BEMIDJI—In a thoughtful move, Bemidji State University has signed a five-year lease with the Watermark Art Center to house permanent collections of ceramics and prints gathered by two women who were alumna of BSU in the late 1930s or early 1940s. There is no other way to explain it, but in an altruistic moment, two graduates of the school of education donated their collections to the students at BSU for educational purposes. And now, through the support of the university, a five-year lease has been signed with the board of the Watermark Arts Center to establish a permanent residency at the Center. This opens up a whole new avenue to connect with the people of Bemidji who have not been privy to the collections.
“The BSU Foundation’s board of directors in February allocated $500,000 from funds donated by the Joseph and Janice Lueken Family Foundation to annually fund lease payments for a BSU gallery within the Watermark Arts Center, said Scott Faust, director of communications and marketing at BSU. “This means that rather than depend on an allocation in the university’s operating budget, BSU’s Watermark partnership will have a steady and reliable funding source, which is another accomplishment for the arts spearheaded by President Richard Hanson.”
During a recent interview with Martin Tadlock, provost at BSU, it was disclosed how he has been instrumental with getting this lease with the blessings of Richard Hanson, BSU president, by going to Watermark board meetings and learning how the university is often viewed by the residents of Bemidji.
“I am a big proponent of the arts,” said Tadlock, “(by) going to the Watermark board meetings and listening to them, I realized that BSU had to make its presence known in the larger community. We had to go downstate to request the funds to support the lease that had been requested through MnSCU and the whole process took about three months. Now, the Watermark can apply to granting agencies like Northwest Minnesota Foundation based on the permanent residency at the new location.”
The biggest obstacle to moving the collections was that they were not catalogued for some time and that would require a dedicated person. Laura Goliaszewski is the curator for the Talley Galley, which has now moved to Bridgeman Hall.
“For the first time, Goliaszewski has it all catalogued,” Tadlock said. “We know where everything is, it’s all on the computer including little pictures of everything. It (the collections) is all stored at the top floor of Bridgeman in a secure facility that was put up there and converted into an archive. Now they are ready to be moved to their permanent location at the new Watermark (Arts) Center.”
The Talley Gallery will remain open in Bridgeman and it is now handicapped accessible. BSU no longer has an art major per se but undergraduates can take classes in the arts as part of a minor. The fine art department has become part of Technology, Art and Design which offers a full schedule of required subjects. BSU is making a larger footprint in Bemidji in the arts and music by working with the BSU Foundation and there are more announcements to come in the near future to support the public presence.
“We want our students involved in this pursuit, we want them involved and in the downtown community,” said Tadlock. “Bemidji is more of a regional center than when we left for six years and then returned; it has grown. The purpose of the university is to be integrated into the community—soon we will be moving into the old Mayflower building as a science and technology center with TEAM Industries and Polaris, which will have people there along with our communications staff. I think there is a misconception that BSU is not supportive of the arts but that is a misconception.”
Margaret H. Harlow graduated BSU with a Bachelor of Education in 1936 and went on to attain a Master of Arts degree, but World War II caused an unforeseen career change, from teaching to joining the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC). She spent the following 20 years in military service traveling the world and satisfying her interest in functional ceramics. In 1973, Harlow established the Margaret C. Harlow Teaching Collection at BSU, which contains instructional materials and books as well as over 150 pieces, all to help ceramic students learn. There is an annual award given to a ceramics student who has made most outstanding progress in the field. Each year, the Watermark Arts Center hosts a national juried ceramic expedition, “It’s Only Clay,” from which the Harlow collection purchases two or three pieces to add to the college collection.
Another female education graduate in 1937 was Lillie M. Kleven, who went on to become a reference librarian at the University of New Hampshire. As the fates would have it, her career took a turn and she entered the Navy during WWII. After the war ended, Kleven stayed in Japan and helped establish the American Cultural Centers throughout Japan. She became intensely interested in Japanese printmaking, woodblock prints and assembled a fine collection of modern and contemporary prints. She returned to Washington, D.C., and worked for 30 years as an information officer which took her around the world and during which time she studied Japanese woodblock techniques with master Japanese woodblock artist, Unichi Hiratsuke, who was living in D.C. In 1975, Kleven thought back to her undergraduate years at BSU and decided to establish a graphic arts fund and began the Lillie M. Kleven Print Collection, which includes woodblock prints, line cuts, etchings, aquatints, serigraphs, lithographs and monoprints. The primary purpose of the collection is its use in teaching of printmaking and an annual award is given to the most outstanding student in the field and their print is added to the collection.