The Wake

The voices of incoming guests rose steadily at The Black Dog Cafe as my conversation with Nick Golfis turned towards the Chinese influence and delicate chaos of his work. Golfis, an employee at the Guthrie Theater, was joined by four other co-workers and artists in the inaugural showing of the recently created painting collective, G5 (Guthrie Five).

Their work, while not uniformly themed, managed a unique balance of the artists’ skills and emphasis. There was Ben Olson’s large, color-soaked portraits with paint heaped onto faces and poses of torpor-laced expression. Hanging beside Olson’s work was the gentle atmospheric paintings of Brooke Helgevold. The wall across the room held Golfis’ optimistically apocalyptic paintings, which blend Chinese fine art and violence. Hanging next to these were scenes from South Africa done by Jean Leuthner. And in its own corner rested Craig Fenholz’s poetry, arranged in collages and written on large and small canvases.

The relationship between the painters in G5 and their first collective show represent a burgeoning theme among artists in the art world: a collaborative identity. By mixing styles and effort, these collectives are changing the way art is expressed and valued from its conception to its final presentation.

Golfis and three other members of G5 are also part of the much larger and more sophisticated collective, Ground Up, whose network of artists throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul have abetted showings like the one at The Black Dog Cafe.

Ground Up, like G5 and other artist collectives, effectively attracts and blends a variety of talent and experience. Founded early last year, Ground Up has accumulated 50 full-time members and artists who have independently ran two large shows and numerous smaller events, including an appearance at the St. Paul Art Crawl. Painters, poets, musicians, fashion designers, models, sculptors, designers, filmmakers, web designers and even bakers fill the ranks of this collective and all events and promotional effects are self-created and self-funded.

What makes Ground Up unique is the mode in which it operates and its backing philosophy found in their mission statement. In contrast to the traditional idea of the individual artist, where creativity is kept private and profit afforded the only means of survival, Ground Up pursues a consensus-based effort in an atmosphere where competition is non-existent and artists are encouraged to help one another experiment.

Underlying this effort is the determination to incite social change by exposing their collaborative art to broader audiences, while not capitalizing on their own work.

This organized cause promotes a diversity in expression that otherwise could not be reached. And through Ground Up, individual artists find a fast avenue to greater exposure while benefiting themselves and other members in the contact between varied creativity.

These values in collaboration are integral to Ground Up’s growth and future as they welcome more contributors. Aiming to make more alliances, Ground Up is seeking association with other collectives around the Twin Cities like Ephemeral Space and as far away as in New York City with a collective called YB1.

Ground Up’s next event will take place April 21-23 at the St. Paul Art Crawl. It will feature 10 bands, a fashion show on Saturday night and at least 10 visual artists in varied mediums. In keeping faith with cooperation, all are welcome.