The art news from the Northland this week centers on the Minnesota State Fair. Several area artists had works on display. Perhaps most noteworthy was the overall fourth place finish by water color artist John Salminen. Over 2000 artists applied to the fine arts exhibit at the fair and less than 400 were chosen through a jury process. You can see all of the submissions on the Minnesota State Fair website.
Art news from another state fair brought some controversy recently. In a technological world that is ever expanding, the rules may need to be rewritten as more and more computer generated images create a blurred line when it comes to authorship and creative ownership. An entrant at the Colorado state fair submitted a digital work that was the result of a computer pulling together preexisting works. "It brings up all sorts of questions," says Annie Dugan. "It brings up questions of appropriation, it brings up questions of originality and our relationship with technology." As of this year, the Minnesota State Fair did not have any language in their submission rules precluding art of this nature.
