The story of "Biota Borealis," the newest Public Art Project at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery in Grand Marais
Oct 03, 2024 10:48AM ● By Content Editor
Biota Borealis is a new Public Art Project in front of the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, created by Minnesota artist Maeve Gathje.
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - October 3, 2024
If you happened to drive down Wisconsin Street on Thursday of last week, you may have come across an unusual sight in front of the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery: three large pieces of Mesabi black granite floating through the sky, attached to a large crane. "Large" may be an understatement. Two of the three pieces of stone weigh 6,000 lbs each, and the third, 2,000 lbs.
This impressive endeavor was one of the last steps to complete an over-year-long public art project for the Cook County Historical Society (CCHS). In July 2023, the organization put out a call for artists to submit proposals for an outdoor art piece that would live indefinitely in front of the Johnson Heritage Post (JHP) in Grand Marais. Funded through a generous grant from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, requirements included being able to withstand our Minnesota weather, and the goal was "to commission an artwork that reflects artistic and technical qualities and fosters a welcoming and uplifting environment."
Maeve Gathje, a Minnesota-based artist who had experience creating large stone public art pieces thanks to fellow artist Craig David's mentorship (who she has been working with since 2015), decided to apply. Gathje's journey in Grand Marais began in 2016 when she was a North House Folk School intern. She told Boreal Community Media that she "made lifelong friends (even beyond affiliations with the Folk School during that time), and when I saw this call for art, I wanted to give back something special to a place filled with good people who fed me, housed me, took me on their favorite trails, and even knit me socks occasionally. It’s an honor to be selected to have permanent art in this place that I love."
The artwork, which ultimately ended up being titled Biota Borealis, was inspired by Gathje's love of the area and community feedback. Earlier this year, CCHS created a survey that asked full and part-time residents to answer questions about what types of things they think best describe the area. For example, "What do you think is the most iconic feature of Cook County?, What do you think is one under-appreciated feature of Cook County?, and If you had to describe the Cook County area in three words, what would you choose? were just some of the questions.
Gathje visited Cold Spring Quarry near Babbit, Minnesota, to source the rocks. In an Artist Talk at JHP, she told the audience that she spent time walking around the quarry trying to find the right pieces. "I laid on the rocks, next to the rocks. I wanted to take them all home," she said.
Ultimately, after 45 minutes, she chose a flat rock because it "looked like a pillow" and a wedge that weighed 13,000 lbs and had to be cut in half (with a diamond rope - a "newish technology"), creating two smaller wedges. While she was there, she learned about the quarry and how the rocks were made. "It's important to me to learn about the material I work with and where it comes from, how it was formed."
After bringing the rocks back to her workshop, she spent much time "learning the stones" by just being with them and around them. "Once you make a mark, it's permanent, or at least an incredibly time-consuming fix," she added. The timing for this was perfect because it also happened to be cold outside, which made it hard to use many of the wet tools needed for rock cutting and sanding. She also made use of this time as a visual learner and artist; Gathje created large cardboard replicas of the stones and brought them to Grand Marais to determine the exact placement of each piece.
Finally, when it was time to start the physical work of designing the stones, she told the audience at JHP the first step was to walk around the pieces and hit them with a wet hammer. "Sometimes, the rocks tell you what it wants or needs." Ultimately, she was looking for cracks, which, due to our freeze/thaw cycles during winter, can damage the artwork if not identified beforehand.
Next came the sanding, which took over two months. She then created the stencils from the designs she had previously worked on in her basement. Transferring the designs onto the stencils and then onto the stone took some time, she shared. Finally, the sandblasting, which, after all the steps that led up to that point, took only four hours.
Then, of course, transporting the finished designs to JHP, then from the truck to their final resting places in front of the building. This process took around two hours (once the truck arrived at JHP.)
The finished designs not only represent and showcase what many of us know and love about the area, but Gathje added many intentional components.
In an Instagram post, she shared that the low, horizontal stone represents the aquatic life in Lake Superior and inland lakes, because the "stone itself is like an aquarium." Additionally, she shared that "this stone is a great one for standing and sitting, and as I worked on it, I thought of the artist's point and the great rocks to traverse on that bit of Grand Marais, MN."
The large horizontal stone represents "nature from afar," with views of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and surrounding Boreal Forest. On top, Gathje added constellations that can be seen in the spring and fall in the Northern Hemisphere. This stone also intentionally points north, like the arrow on a compass.
Finally, the large vertical stone represents "nature from close up" and shows a birch tree with birds and a blueberry bush. There's also "enough negative space that the faces of the stone without sandblasting can act like a mirror, putting the viewer’s reflection in among the imagery." Gathje shared at the JHP Artist Talk that this stone reminded her of the Sawtooth Mountains.
On the official unveiling day, Saturday, September 28, community members and visitors packed JHP to listen to Gathje speak and see the finished pieces. After the talk, everyone was invited outside as the covers were removed with a countdown. People walked around, touched, laid, and sat, marveling at the designs in the artwork. In the following days, kids could be seen climbing on the pieces, while adults walked around capturing every detail - just as Gathje intended.
When asked what, if anything, she learned about herself during this over-year-long process, she shared that "This was the first large-scale project I took on all on my own. There are often logistical challenges when creating monumental works in stone due to their weight and size, and those challenges can be daunting or even paralyzing to me some days. Breaking a project down into steps and accomplishing such a big project on my own, with minimal equipment, taught me that even when there are immense challenges to this type of work, I am fully capable of making this work possible."
To learn more about Gathje and her work, visit maevegathje.com or her Instagram page here.
To learn more about the Johnson Heritage Post and Cook County Historical Society, visit: cookcountyhistory.org.
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - October 3, 2024
If you happened to drive down Wisconsin Street on Thursday of last week, you may have come across an unusual sight in front of the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery: three large pieces of Mesabi black granite floating through the sky, attached to a large crane. "Large" may be an understatement. Two of the three pieces of stone weigh 6,000 lbs each, and the third, 2,000 lbs.
Two of the three stones weigh 6,000 lbs each, the third weighs 2,000 lbs and had to be transferred by crane from the truck to JHP.
Biota Borealis artist Maeve Gathje (in the orange shirt) secures one of the large stones before the crane transports it from the truck to JHP.
Once the stones were moved from the truck to JHP, the crane was used to put the pieces into the exact place artist Maeve Gathje requested.
This impressive endeavor was one of the last steps to complete an over-year-long public art project for the Cook County Historical Society (CCHS). In July 2023, the organization put out a call for artists to submit proposals for an outdoor art piece that would live indefinitely in front of the Johnson Heritage Post (JHP) in Grand Marais. Funded through a generous grant from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, requirements included being able to withstand our Minnesota weather, and the goal was "to commission an artwork that reflects artistic and technical qualities and fosters a welcoming and uplifting environment."
Maeve Gathje, a Minnesota-based artist who had experience creating large stone public art pieces thanks to fellow artist Craig David's mentorship (who she has been working with since 2015), decided to apply. Gathje's journey in Grand Marais began in 2016 when she was a North House Folk School intern. She told Boreal Community Media that she "made lifelong friends (even beyond affiliations with the Folk School during that time), and when I saw this call for art, I wanted to give back something special to a place filled with good people who fed me, housed me, took me on their favorite trails, and even knit me socks occasionally. It’s an honor to be selected to have permanent art in this place that I love."
The artwork, which ultimately ended up being titled Biota Borealis, was inspired by Gathje's love of the area and community feedback. Earlier this year, CCHS created a survey that asked full and part-time residents to answer questions about what types of things they think best describe the area. For example, "What do you think is the most iconic feature of Cook County?, What do you think is one under-appreciated feature of Cook County?, and If you had to describe the Cook County area in three words, what would you choose? were just some of the questions.
Gathje visited Cold Spring Quarry near Babbit, Minnesota, to source the rocks. In an Artist Talk at JHP, she told the audience that she spent time walking around the quarry trying to find the right pieces. "I laid on the rocks, next to the rocks. I wanted to take them all home," she said.
Gathje presented during the Unveiling event at Johnson Heritage Post. Here, she is walking the audience through her process of selecting the stones from the Cold Spring Quarry in Babbit, MN.
Ultimately, after 45 minutes, she chose a flat rock because it "looked like a pillow" and a wedge that weighed 13,000 lbs and had to be cut in half (with a diamond rope - a "newish technology"), creating two smaller wedges. While she was there, she learned about the quarry and how the rocks were made. "It's important to me to learn about the material I work with and where it comes from, how it was formed."
After bringing the rocks back to her workshop, she spent much time "learning the stones" by just being with them and around them. "Once you make a mark, it's permanent, or at least an incredibly time-consuming fix," she added. The timing for this was perfect because it also happened to be cold outside, which made it hard to use many of the wet tools needed for rock cutting and sanding. She also made use of this time as a visual learner and artist; Gathje created large cardboard replicas of the stones and brought them to Grand Marais to determine the exact placement of each piece.
Finally, when it was time to start the physical work of designing the stones, she told the audience at JHP the first step was to walk around the pieces and hit them with a wet hammer. "Sometimes, the rocks tell you what it wants or needs." Ultimately, she was looking for cracks, which, due to our freeze/thaw cycles during winter, can damage the artwork if not identified beforehand.
Next came the sanding, which took over two months. She then created the stencils from the designs she had previously worked on in her basement. Transferring the designs onto the stencils and then onto the stone took some time, she shared. Finally, the sandblasting, which, after all the steps that led up to that point, took only four hours.
Then, of course, transporting the finished designs to JHP, then from the truck to their final resting places in front of the building. This process took around two hours (once the truck arrived at JHP.)
The finished designs not only represent and showcase what many of us know and love about the area, but Gathje added many intentional components.
In an Instagram post, she shared that the low, horizontal stone represents the aquatic life in Lake Superior and inland lakes, because the "stone itself is like an aquarium." Additionally, she shared that "this stone is a great one for standing and sitting, and as I worked on it, I thought of the artist's point and the great rocks to traverse on that bit of Grand Marais, MN."
The small horizontal stone reminded Maeve of an aquarium, so she created an aquatic design for this piece.
The large horizontal stone represents "nature from afar," with views of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and surrounding Boreal Forest. On top, Gathje added constellations that can be seen in the spring and fall in the Northern Hemisphere. This stone also intentionally points north, like the arrow on a compass.
The large horizontal stone points north, like the arrow of a compass. This stone represents the forest from afar and includes constellations seen in the Northern Hemisphere during spring and fall.
Finally, the large vertical stone represents "nature from close up" and shows a birch tree with birds and a blueberry bush. There's also "enough negative space that the faces of the stone without sandblasting can act like a mirror, putting the viewer’s reflection in among the imagery." Gathje shared at the JHP Artist Talk that this stone reminded her of the Sawtooth Mountains.
The large vertical stone reminded Gathje of the Sawtooth Mountains and represents the area "up-close" with a blueberry bush, birch tree, and birds.
On the official unveiling day, Saturday, September 28, community members and visitors packed JHP to listen to Gathje speak and see the finished pieces. After the talk, everyone was invited outside as the covers were removed with a countdown. People walked around, touched, laid, and sat, marveling at the designs in the artwork. In the following days, kids could be seen climbing on the pieces, while adults walked around capturing every detail - just as Gathje intended.
Gathje (in yellow, by left stone), CCHS Interim Director and JHP Gallery Manager Aliya Marxen (in black, by middle stone), and JHP Sales Associate Lois Clay (by right stone) officially unveil the Public Art Project on September 28, 2024.
Community members and visitors gathered around the Public Art Project after the official unveiling.
When asked what, if anything, she learned about herself during this over-year-long process, she shared that "This was the first large-scale project I took on all on my own. There are often logistical challenges when creating monumental works in stone due to their weight and size, and those challenges can be daunting or even paralyzing to me some days. Breaking a project down into steps and accomplishing such a big project on my own, with minimal equipment, taught me that even when there are immense challenges to this type of work, I am fully capable of making this work possible."
To learn more about Gathje and her work, visit maevegathje.com or her Instagram page here.
To learn more about the Johnson Heritage Post and Cook County Historical Society, visit: cookcountyhistory.org.
