shame people. That is their trade, as we've seen these last few years. Trading shame and fear is more important to them than any narrative, and we know this because their narrative changes monthly, if not daily.

There are places in this society where people find peace and acceptance instead of confrontation, shame and fear. My goal is that Jack-in-the-Pulpit Art Studio is one of those places and that this is apparent in my work and in my interactions with others. The world will only move forward if we create cultures of acceptance, kindness and love.

Oil Painting - Sinkside Compost #2

Sinkside Compost #2

Oil Paint on Panel

9" x 12"

I have a tupperware container next to my kitchen sink where I place all my food scraps that will end up in my compost pile. As part of my exploration of "edibility" I have found my sinkside compost an interesting subject. It changes weekly and contains food that either once was edible but now is not or it contains that part of food that is inedible; egg shells, potato peels, etc. These compost paintings (I plan on making a series) are painted on a cradled panel that I constructed. They are small and intimate, like food scraps. I will share more as this series develops.

What's Cooking in the Studio

 

I have been starting a couple of Modernist landscapes. I am working from photos I have taken of Rainy Lake and the Review Islands (Crow, Mallard, Gull, Hawk and Fawn Islands). My thoughts about these paintings have been careening from one idea to another as I am discovering what these paintings are about for me.  I often start a series of paintings with a sense that this is the right direction for my work even though I can't explain why.

As I paint I have been pondering this selection of subject matter: landscapes done in a style reminiscent of early to mid-Modernist (1880's - 1930). Why do this? What, for me, is the connection between the style and the subject? The North, the Rainy Lake area, harkens back to an earlier time for me. When I travel to the Review Islands I think of growing up and visiting my grandparents who always lived on a lake. Like the historic buildings on the Review Islands, my grandparents' houses were not filled with the newest technology. Some items in the houses dated back to the 1800's. Having been born in the early 1900's and never having lived in a city of appreciable size, their ways made their home a unique and pleasant visit. For me, early and mid-Modernism handling of the water in these paintings gives me the same feeling of being a kid and watching the patterns on the water for hours at a time and allowing my imagination to become one with the sparkles, ripples and waves. I think of dock spiders and sitting and fishing with my grandfather, I think of hunting for crayfish under rocks in Agate Bay. Even now, on this cold Minnesota night, I can conjure up the feeling of the sun on my shirtless back and neck, the feel of my hand hovering in the warm air and then slipping slowly into the cool water to quietly lay on top of a slimy rock. Then, the slow extraction of the rock to find my prey laying still, as if its hiding place had not been removed, as if it was a rock itself. Finally, the plunge to grab the prize before it squirted away to another rock not that far away - and the process would start again. Memory, like this Modernist technique, is odd in its ability to focus.  Sometimes it takes the complexity and depth of events and packages them into a simple emotional experience of appreciation.

Oil Painting: Dinner (unfinished)

Dinner (unfinished)

Oil Paint on Canvas

48" x 48"

This large canvas is part of a small grouping of paintings within my larger series called _Edibility_. This small group of large canvases is exploring meals that we eat. _Dinner (unfinished)_ is a completed painting about food that is not processed or prepared to be eaten. What we consider edible is a funny thing.  We have food products that do not nourish the body, we have food products that harm us, and we have food products that are very healthy but you have to process or cook them to make them edible. We have odd cravings when it comes to food.  Perhaps the strongest craving we have for food is a craving for convenience. In order to have something quick, easily accessed, we are willing to eat items that actually are not good for us. We will eat food that can sit on a shelf for months, or even years, and not change its basic structure or freshness. This says a lot about us as a species.

A New Year Deserves a New Website

I have revamped my website, stripping it down to essentials, and adding simpler navigation. I was visiting a friend's website and thought her work was so well presented, cleanly, simply, that I decided to change it up on my website.  It had been awhile since I'd changed much on the site, so it was due.  I hope you like the new look. You can visit it at markgranlund.com. Let me know what you think!

2016 Was A Good Year!

Mixed Nuts
30" x 40"
Oil Paint on Canvas

2016 was a good year at my studio. I started the year in a group show at the gallery of 801 Washington in Minneapolis. Last winter and into the spring there were fun watercolor classes held at Jack-in-the-Pulpit Studio. From the beginning of the year, right until the end, I have been busy painting - producing 24 paintings this year! I'm also very happy to say that I have been painting bigger, with a few canvases 48" x48" or larger. I sold several pieces, many cards and one hundred and sixty fine art prints. Its been a good year at Jack-in-the-Pulpit Studio. With two shows and probably a studio sale coming in 2017 I am looking ahead with anticipation!

Watercolor Class Begins this Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Watercolor class begins this Wednesday, January 11 from 6:30 - 9:00 pm at Jack in the Pulpit Studio. For more info and to register: www.jackinthepulpitstudio.com