Local Artist Spotlight: Jim Brenner, Sculptor

Article by Becky Fillinger

When you think of sculpture in the Twin Cities, certain high profile sculpture gardens come to mind – the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden or the Franconia Sculpture Park – and we should take immense pride in our wealth of available art. Recently I’ve been interested in learning more about the artists behind pieces I often see in our community. Meet Jim Brenner – he’s been creating sculpture art for several decades with a studio in NE Minneapolis. You’ll find several of his public works in Minneapolis. We talked to him about the process of becoming a sculptor and how social justice issues have impacted his work.

Jim Brenner

Q:  How did you become interested in sculpture?

A:  Depends on how far back I should go to answer your question. My mom’s an artist – Liz Dodson – and we always had creativity within the household. My mom taught art at my high school and I steered away from art at that point. My brother is a general contractor - I ended up doing painting and faux finishes with him. I then worked with a man who was a fine arts painter. He helped me think about color and composition. Art and creativity was slowly becoming a bit more interesting to me. I then became a painter for a theater set design company – Design Stages. This was a complete creative environment – I worked on all sorts of finishes and props for theater clientele. At this time, I took a class at the U – a foundry class taught by Chris Dashke. The head professor was Wayne Potratz. Everything I know about iron and casting comes primarily from Wayne Potratz – he’s the grandfather of the iron casting movement and his techniques are now part of any foundry curriculum in the United States. He influenced me creatively and technically. 

I was immediately hooked after taking the foundry class – the casting process mesmerized me where something solid becomes a liquid and then back to a solid in a completely different form. At this time Design Stages went out of business. I got funding to go back to school – I earned a fine arts degree at the U and a Masters of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. This is all a very roundabout way to get to my interest in sculpture. My early to late twenties were a time of figuring out what I wanted to do. The progression for me was construction trades, creative trades to fine arts.

Phoenix RisingQ:  You have participated in several anti-violence events across the country where weapons are melted and turned into shovels or community art pieces. One event commemorated the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. Tell us more about these programs.

A:  I think the first exposure to the idea of anti-violence causes and how art can be influential in them was working with a sculptor, Karen Sontag, in 1996 for a piece that ended up in downtown in front of Government Center. Phoenix Rising is a 4000-pound sculpture created from melted down guns (6109 guns!) and other debris.

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I had just finished my undergrad degree at t he U and I organized a workshop at North High because a student had recently died from a shooting. These students walked through metal detectors to enter school every day - a very different from my high school experience. We brought in furnaces to the school and produced a cast piece - a disc shaped ring - that stayed at the school. During the workshop we talked about violence and transition and change. Guns were brought in from the Minneapolis Police Department and they were all from crime scenes. The molds were several thousand pounds each. The dialogue with the students was as much a part of the artwork as the cast piece. Students were witness to and a part of the casting – they helped load the guns into the furnaces.

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We then had an event open to the public. That event became another performative aspect of the casting process. A spark was born in me – the cast iron process and what it can do to provide a stage or performance to a particular idea. I’ve participated in these events in Oakland CA and Atlanta GA, too, with Lead to Life iron pours. It’s an organization that transforms weapons into shovels for ceremonial tree planting. I partnered with them to orchestrate performative iron pours in which guns were melted and cast into shovel handles. The guns, obtained from city buy-back programs, serve as a symbol of gun violence and the efforts taken to stop it. You’re right - one event was held in remembrance of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination.

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In Flux, Jackson Square Park, Minneapolis, May 2009

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MWMO Campus, Minneapolis, December 2014

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Q:  You have public sculptures and commissioned corporate pieces all over the country. How many of your public sculptures are in the Twin Cities? Would you lead a bus tour?

A:  There is a total of 18 pieces, including close-by suburbs like St. Louis Park. Here’s an interactive map. I think a narrated bus tour would be very interesting.

Q:  Thank you for speaking with us. How can we follow your news?

A:  Follow me at my website and on Instagram.