Working with others

As an artist, I started out in theatre. I was a set designer and builder and sometimes an actor. As designer I had to work with directors, and their vision as well as my own; musicians, costume designers, choreographers, and a budget. It was good training. It prepared me for the teamwork that is necessary to produce large pieces and the give and take that come with collaborative decisions and direction. When I produced work for The City of Minneapolis or the Minneapolis Public Library, I had to respond to committees composed of mayor, councilmen, employee groups, trustees, and citizens sell them on my ideas and talents, and incorporate my interpretation of their concerns into the sculpture.

I have been building and installing site specific work for many years. In addition to my own work, we have worked extensively with architects and designers; and I have also built over a dozen major pieces for regional and nationally known artists, most of them site specific. I have had the pleasure and challenge of working with these artists and helping them realize their visions. While I no longer produce work for other artists,

we continue to work with architects and designers, preferably on my own designs but occasionally producing specific pieces to order.

Gene Olson