Saturday, December 12 is Midway Contemporary’s Second Annual Monster Drawing Rally, a benefit event involving over 75 local artists. Midway’s three galleries will be cleared to hold a series of tables where participating artists will draw live in front of attendees.  Upon completion, each drawing will be hung on the wall and available for purchase (first come, first serve) for a flat price of $35. All proceeds will directly benefit upcoming programming and educational opportunities at Midway. The event provides the rare opportunity to watch artists work and purchase original artwork at discount prices.  Unlike many fundraisers, filled with expensive auction items, beyond the budget of most attendees, the Monster Drawing Rally offers an opportunity for art patrons of all income levels to support the institution and take home an original work of art.

Image from Midway’s 2008 Monster Drawing Rally…I am behind Kris Douglas’s arm.

I can tell you from direct experience last year (as one of the participating artists…and I will be doing it again this year) that it was a crazy event and one of the best times I have ever had in the local art community.  Even though I was surprisingly anxious drawing in front of so many people.  But when you see someone eagerly follow your piece to the wall to purchase it..that is pretty special. The energy in the room is buzzing and everyone is just having a great time.  Not to be missed.

This event is free and open to the public. Full list of artists is listed below.

Artists: Luke Aleckson, Kjellgren Alkire, Rich Barlow, David Bartley, Ute Bertog, Heather Bren, Ernest A. Bryant III, Betsy Byers, Allegra Denton, Mitchell Dose, Kris Douglas, Pete Driessen, Andy Ducett, Welles Emerson, Mark Fischer, John Fleischer, Isa Gagarin, John Gaunt, Noah Harmon, Jay Heikes, Brandon Holt, Alexa Horochowski, Nick Howard, Roxanne Jackson, Val Jenkins, Brian Jorgenson, Bethany Kalk, Tynan Kerr, Nick Knutson, Marshall LaCount, Chris Larson, David Lefkowitz, Josie Lewis, Janet Lobberecht, Rick Love, Fiona MacNeill, Suzanne Mahoney, Andie Mazorol, Kirk McCall, Miles Mendenhall, Ellie Montgomery, Michael Mott, Suzanne Murphy, Jennifer Nevitt, Isabel Norsten, Todd Norsten, Ruben Nusz, Kelsey Olson, Yubi Park, James Parmenter, Allison Pegoraro / Rachel Pegoraro, David Petersen, Margaret Pezalla-Granlund, Gene Pittman, Melba Price, Alex Roche / Michael Aberman, Justin Schaefer, Josi Severson, Emily Sheehan, Joe Smith, Ken Steinbach, Scott Stulen, Tony Sunder, Carolyn Swiszcz, Bruce Tapola, Oakley Tapola, Tectonic Industries, Aaron Van Dyke, John Vogt, Liz Wendland, Chris Zerendow

Artists will draw during three consecutive rounds beginning at 6PM, 7PM and 8PM.  I will be at 7pm if interested…look for me near the glitter cloud.

I have a new solo exhibition of work opening this Friday, December 11th in Chicago at ebersmoore gallery.  The gallery is located here.  It is all very new work and I excited to get it out of the studio and into a very hip venue.  If you are in the Chicago area, please stop on by the reception on Friday from 6-9 pm….we may have special Kool-Aid too. Hope to see you there.

Scott Stulen: Kool Aid Drunk
ebersmoore gallery
December 11, 2009 – January 2, 2010

drink the Kool-Aid

v. To become a firm believer in something; to accept an argument or philosophy wholeheartedly or blindly.

“I clearly remember wearing a white Miami Vice outfit the Easter of 1986, complete with matching sock-less boat shoes and hot pink t-shirt.  Recently, upon examining the actual photo of the actual event, I was shocked to find myself clad in a tan suit with matching blue striped tie. My intense desire and disappointment related to this childhood event in altered my recollection over the last twenty years. In my memory I had become Don Johnson.” Scott Stulen 2009

Scott Stulen’s work is an examination of how disappointment and failure shape personal and collective identity. Stulen’s paintings, sculpture and installations address a sense of loss resulting from the process of reconstructing childhood memories. Within Stulen’s work pop culture references merge with personal narratives, photographs and tactile materials drawn from children’s television and the “cabin culture” aesthetic of the Midwest. The defeat in Stulen’s work is softened by his self-deprecating humor, wry titles and seductive material sensibilities. The resulting objects and images are imbued with deep personal, and surprisingly resonate collective significance, creating a collage of fictitious recollections substituted for actual experience.

Kool Aid Drunk is an exploration of blind acceptance, the desire for belonging and fear of rejection, through 1980’s coming of age films, social media and the clubhouse of contemporary art.

About the artist

Scott Stulen is the Project Director for mnartists.org at the Walker Art Center, an independent curator, musician, writer and visual artist. He received his BFA in Sculpture from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and his MFA in Painting and Drawing with a minor in Art History from the University of Minnesota. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2004 Katherine E. Nash Purchase Prize, 2005 and 2009 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant and 2008 Meet the Composer’s Creative Connections Grant.  Scott exhibits throughout the country including recent solo exhibitions Everything you do better than me is stupid at Rosalux Gallery, Minneapolis, MN; Why are you making me sad at the 9^th Street Gallery, St. Paul, MN; and Lead Guitar, No Vocals at St. Cloud State University. His work was selected for inclusion in the juried national publication New American Paintings in both 2004 and 2007. Scott also regularly performs as a DJ and sound artist. More information can be found at www.scottstulen.com.