Filed under: St Paul
It’s true! The Treacy ladies are making the ERA happen in Minnesota – although clearly we’re not doing it alone. But, for the family blog … Aine and I testified at a MN House Committee on a bill to get the Equal Rights Amendment on the ballot in 2024. So that voters can chime in on whether ERA should be added to the Minnesota constitution. It’s nervous work but we did it and the bill passed out of Committee to get one step closer to a vote on the House Floor. Today my mom and I testified to the companion bill in the Senate. The hope was to have me, Aine and my mom testify together but the agenda moved slowly and items were moved around so that eventually she had to go to work. But she gets a nice nod from Senator Latz for being there. And in the end mom and I were persuasive enough to make it happen.
You can see the full videos for the Senate and House committee meetings online or see our aspirational written testimony; we may or may not have stuck to script.
Again, we weren’t working alone – ERA Minnesota is a powerful group that has worked tirelessly for years – founded by former Representative Betty Folliard and led by Suzann Wilhite. And they aren’t working alone either – there’s a great group of folks – a sea of green you see all over town.
It is nervous work. Often there’s a push to hurry up. You know people are watching and the cameras are on. And by the nature of the topic, most of us have been taught to not believe in ourselves as much as we should. And that’s part of what makes the growing success taste sweeter. Big thanks to the legislators who are moving us forward but introducing bills and getting them heard – Rep Her, Rep Bahner, Sen Pappas and Sen Kunesh. It’s exciting to be so close – a mere 100 years after it was first raised!
One quick observation … civic engagement is hard because for most of us it means taking a day off work, maybe getting a babysitter, getting to St Paul – never mind you have to know who to contact, how and when. Lobbying is easier – you get paid, you’ve probably gone to school to learn what to do and you build relationships with the legislators so less scary and you have time to chat between meetings in case there’s something you’ve forgotten to say in testimony. Technology has helped because you can at least watch meetings remotely but it feels like sometimes the barriers to civic engagement give policymakers a skewed view of what “most people” think – because “most people” they see are lobbyists or people who can afford to take time out to speak up.
Filed under: Minneapolis
Grandma, Kate and I took a multigenerational trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts today to see the Botticelli and Renaissance Florence exhibit and more. It was fascinating to see how Sandro Botticelli reached back to classical Greek and Roman statues for inspiration he adapted to a humanistic approach more characteristic of his era in the last 1400s. It’s as if Botticelli breathed a color gust of life into the statues.
I was able to capture a picture of a statue in the foreground with Botticelli’s Pallas and the Centaur in the background. You can see the similarities in the silhouette of the statue and centaur. There’s a slouch that identical. The maiden in the painting is clearly in charge; always a plus in my mind.
There’s a balance of reverence and playfulness in the art. Sometimes that comes out in the action (he Banquet of Queen Vashti) and sometimes that comes out in the personalities and expressions in the faces of the models (Adoration of the Child with Angels). The personalities take a real turn when we look at Adoration of the Magi, which features Botticelli himself on the far right.
A boon to knowing people at the Mia, my friend Kevin was there and clued me into the fact that there was a painting where Mary steps on an angel. It took a minute for me to find – but definitely worth it. I’m not entirely sure what the meaning is. Maybe it’s a baby-like cherub archangel – maybe she’s just overwrought with too much of a good thing. But I’ll be spending time in the next few days wondering. Sign of good art.
Period Rooms
On the way out we couldn’t resist a quick stop in a few of the period rooms. My personal favorite is the Grand Salon, a 7-minute immersive piece where you can watch and hear the room go from day to night in the room.
Van Gogh’s Fingerprint
Kate knew about the discovery of Vincent Van Gogh’s fingerprint accidentally left on Mia’s Olive Trees. You can see where it must be below. It’s near the top right edge of the sun. Unfortunately the frame around the picture shades that area but that won’t stop us from pretending to see it.
Filed under: St Paul
When the kids were little, we used to have scavenger hunts at the MN State Fair. It was a good way to see different things and spend less money. In honor of the full-fledged return of the Fair, we did it again. (You can check out the scavenger list if the mood strikes you.)
We had a great time. We ate lots of food. Checked out the biggest boar. Saw subversive seed art. Some went on the Sky Ride. We also saw the longest lines I’ve seen in years. So many people. A reminder that I’m more of a Wednesday afternoon Fair friend than a Saturday night. but Katie was in town Saturday and First Avenue set the stage for music on Saturday.
All was good and then guns were drawn and there were shootings at the Midway, where the rides and games are. We were close enough to see people run but not to see the fear. I talked to a shaken young woman who saw a gun drawn. She had finally found her sister by phone. They had scattered in different directions. She was 28 and just kept talking about how she felt bad for the young kids.
We were not far from the Midway – probably a fine minute walk. We walked through it a few times. The number of cops was staggering and for folks who had spent much of the last two years at protests, a little triggering. We thought about walking around but I wanted to see live music and someone else pointed out – if anything bad was going to happen, it was going to happen there.
Reports say they closed the fair at 10. We left closer to 11 because the fair is huge and lots of us didn’t experience the terror. Things were still open. The sad thing is how normalized the violence has become. Do you give into it? Do you stay at home? Do you carry on?
Filed under: Minnesota
Mary Magnuson and I got to check out the broadband happenings in Western Minnesota – in person. We learned about new grants in Madison and Appleton that will help everyone get fiber, we visited the inspiring Madison Mercantile and we said goodbye to one of our favorite broadband projects of all time – the LqP (Lac qui Parle) Computer Commuter.
Traveling to rural towns is something I have missed through the pandemic, so it was fun to go to one of my favorite areas. Through the Blandin Foundation, we’ve both done a lot of work here. And back in the day I did a lot of fun training with the County EDA (Economic Development Authority). This is the sort of area where in 2010, they got funding to create a tricked out mobile computer lab (aka former hotel shuttle bus). I have taught classes there, but I think its best use was Mary Quick driving around and folks dropping in to get one-to-one (or one-to-few) hands-on support using technology. She once told me her busiest time was after Christmas when everyone brought in the new iPads or smartphone Christmas presents from their kids.
Fast forward 10+ years, and we visited the Madison Mercantile. From what we could see one woman has given birth to a community center that is as innovative and will soon be as loved at the Computer Commuter. Kris Shelstad is that woman; I’m not saying she’s done it alone but I’m saying it wouldn’t happen without her. Sounds like she came back home after the death of her spouse. A time that might drain many of us, she has turned it around to a time where she is creating community or seeding the space for community to grow based on the needs of the people around her. Super inspiring!
But truth of the matter, Mary and I most went on the road for the Gnomes of Dawson. We visited the garden and as a super bonus, we spied some special gnomes upstairs in the library…
Also we saw Lou T Fisk and the 45th Parallel (the midday point between the Equator and the North Pole)…
Finally, we checked out the Tiny Church, which is in the Gnome Garden. It seats 6. It’s weird; it kind of feels like being in a church and kind of doesn’t, which I guess means it feels a little irreverent but I got over it.
Filed under: Minneapolis
Kate is working at the Supernatural America exhibit at the Mia. So, for my mom’s birthday we went to visit Kate and then out to lunch with Lily. It was a really, nice 3-generation day. The exhibit was interesting, disturbing and sometimes beautiful. But as my mom said on the way out – there wasn’t much I’d want to hang on my wall at home. To be fair, who is inviting haunted art into the home?
Quick insider note: Kate said one of her coworkers saw a ghostly hand reach out from one of the pictures – life imitating art, I guess.
The real beauty of the art is the story behind it. Some were created during a séance or while the “artist” was in a trance. We talked about how many of these artists would be written off as having mental health issues – or being witches or feminists or worse. Sort of made me like the art more. Other art tried to speak to or represent the supernatural. Here are some I found most interesting.
The Precipitated Portrait of Lizzie, Mary and Christina Daugherty with Dr Daugherty is one example. The work was created by sisters Mary and Elizabeth Bangs. They performed a ritual intending to conger the image of Mrs. Daugherty (deceased) with the Dr. who sat for the portrait. The image appeared on the paper like droplets. In the end the added the deceased twins as well.
John McCrady’s Swing Low Sweet Chariot depicts the moment of death when the forces of good and evil come to grasp the soul of the deceased. I love the imagery. I sort of love the idea that there is no connection in the art about the quality of the soul – but that’s it’s merely a fight of good and evil. I love that good takes an army and evil just one devil.
I learned about the idea of spirit photography, where the photographer tries to capture images of ghosts and other spiritual entities. Apparently, it’s used on ghost hunting but the examples they had were from the Civil War. People were photographed with the hope that a recently departed loved one would appear in the picture. It’s hard to think that the pictures are real but they are fascinating and I don’t entirely doubt it.
Interior Scroll by Carolee Schneemann are still images of a performance piece of the artist reading from a scroll she pulled from her vagina. I’m a feminist, but that might not be a little extreme for me but I appreciate that the pendulum swings and art like this pushes boundaries that need to be pushed. In the same realm, are the tiny goddesses found in the 1970s. Blood was included in the materials used to form the goddesses.
Maybe my favorite is Tony Oursler’s Dust from the Thought of Form series. It’s cloud that morphs into body parts. Kinda creepy, kinda cool. (We also loved his work MMPI in Milwaukee.)
Here are more pictures of things that drew us in…
Filed under: St Paul
To graduate Aine needed to do a capstone paper or project. She chose to do a series of three-dimensional works of art, a 30 page paper and a presentation – Depicting the Troubles of Northern Ireland in Art. She has been working on this for months and today she gave her presentation. She did a terrific job.
First – here’s the art:
Bird Cage
Wire bird cage with bird created from paper penal laws, design to restrain the Irish. The cage is broken on purpose. With constraints he bird is living but not flying as it should.
The Red Hand of Ulster:
Taken from the Ulster flag and representing the blood that has been shed
1916 package:
A more literal interpretation of a package full of bullet holes like many you might have seen during the rebellion
Easter Lily:
A memorial to those killed on Bloody Sunday and a message of hope
Phoenix:
A red phoenix made of wore, a representative of the IRA and symbolizing the rise from the ashes
Body Armor:
Warrior’s garb made from actual blanket to represent the Blanket Protest and meant to look like sheep, which are prevalent in Ireland
Toilet Paper Letter:
Bobby Sands communicated (and write a book) by writing it on toilet paper and getting it snuck out of the prison. This is the first chapter of his book.
Bonfire:
The bonfire represents Orangemen’s Day. It demonstrates the impact of icons/art based on your viewpoint. It may feel celebratory to the Protestants but angers and frightens the Catholics.
Second – here’s the story behind the art.
She explained that Irish and British people are not the same, despite the misconception. She started by giving the background of British invasion and occupancy of Ireland – going back to the twelfth century. The Irish and the British have a long contentious relationship, which has manifested greatly based on religion. The British tend to be Protestant; the Irish tend to be Catholics. Laws and discrimination has developed around both political and religious differences.
Aine focused her art on a few more recent segments of activity – or rise ups. She talked about the 1916 Rising, when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) of volunteer (Catholic) soldiers invaded Dublin, centering on the General Post Office (GPO). The GPO still stands in Dublin; the bullet holes remain in the walls. Aine walked by this building a hundred times as a kid.
The 1916 Rising gave birth to Northern Ireland as a separate entity from the Republic of Ireland. It meant the Republic had a great deal of autonomy; while in Northern Ireland, which was more predominantly Protestant, the Irish Catholics suffered.
The Northern Irish Civil Rights Movement bubbled up in the 1970s, buoyed by changes spurred around the world in 1968 (including the US Civil Rights actions). It began as a peaceful push until January 1972, when police killed 13 peaceful protestors. That ignited a flame of violent discontent. On the Catholic side that was the Provisional IRA (Provos); and the Protestant side has the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). These trouble continued through the 1980s and even early 1990s.
The IRA was campaigning to reunite Ireland and/or cease discrimination in Northern Ireland. Many suspected IRA members were arrested and not treated as politic prisoners. There were three major ways that prisoners protested their treatment. The Blanket Protests, where prisoners wore only a blanket. Dirty Protest, where they covered their cells in human excrement and refused to bathe. And the Hunger Strikes, led by Bobby Sands. Many of the hunger strikers died but that effort really caught the attention and ire of the rest of the world.
In 1997, a cease fire was declared and the “Good Friday Agreement” brought political changes and peace to the region. That peace holds today – mostly. Although generations of discrimination have left a mark.
Filed under: St Paul
When the kids we little we used to create Peeps Dioramas for the Pioneer Press contest. Aine and I even did one on 2020 – you know due to COVID boredom. Last year I bought Peeps with good intentions but never got around to building. Those Peeps have been in the cupboard laughing at me for more than a year. Today after lunch I realized that the Peeps deadline was 5pm today. Dramatic pause…
It’s not often that the muse visits me with a burning urge but when it does I’ve got to listen. I decided I was going to Peep, dammit. I thought about possible timely topics – pandemic, war, ongoing racism and people dying because of it, oil winning over water, women losing rights like a needle in a haystack, never-ending winter – nothing felt right. Then I remembered something that does feel right – First Avenue!
So I recreated Front and Center at First Ave Peeps Show.
I hiked up to Art Scraps, the best place to go for diorama inspiration. I had a much bigger box in mind. So I have some thimble-drums and other things I may be selling on eBay soon. (Not really – total cost at Art Scraps was $3.27 – I will leave these tiny purchases to guilt me into another art frenzy next year.) Aine helped me find a box and walked up to the shop for glue and I let the magic work through me. I used the purple Peeps because – Prince. I found fairy lights, which make everything better. I created stars based on the Minnesota bands I’ve seen most recently and/or anyone who sent me a super nice note today. (List includes Kiss the Tiger, Golden Smog, Tina and the B Sides, Mae Simpson, Charlie Parr, Bathtub Cig, Mama Rose, Low Rats and Muskellunge.)
This diorama is inspired by First Ave, it is not a replica. I know the named stars aren’t inside the club. It did occur to me that if I had the time next year I would recreate (with liberties) the Clown Lounge in the basement of The Turf Club – but I’d focus on making the Peeps look like the actual bartenders. I might have to up my art skills through – or face retribution pricing for my pints.
In years past, the Pioneer Press would share Peeps submission on social media and folks could vote on winners. That’s no longer the case. So look surprised when you see me win. Actually I have great respect for the amazing artists with skill and time to create amazing art each year. And I appreciate a pastime that draws non-artists like me in too.
(Also I am allowing this terrible picture Aine took for me – because it looks as nerdy as I felt today.)
Filed under: St Paul
Today my Mom (Elaine), my eldest daughter (Lily) and I did something important and a little scary. We testified in front of the Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee to support House File 726 (HF626): Gender equality provided under law, and constitutional amendment proposed. Big thanks to both Mom and Lily; this isn’t something we do every day but I think it was helpful for the legislators to hear from three generations and to get a glimpse at what has change and what hasn’t in the last 70 some years. And if you listen to the end you’ll hear Chair Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn say this is the first time they have heard from three generations. And thank you to Minnesota ERA for inviting us.
Here’s our portion of the meeting:
And the whole meeting:
I will paste the testimony we planned to read below. It’s pretty close to what we actually read. We thought this was important because gender is not currently protected in the Minnesota constitution. Most people think it is; most people think it should be. They had wonderful people testifying – some even more qualified than we are. In the end it was moved to Government Finance, which is a step forward. I expect is will pass in the House; not as hopeful for the Senate. (So if you care, find your state senator and ask them to make the ERA a priority.)
The sticky wicket seems to be the term gender versus sex. Detractors seem to think that including all genders means we somehow risk losing something. However, if we’re striving for equality for all, that means everyone – who cares what gender? It’s couched in a lot of different ways but in the end I feel like some folks feel we need someone to be less equal to make themselves feel more equal. I’d rather be on a team of all winners and we have the power (at least here) to do make everyone a winner.
See full testimony Continue reading
Filed under: Minneapolis
It’s always one of the coldest days of the year, the annual Minneapolis Homeless Memorial March 2021. It’s a memorial service for lost friends, families and folks we didn’t know who lived in the world of homelessness – maybe as asocial worker or advocate, maybe as someone who had or was experiencing homelessness in 2021. Marchers carry a placard with the name, age and city of a deceased person. It’s a solemn, yet community building event – especially at a time when so much of life is Zoomed.
This year I knew two, Ethna McKiernan and Stephanie Battle. I know Ethna has a poet with an Irish lilt; she also worked with people experiencing homelessness. Stephanie I knew in high school; she was in my sister’s class. She was a homeless advocate. My friend Monica Nilsson knew many more, as she works in the community. But we were sad to remember two women who has died in her very close community. Overdose. I think that has been too easy, or maybe life has been too hard for all of us in the last two years.
You can find the full list of names of people who have passed away online. It include young and old, all colors and genders. The saddest to be are the “baby” placards. The march was followed by an online service.
Filed under: St Paul
We missed the Minnesota State Fair last year because of the pandemic. Most of us went this year, but in shifts. Dad (aka Grandpa) and I went in the morning. We had some yummy food like cheese curds and Sweet Martha’s Cookies. We walked around to the DFL booth, Education Building and some others. I’ve heard up to 200 exhibitors have backed out of the Fair this year. It seems like many, if not most of State Departments have ducked out. No calendars at the Education Building. No going inside the MN DNR. That and the light crowds were signs of the time. Even with the lighter crowds, we avoided certain areas and wore masks in buildings.
We had a break for a car wash cookout. (Where Billy has a BBQ at the car wash, which conveniently is where we park to go to the Fair!) Dad went home and Lily and Kate arrived. We found all (maybe not all) of the vegan options for them. We also checked out some art. It’s always fun to see the subversive seed art. I am going to try to create a subversive work for next year. (I am a seed art pro, at least based on the Zoom class I took during the pandemic.) We also went to the Fine Arts Building. They have some incredible artists and such a wide range. Plenty of art recognizing the year of civil unrest.
We also had some random treats like the giant rubber duck, bull riding and the cows. Lily was disappointed that the Miracle of Birth building was closed. (I was not.) She loves to see the baby animals. We were just in time for the parade and we got in plenty of steps. (Clocked in 13 miles today!) I also got a glimpse at the MN DNR Wall of Shame, which highlights animals that have been poached. I was on the look for a deer that we used to see down at Wita Tanka and we haven’t seen for a while. I didn’t see him, but I saw a few others.
Finally the music. I’m always amazed at the wide range of free music at the Fair. I stopped to see three acts (Mae Simpson, Yam Haus and Rosie Flores) and enjoyed each but also it’s just fun to see and see the music as you walk by various parks and bars.
10 Questions About... 