A performative ceramics manufacturing project based on World War I military targeting technology.
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Artists: Joe Madrigal and Amber Ginsburg
Listen to the FLO(we){u}R Soapcast episodes to learn more: FLO(we){u}R Project Overview or a Mid-Production Reflection
Post photos and share your experiences with FLO(we){u}R on Facebook.
Closing Reception and Plaster Mold Sale
May 26th, 7-11pm
FLO(we){u}R Artist Talks
May 4th, 8pm
May 19th, 4pm
May 25th, 8pm
Help with FLO(we){u}R Bomb Production
Every Saturday in May, visitors are welcome to participate in making terra cotta bombs. Stop by from 12-5pm on a Saturday and work with artists Amber Ginsburg and Joseph Madrigal as a part of the FLO(we){u}R production team. No advanced sign up needed, please wear clothes & shoes you are comfortable working in. Children under the age of 14 are welcome to participate with a parent or guardian.
Seed Scattering Bike Rides:
Three FLO(we){u}R bike rides are planned for May 13th, 15th and 20th. On each ride, visitors will carry a terra cotta dummy test bomb and embark on a journey to a seed dispersal site. At each site, using the terra cotta bomb seedshakers, participants will plant a variety of white blooming flowers.
All FLO(we){u}R Rides launch from The Soap Factory. Please arrive on time! Routes are designed to include both bike paths and street bike lanes. Soap Factory Bike Captains will lead each FLO(we){u}R ride. Bikers are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch/snack and their camera.
May 13th to Bancroft Meadows and Powderhorn Park: departs 11am
Ride and seed scattering duration: 3 hours
May 13th ride ends at Powderhorn Park at the Mayday Parade
May 15th to Theodore Wirth Park: departs 5:30pm
Ride and seed scattering duration: 3 hours
May 20th to 14th St & Quincy St NE: departs 3pm
Ride and seed scattering duration: 2 hours
About FLO(we){u}R
FLO(we){u}R highlights a little known detail of American history. Beginning in 1914 terra cotta factories, which produced the decorative facades on buildings in downtowns across the United States, were commissioned to make ceramic test bombs for the military. Historically, the ceramic bombs were filled with baking flour and dropped from airplanes. The white marks made by the broken shells allowed early pilots to calibrate their targeting. The Soap Factory’s location in Minneapolis’ historic milling district lends rich context to the humble materials filling each bomb.
The Soap Factory’s gallery space will house a full scale bomb manufacturing facility and all aspects of production will be on display, from clay mixing through molding to drying. Over the course of the project, labor will accumulate in the form of dummy test bombs. Two variations of the terra cotta dummy bomb will be produced based on original WWI blueprints. One model is fired for use as a seed shaker. The second model is un-fired will be used for test launches and a one time seed dispersal at the end of the exhibition. These seeding will leave new white blooming mark on the landscape.
During FLO(we){u}R, the audience will not only be able to see production in process; they will be able to interact with the dummy test bombs in multiple ways. Deviating from the military’s intentions towards accuracy and destruction, the interactive and performative elements will address dispersion and formation. Ginsburg and Madrigal use history and metaphor to insert a poetic undoing of the bombs’ military past. Gallery visitors are encouraged to fill bombs with a custom dispersal mix of flour and white blooming seed mixes. This mix will be scattered throughout Minneapolis by on artist-led seed walks throughout the Minneapolis Park system or by bicycle on seed rides. In this way, the artists reverse the military precision of aerial targeting and allow for a more open-ended random dispersal.
An additional seed scattering event is scheduled for June 9th during the Northern Spark Festival.
Watch the SFG4 episode for FLO(we){u}R:
See one of the FLO(we){u}R bombs in action. Watch one of our daily drops:
About the artists:
Joseph Madrigal is a ceramic artist living in Kalamazoo Michigan and currently teaching ceramics and sculpture at Kalamazoo College. He earned his MFA in ceramics at Illinois State University.
Amber Ginsburg is an artist living in Chicago Illinois and currently teaching at the University of Chicago. She studied ceramics at Illinois State University, Normal and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.