Mosaic art is fascinating to me. I recently posted about four mosaic panels as public art in Lanesboro, MN. There is another huge, mosaic public art display in Duluth. It is a wall of images made with ¾” x ¾” ceramic tiles, using only seven different colors. The mosaic wall is 12 x 590 foot long.
The Lake Place Image Wall is along Duluth’s new Lakewalk…with a boardwalk, and bicycle and scooter lanes.
Another view of the Lake Place Image Wall.
According to the information plaque…the Lake Place Image Wall consists of 1.29 million tiles that were placed on 12”x12” grids. Eight people worked for eight weeks to complete this wall. It was finished in 1990.
A ship image from a photograph.
Sandra and Mark Marino provided the artistic composition and production for this piece. The mosaic images, made from the tiles, are based on photographs from Duluth’s waterfront history.
A little easier to detect the small, ceramic tiles in this photo.
Duluth’s original lake walk was damaged during four major storms: one in 2017, two in 2018 and one in 2019. Finally the lake walk had to be reconstructed (and improved) and it has now reopened.
Looking towards the lighthouses in Duluth Harbor.
The 590’ mosaic wall is along Duluth’s Lakewalk, as are wonderful vistas of the great Lake Superior, and Duluth’s waterfront.
A view of the Ariel Bridge from a different point on the Duluth Lakewalk.
There is a lot of public art in Lanesboro, Minnesota, starting as soon as you enter town, in the parking lot close to the downtown area.
One of several haikus posted in the general parking lot in Lanesboro.
On each lamp post in the parking lot is a plaque with haikus posted for people to enjoy. The haikus are responses to the Lanesboro Arts Poetry Series. What a fun way to welcome people to town.
The plaque reads: 1893 Chicago Bridge Co.
We walked away from the parking lot toward town on a path that led us over the Root River on an historic bridge, now a pedestrian bridge, built in 1893. The bridge leads you to a side street in town. And there, on the side of a brick building, is a wonderful public art display of four mosaic panels.
1 of 4 mosaic panels.
The bike trail and rolling hills and farm fields near Lanesboro.
Mosaics have always intrigued me. I’m fascinated to see images and pictures created from small, colorful tiles, or stones and other such elements (in this case some pieces of mirrors).
2 of 4 mosaic panels. An eagle over land and river, a big-wheel trike in the foreground, and flowers.
These panels were the results of an Artist in Residence project in 2017. The artist, Bailey Aaland, involved the community in making these panels which, I think, adds a special touch.
The plaque explaining the mosaic public art pieces.
According to the artists plaque, she offered mosaic making sessions to community members, mirrors were donated by local residents to be used in the mural, and participants, working off Bailey’s outline, “helped shape the design throughout the creation process.”
3 of 4 mosaic panels. Tractors and bicycles on land, near river.
The results were four very creative, beautiful depictions of the surrounding areas of Lanesboro…the bike trail, the farm fields, the bluffs, the river.
4 of 4 mosaic panels. A bridge, fish, land and river.
It’s a wonderful display, showing off the area, and the collaborative work of the community, for the enjoyment of all people.
A mural in an empty space on Lanesboro’s main street.
Another public art piece in Lanesboro is on the main street, in an empty green space between buildings. It is a colorful, painted mural of the town’s name, providing a photo op for many people. There are picnic tables in this area too, offering space for people to gather together to gather to visit, eat or rest. During our overnight stay there was a community event held in this outdoor space.
Little Lending Art Cupboard:
on wheels…rolled out onto main street for folks to borrow art supplies.
To encourage art, instead of a “Little Free Library” there was a “Little Lending Art Cupboard” in this same community space. The cupboard is full of art supplies, and was on wheels so it could be set out during the day and taken in at night, or kept out of the rain, and moved around town to different locations I suppose. It encouraged people to “Take what you need, leave what you can. Because everyone needs a little art in their life!” The Art Cupboard was created by Girl Scout Troop 47985. What a great idea. I haven’t seen that before.
It was delightful to take in the variety of public art displays created with the intention of sharing them with the Lanesboro community and its many visitors.
There was a major street renovation in our town recently. The intersection by the high school and middle school was transformed into a round-about, and four tunnels were added for pedestrians and bicyclists to use to avoid crossing the busy intersection. In the beginning, I wondered how much sense it made since it was costly. But now that it is completed, and working smoothly, I do like the results.
A future section of the Mill Towns State Trail will run through one of the tunnels.
To top it off, the city included monies for a public art display in the tunnels. There were bids for the job… muralists (artist’s self-identifier) had to submit their work and be chosen. For this public art display, Adam Tuman was the chosen artist.
The muralist: Adam Turman.
We have seen his work before. Several years ago, our son hired Adam to paint a beautiful mural on the outside wall of his office building in Uptown, Minneapolis. The mural included scenes of the uptown area (where the office is located) and signs of technology (the business).
Mural of the Uptown area on our son’s office building, in Uptown.
Another section of the cityscape view on the office building.
I also saw an exhibit of Adam Turman’s artwork at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, MN.
Now, here he is in Northfield, painting beautiful, illustrated works to highlight our town and its surrounding area.
Bridge over the Cannon River in downtown Northfield.
The other day we went to see how the tunnels were progressing and Adam was working. We introduced ourselves and struck up a conversation with him. Adam was very friendly and engaging and we were so glad to meet him. Of course, he remembered doing the mural for our son. We are thrilled Adam was chosen to do this public art display in Northfield. He has almost completed his work on the four tunnels.
Ruins of an old mill in Dundas, MN.
The colors are vibrant.
Bright colors.
The themes so apropos to our area.
Hidden Falls in Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.
The painting so artistically appealing.
Prairie cone flowers.
I love the added touch; a bee.
You get a sense of being a part of something big as you walk through the tunnels.
This woodpecker scene is still a work in progress.
There will be 16 scenes representing four sections when he is through with this project: Cannon River, Nerstrand Big Woods, Prairie, and Oak Savannah.
Kayaks on the Cannon.
An up-close snipit.
Trout Lilies.
A barred owl.
A chickadee.
Adam Turman does amazing work, and it is definitely worth a trip to see these tunnels in Northfield.
