Unusual artwork displayed
The River Falls Public Library will host a unique exhibit beginning Saturday, Aug. 8 in the lower level gallery.
- Image
The River Falls Public Library will host a unique exhibit beginning Saturday, Aug. 8 in the lower level gallery.
“Translations From an Arid Land,” created by artist Michael Augustin, evokes the healing spirit of the Hopi and Navajo practice of creating impermanent artworks. They are made of colored sands refined from native minerals, combined in an age-old traditional manner with objects of spiritual significance.
Augustin says he does not produce or copy the sacred symbols of the medicine men, but over years of close contact with tribal practitioners, has learned to personalize the process himself.
Augustin, also an amateur astronomer and musician, divides his time between the Arizona desert and his home in Red Wing, Minn. He was the featured artist at the U. S. State Department symposium, Nations Within Nations; one of three artists selected to present at the United Nations Vision for a Third Millennium; and was chosen to present at the final Malta Summit between the then-Soviet Union and the United States.
He has been practicing sandpainting for nearly 30 years, with his works seen on “Good Morning America,” the “CNN Travel Channel,” Canadian, Hawaiian and Japanese television, and on the “BBC,” as well as in numerous publications.
An artist’s reception is planned from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, offering visitors a chance to talk to Augustin and ask questions about the various paintings on exhibit.
A formal presentation, with a demonstration and talk, will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, at the library. The program will also include Augustin’s observations on life in the Southwestern desert.
His free exhibit will continue through Friday, Sept. 4.
For more information call Katie Chaffee at 425-0905 or go to: www.riverfallspubliclibrary.org.
Tags: arts and entertainment, river falls public library, lifestyle, sandpainting
More from around the web
RSS Feeds