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Frank Korb – Planning & Preparing Materials

Patient, purposeful and persistent, high school arts educator and abstract painter Frank Korb is fascinated with building frames, stretching canvases, and preparing his materials. Frank focuses on the formal elements and principles of art and the push and pull of relationships. Frank starts each work by laying down bible pages to add texture and text. Frank is in his studio every day, often spending only 45 minutes each session, but his persistence pays off!

I am honored to represent all of the outstanding secondary visual arts educators in Wisconsin and the nation. Thank you to my loving wife and daughter Julie and Abby Korb for their never ending support of my efforts as an artist, educator, and leader. Without you both, I’d never have been able to accomlpish what I have. Thank you to my parents and family, my mom Ginger Boglitsch and my dad Frank Korb as teachers and dad Paul Boglitsch for demonstrating the importance of teaching others as well as serving others as a volunteer and leader. Thanks as well as all the other teachers in my family for demonstrating to me the importance of education in out lives. Thank you to my friends in the WAEA for my nomination and friendship. Thank you to those who I have worked with as partners in my lifetime of teaching. My art teacher and then colleague, Sonja Kipper for bringing me back into the art department as a high schooler and then as a partner in the same department. Sue Messer, Bob Mertens, and Bill Chandler for helping me find my way as an artist and educator. Beth Schleiger for helping me break out of my shell in the department and get involved in the WAEA as a leader, Brett Roberts for being my exemplar as one who can do a phenomenal job, not letting the frustrations get to me, and being able to relax a little, and Angie Szabo (as well as the entire K-12 team in Fort Atkinson) for continuing to push me to be the best arts educator for our kids and community. Thank you to everyone else whose names I haven’t forgotten but can’t list here because I will have forgotten someone… Thank you.

Thank you to MARN for the incredible opportunity to share my and our experiences in the MARN Salon Conversations. I had the great opportunity to see this show of incredible artists in late September. Please make sure you get to the show this weekend (November 15 and 16, 2021) for MKE Gallery Night and Day.

“C is for Conversation: how conversations between the artists and critics affected the creative processes” is the 2021 MARNsalons Final Exhibition running September 24 – Nov 2, 2021 within the MARN ART + CULTURE HUB. The exhibition features the work of artists who participated in the 2021 MARNsalons Program and members of the 2021 MARNsalons Advisory Committee. The 10 Salon Program Artists engaged in deep conversations and exchanged ideas with 3 local and 3 national critics during virtual studio/workspace visits from February to June, 2021. Majority of work featured in the exhibition was created after the conclusion of the artists and critics dialogues. Exhibiting artists include Katie Avila Loughmiller, Deborah Brooks, Alexa Hollywood, Carley Knight, Frank Korb, Lennis Mathews, Meghan McGrath, Reid Sancken, Francesca Simonite, Katherine Steichen Rosing, Valaria Tatera, and Marian JA Vieux.

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All Americans, 18 and over, have the Constitutional rights to vote in our elections. Here are the Amendments that define our voting rights.

• AMENDMENT XV – Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870.
  • Section 1.
    • The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude–
  • Section 2.
    • The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

• AMENDMENT XIX – Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 1920.
  • Section 1.
    • The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
  • Section 2.
    • Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

• AMENDMENT XXIV – Passed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified January 23, 1964.
  • Section 1.
    • The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax.
  • Section 2.
    • The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

• AMENDMENT XXVI – Passed by Congress March 23, 1971. Ratified July 1, 1971.
• Note: Amendment 14, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 1 of the 26th amendment.
  • Section 1.
    • The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
  • Section 2.
    • The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/education/all_amendments_usconst.htm

Throughout the country we are facing challenges about the November 2020 election (still) with 1/3 of Americans (https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/21/politics/biden-voter-fraud-big-lie-monmouth-poll/index.html) and 2/3 of republicans under the belief of the “big lie” that the election was stolen (not believing the 7 million votes that President Biden had over former President Trump) (https://www.prri.org/spotlight/the-big-lie-most-republicans-believe-the-2020-election-was-stolen/). Republican held state legislatures are working to do all they can to make it more difficult for everyone who is eligible to vote to do just that… VOTE. The republican legislatures across the country are continuing to cast doubt about the legitimacy of the 2020 elections and the process that we go through to elect out officials (except the very same elections that gave them their seats of power).

There are NO OFF YEARS! We must, as Americans, work together to make sure that ALL AMERICANS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE to vote have the easiest way possible to get out their vote.

My newest work You Are Fully Equipped To Do This Right Now, In This Moment illustrates the rise of all (minorities as the exemplar – this is who the GOP is pushing down with the new Jim Crow approach to the legislation) over the efforts of those in power to suppress those rights. The quilt and the multicultural lines that run throughout and off of the handmade Gee’s Bend (and the history of quilting from the days of the earliest quilts) inspired quilt, represent all those who are being suppressed (or are at the least being attempted to be suppressed). The rough topped red, white, and blue topped block, wrapped in the Constitutional Amendments support the quilt but the rough surface also separates the quilt from the Constitution. The hard board base is collaged with the very anti-voter legislation that the WI GOP led legislature is proposing. All topped in the red of the GOP and the immovable and centralized hard black line, self-contained, moving around nothing but itself has worked its way into the amendment. The gold of the outside edge of the work represents the golden rights, the classical leaf that frames the building blocks of the republic, the democracy we live in.

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To see the PROCESS of the work, click HERE.

Make sure you get out YOUR VOTE and HELP OTHERS to get out their vote as well. Mail in ballots, absentee ballots, drop boxes, voting sites, registration are many of the issues that are being legislated upon. Make sure you CONTACT you state legislation as well and voice your beliefs about what is being debated.

Frank

After a LOT of work to create and then frame this diptych, I got the pair up to the Cedarburg Cultural Center for the group show. The works are being delivered through Wednesday and the show will be ready to view on Friday the 16th of July. This is the pinnacle shows (or that is the plans) for the Wisconsin Visual Artists SE WI region. I am pleased to be a part of this INAUGURAL SHOW. Please come to the opening reception on July 22 from 5 – 7 pm. I will post more images as I get them! Thank you for all your support. Please sign up for my mailing list to continue to be informed.

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While I will be writing more about this later, this current work… “This Is In Sync With Reality,” Frank Korb, Acrylic on Cloth, Canvas, and Masonite. Quilted Cloth with Bible Pages, Ballot Copies (Samples), Printed (Ink Jet) Wisconsin Maps, Gold Leaf, Stones, and Pine. 11 1/2″ x 27 5/8″, 2021. (Maquette.), is all about the voter suppression that the GOP in WI and ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY and in the Supreme Court are pushing and passing in laws!

The work consists of four sections: a quilt, a wall, a canvas, and a hard panel of Masonite. Minority votes are being suppressed and the GOP of my state and quite possibly your state are working hard to suppress the votes of minorities and underserved. The quilt represents the monorities and underserved, the wall represents the wall that the GOP is building in laws and restrictions and rules about voting that work to restrict eligible voters. The canvas is the actual act of voting and the Masonite, the hard board, is the GOP with the hard edged rules that make it more difficult and suppressing for all voters to vote.

This is a maquette for two additional works that are in the works. Follow me in Instagram to see the works develop over time.

The progress of this work can be seen HERE.

These six new works all deal with the ideas of climate change. Subtleties abound in the works. My choices in color use represent the following – although one can find many more ideas as one looks deeper into the challenges the environment faces. The grey’s represent the ideas (and facts) of pollution: smog, tailpipes, smokestacks, factory exhaust and more. The oranges represent the beautifully rich skies at sunrise and sunset as with wildfires across the country and world burn. Gorgeous visually to see on the horizon from a far but devastating when it in it right up close. My choice of the greens represent the pollution of out large and small waterways, rivers, lakes, and oceans. From the chemicals poured in to the plastics and other garbage that has collected over the decades. Finally, the toned down reds of the burning of cities.

There is more to the pollution and climate change than just what happens in the wilderness. The burning of the cities can be seen as the literal architecture being consumed but it can also be seen as the streets, the sewers, the lots and decay of buildings. Of course there is more. The underlying painting is taken from the sunrise of my own neighborhood and commute to work. Looking out at the beauty of the eastern horizon as the sun breaks it and casts the oranges and blues is a beautiful beginning to my days. From there I cast a number of light blue glazes over the top of the sky, blocking out the brushwork and beauty of the under-painting. The white-blue line that chases and builds up the outline of the shapes is from the same white-blue of the glaze, a coarse sand texture has been added to that and some of the colors within the shapes as well. A texture of contamination of the surface.

Finally, (and there is more – there is always more) the framing – finishing up the use of wood from other frames and constructions so that I can maximize the use use of the materials, I allow a gap between the back edge of the frame and the wall so that one can see clearly the colors of the under-painting without the haze and glaze over top.

Some have pointed out that they see other things in the forms. I agree. Just like the clouds and the shapes in the sky, one can see what they will in the clouds.

Each work is framed and ready to hang. As of the writing of this post they are each selling for $375 (+tax and shipping).

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Thank you to EVERYONE who came to the opening reception at Bluemoon Gallery in Grayslake, IL. Please stop by and visit every weekend through May 9 to take in the show. Kendra Kett for the opportunity to share my works in front of a new crowd. The opening reception was GREAT and a new sculpture found a new home (I hope more of the works do the same).

Bluemoon Gallery is located at 18620 Belvidere Road Grayslake, Illinois 60030 and will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 – 4pm. Visit their website at www.theBluemoongallery.com. HERE is a link to my page on their site.

Message me if you are interested in any of the works that are being shown and I will help you out.

Frank

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Thank you to the Nihal and Gallery NK. We had a great meeting in the gallery as I showed a number of paintings on paper and canvas and my newest sculptures. 5 works will be exhibited in a show at Gallery B at the end of April – time to frame and ship! The top 2 works will be in their space until then with the 3 below that will be shipped soon.

Frank

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A good dinner with family and a few drawings to occupy the time beforehand. Enjoy your family. Enjoy your food.

Frank

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