Frank J. Brown

Frank J. Brown (1956-2020) was a visual artist, working in Minnesota from 1997 until his passing. Brown was primarily a sculptor, using dark colors to sculpt people. Brown sculpted a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. for the Madison, Wisconsin municipal building, titled Living For The Dream, and was further commis- sioned throughout the United States. His most significant work is perhaps a tzedakah box (a place to collect donations in Judaism), in the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s collection, titled Hope for Tomorrow. Brown described the theme of his box as “Through our suffering, we create hope for tomorrow.” Brown continued to sculpt and create art until 4 days before he died, in April of 2020.

The Bad Plus

The Bad Plus is a jazz group from Minneapolis, who are known for a more intense sound than typical jazz. The band crescendos to extremely loud peaks on many of their songs, namely “Dirty Blonde” and their cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (originally by Nirvana). The group is also known for their jazz covers of popular songs, with notable ones being the aforementioned “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” as well as “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears. These covers are concise and retain the elements that made the original songs great, while also adding their own flair. The Bad Plus has musical appeal beyond the typical jazz listener, because they are willing to experiment with the genre and make new, uniquely thought-out music.

Frank Big Bear

Frank Big Bear is an Anishinaabe artist from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. He is best known for his multicolored abstract drawings that completely fill the space with flowing shapes and figures. He has been making these unique pieces since his high school years only using colored pencils and large sheets of paper. Much of his work addresses pressing topics that have been present throughout his life. His piece titled a chemical man in a toxic world pays tribute to the pollution of the urban environment. Broken hearts and broken dreams depicts themes of despair and hope. Such works have been featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and many other renowned art displays.

D.C. Ice

D.C. Ice is a visual artist from Rochester, Minnesota who illustrates fairy-tale-like impersonations of animals using all sorts of art mediums like acrylics, oil paint, and colored pencils. She utilizes scrape boarding, where she uses a razor blade to scrape edges and shapes onto the canvas. One of her pieces that demonstrates her fairy tale style is Finding the Path. It depicts a flowing landscape with a fox and a rabbit peeking at the viewer with gleaming eyes. Most animals featured in her work have human-like eyes that give a personal and intriguing effect to her art. Fittingly, her work has been featured in over six children’s books, such as The Legend of the Werewolf and Jackula the Vampire Dog. D.C. Ice continues to capture her unique fantasies at her workshop in Minneapolis.