It’s quite possible that you’ve used one of Jane Frees-Kluth’s public artworks, which live among us in parks, on streets, outside public buildings. Some people sip from her drinking fountain at a housing development in Richfield; others enjoy her colorful, fishlike whirligigs dancing in the fountain at the Hennepin County Government Center. This year she installed “Sibling Rivalry,” a bench featuring two figures in a tug-of-war, on the University Avenue spot where Minneapolis and St. Paul meet. Frees-Kluth insists that any commentary on the tale of our two cities was unintentional. “It was totally serendipitous. I was installing it and someone came out of the Day’s Inn restaurant and told me there used to be a marker there that said it was the joining place of the two cities,” she says.
On a desert isle, of course, she would be both the creator and the audience for her work—but she chose to bring art-making tools that could also be employed for survival purposes and even rescue attempts. Luckily for us, she realized she was asking for too much when it came to “a foundry and a crew of native men.”
1. With a hatchet, I could build my palm house, Swiss Family Robinson-style, and crack coconuts, make wood sculptures and furniture, cut my hair, and practice hatchet-throwing for self-defense.
2. I could write, draw, and sketch millions of ideas, but I’d need pencils and paper. If you would be so kind as to throw in a bottle, I could send out a message.
3. A magnifying glass to ignite a fire for light, warmth, and cooking. I’d also use it to sketch tiny bugs, do portraits of grains of sand, and burn patterns into fallen wood.
4. With a 3D rendering machine, I could create a community of sculptures based on people from my life. I’d put question and comment cards in their hands and pull one every now and then to carry on “conversations.” It would give the illusion that I wasn’t so alone.
5. Mylar, a zip sealer, and a large tank of helium. The hope that someone might see my giant homemade balloons and come rescue me would keep me inspired to create the most amazing balloons. I would have a sense of purpose. I would send letters in them.
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