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Gunpowder Artist

MINNEAPOLIS-The new Minnesota Vikings stadium will not open until 2016. But when it does, the stadium will include an impressive variety of artworks commissioned by Minnesota artists. One of the artists is Courtland native Lisa Friedrich.

Friedrich, daughter of Char and the late James Friedrich, attended school at Minnesota Valley Lutheran in New Ulm.

While attending MVL, Friedrich received a great deal of inspiration from her art teacher Jason Jaspersen. She attended South Central College before transferring to Minnesota State University at Mankato. She graduated in 2011 with majors in art history and studio art.

While pursuing her career, she has received significant attention for her artwork. In addition to being chosen to create original pieces for the U.S. Bank Stadium, she exhibited artwork at the Minnesota State Fair for the first time this year.

The exact details of Friedrich’s involvement with the art installations are still a closely guarded secret, but her contribution will involve images of Twin Cities landmarks and will be created using her own “gunpowder” style.

Gunpowder art uses controlled ignition of gunpowder to burn images into a thick paper. Friedrich began dabbling with gunpowder art in 2010.

As part of an Undergraduate Research Conference she received a grant to study the medium of smoke, fire and gunpowder. This ignited a new pursuit for Friedrich. For eight months she experimented with various gunpowder mixtures to create different types of images and eventually developed her own technique.

Upon presenting her work she was awarded “best presentation” in her category, but Friedrich also became an expert in a style few are able to replicate.

With the grant work completed, Friedrich still experiments with gunpowder artwork. Although the medium is catching on, it remains a rare art form because it is a difficult style to teach for safety reasons.

Friedrich acknowledged she has received her share of burns working with gunpowder, but with practice she has managed to control the chaos.

The basic process begins with the creation of a stencil to establish an outline. Next ink is applied for texture and depth. The last step is laying down the gunpowder in the desired area followed by ignition.

“It’s almost like creating the negative of an image,” said Friedrich.

The application of gunpowder and the burning process are the trickiest parts. Friedrich explained that gunpowder does not come in a single uniform style. “There are hundreds of burn rates and knowing the different burn rates is important because it causes different burn effects.”

If Friedrich is off by a single step, the entire piece can be ruined. Friedrich estimated that about one out of five works turns out perfect.

Fortunately, Friedrich is a self-admitted pyromaniac and is familiar with the basic chemistry of the gunpowder she uses. She often mixes different gunpowder compounds to achieve a desired burn effect. Certain gunpowder compounds could also result in different colors or textures. In a way this makes her work a combination of science and art.

The gunpowder style can be used on any two-dimensional subjects ranging from abstract to portraits. Friedrich favors using it to create architectural images – “anything with straight lines and sharp edges,” she said.

It is this type of piece that Friedrich will contribute to the new Vikings Stadium. The work and where it will appear in the stadium are still unknown, but Friedrich will be one of only 34 Minnesota artists represented in the building’s art collection.

All the art pieces in the collection will be new and design specific for the location.

The art display is permanent, which means as long as the U.S. Bank Stadium stands it will include the pieces created by Friedrich.

“I am very humbled to be included,” Friedrich said. As a long time football fan, she is excited to be a permanent part of Vikings legacy and excited the team is reaching out to the art community.

“I love that they are considering local, everyday Minnesotan artists to be part of the collection,” she said.

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