Art Hounds: Portraits of essential workers

Plus, Art Hounds recommend Benjamin Percy's 'Wolverine' podcast and a streamed performance of 'Booth's Ghost'

brightly colored portraits of a bus driver, a mailman, and a pharmacist
Artist Carolyn Olson has begun a series of portraits of "essential workers" during the coronavirus pandemic. Art Hound Annie Enneking says Olson's bold colors and larger-than-life figures deftly convey the heroic nature of her subjects, whether it's a mailman, a bus driver or a pharmacist.
Courtesy of Carolyn Olson

Musician and stage fight instructor Annie Enneking has been enjoying the work of Duluth artist Carolyn Olson. Olson recently began a series called “Essential Workers — COVID-19 Virus.” They portray the work of jobs that have become both risky and critical during the global pandemic: mail delivery, grocery store clerks, bus drivers, food workers and many more. Enneking loves how the bold colors and larger-than-life figures give the workers an almost mythical quality.

Playwright and performer Kyle B. Dekker recommends you check out a streaming performance of “Booth’s Ghost,” a one-man show by Andrew Erskine Wheeler. The play — a 2019 Fringe Festival favorite — is both a ghost story and a tribute to theater, and Dekker says it’s the perfect thing to watch while theaters are dark. Bonus: each of the six showings is a fundraiser for a different Twin Cities theater. Screenings — both on Facebook and on Wheeler’s website — run Friday through May 3.

Liz Wilkinson of the band Wilkinson James is a fan of Northfield writer Benjamin Percy. Percy is prolific, writing short stories, novels, movie scripts and also graphic novels. Wilkinson recently checked out the podcast “Wolverine” which is a dramatic telling of one of Percy’s stories. She says she binge-listened to season one, “The Longest Night”, and can’t wait to dig into season two, “The Lost Trail.” She says it’s great for both fans of the Marvel character and for people who just love a really gripping story. Find it wherever you get your podcasts.

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.