Nort
January 12 – May 12, 2024
Opening Night: January 12 | 5-8pm | Free & Open to the Public
Exhibit Admission: Visit FREE with your TMA membership, starting as low as $15 for the year. One-day passes available at $10.
By artist John Swartwout
Nort presents three-dimensional installations that provide a view of the “Nort” through the artist’s curiously offset lens.
After living outside of the United States for several years in Germany and Canada, I made it back to Wisconsin, the state of my birth, and found myself fascinated by an upper Midwest I had forgotten. I was captivated by how much things had changed. In some ways, I felt I was a foreigner in my home state. The series Nort began as a recalling and facilitator for me to work through ideas and feelings I couldn’t explain about how my memories of this place did not match the reality I was observing being back.
I believe many people, when faced with change, rely on a standard they’ve set based on their own memories (accurate or otherwise) that allow them to look to the future.
One of the most recurring themes within Nort is my personal humor. I use humor as a vehicle to highlight truths and realistic solutions. My hope is for visitors to pause and question their own perceptions while seeing the humor in my work.