Emergency Working Artist Project Grant

Funding from the generosity of this endowment would benefit me as an artist in the short term by allowing me focus in a divergent thoroughfare of thought in a critical time in this century. I hope inevitably, that the trickle-down effects are seen and gathered by the arts community in Minnesota in years in the near future. As the Corona pandemic operates on the nano scale and ICU room struggles are hidden away behind closed doors, I hope to add a visual presence to the modern crisis. As seen in my first two full-wall installation photos in the images I have uploaded, I have completed a few shows of this scope showcasing the Agroccult series in the past (I have proposed and completed a similar project last summer at the Nemeth Art Center in Park Rapids, Minnesota and in years previous, exhibits at TelephoneBoothGallery in Kansas City, MO and Vine Arts Center in Minneapolis). Judging by my current working routine throughout my winters, I feel capable in completing these ten small paintings before Labor Day of this year. Most notably, I predict that current events throughout the upcoming months regarding Covid-19 will be a large motivating factor in applying cataclysmic events to the breadth of this series. The aforementioned goals are contingent upon the ongoing process of living through this pandemic and honestly absorbing and processing global developments as they occur. As is common in the artistic process, decision-making strategies are employed day-by-day on a case-by-case basis. In the realm of painting and mark-making, oftentimes the build-up of layers is a good indicator of an honest struggle and an attempt at genuine richness and complexity. The ensuing test will be the feedback from future shows where these paintings are exhibited. I am interested in future dialogues as events in the pandemic unfold.