The South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings is hosting "Nordic Echoes: Tradition in Contemporary Art." It's the first major traveling exhibit of contemporary Nordic folk arts from the upper Midwest.
The art collection honors more than 200 years of human migration from the Nordic region. When people traveled, they brought their art with them: papercutting, weaving, carving. The traditional methods live on. But today, rosemaling might appear on a plate designed to protect a home from the COVID virus.
The figurehead of a hardanger fiddle is carved into the likeness of the artist's friend wearing her traditional Scandinavian headpiece. It took 400 hours to make.
On the back of a carved chair, a small, wooden bird perches. It's said to whisper into the ears of a person who might sit there to rest.
Many gallery visitors pause at an expansive installation of delicate papercutting. In the piece, red foxes, pine marten, loons and white-tailed deer flee in terror from barbed flames. Artist Sonja Peterson has used the traditional art of papercutting to respond to fires in Minnesota, California, Canada — an ecosystem turning to ash.
Throughout the gallery, a melody pulls visitors through the space. Artist Tia Keobounpheng has several pieces in the exhibit, including a short film.
Keobounpheng art pieces feature geometric patterns in vibrant colors. She spoke with SDPB's Lori Walsh.
