In case you hadn’t noticed or seen this on the news, there’s a sort of art renaissance going on in Minot and this isn’t your average, every day painting.
There’s an Australian man who is in the process of transforming a downtown Minot grain elevator into a massive work of art. This man is world renowned in his profession and expects to have his work completed before it gets to cold this fall.
Guido Van Helten has visited Minot numerous times in the past two years to get an artist’s idea of what the area is like so his art represents Minot and north-central North Dakota.
It’s been said that Van Helten does one display of art in each state and for North Dakota, Minot was chosen, just like Fort Dodge, Iowa, Mankato, Minn., and Faulkton, S.D., were picked in the past.
Exactly what Van Helten is painting is unclear and it’s doubtful anyone could tell exactly at this point because of the massive size of this artwork. However, if you look at some of the work Van Helten has done in the past, it’s amazing, it’s unique and none of us can imagine how someone could paint a picture that massive in their mind.
He knows exactly what he is doing. And because he is Australian, it’s obvious that most of his work has been done there. More specifically, a large percentage of his artwork is in rural Australian communities where grain elevators are called silos.
He’s painted farmers, wheat fields, livestock, first responders, teachers, nurses and some, cliche as they may seem, sunsets.
There’s one small town west of Melbourne called Brim that was just like any other rural town in Victoria until Van Helten painted a “silo” there. Now, people don’t just stop passing through. This community has become a destination for people from the city to see this massive display of Van Helten’s work.
Since he got started in Minot, there have been several local media reports that have moved over to social media. And, as you might imagine, there are always negative comments on any subject on social media.
Why wasn’t someone locally hired? Does anybody care? Is it worth it?
First of all, those messages are meaningless and the only reason they are mentioned is because the people who made them obviously know nothing about Guido Van Helten.
Why wasn’t someone locally hired? OK, is there any artist, anywhere in the state of North Dakota, who can create artwork like this? If so, they should come forward and present themselves because there are a lot of dull and blase concrete grain elevators that could use some color and flair. Even the most popular and professional artists will tell you they can’t produce something like this.
Does anybody care? Of course, the Minot business community, people who live in the neighborhood, visitors to Minot and even North Dakota Tourism are taking a serious look at this. Right now, it’s just another elevator in downtown Minot. And for those who think nobody cares, stop by roundabout late October into early November and see if you care at that point!
Is it worth it? Yes, Van Helten was commissioned, but what he was paid is unknown. Regardless, this man carries an impressive resume and knows exactly what he is doing. So I would submit to you that yes, any amount of money paid to Van Helten will be worth it in the end. Call anyone up in Fort Dodge and ask them.
If you are still skeptical of Van Helten or his work, I suggest you do an Internet search about him. First, you’re going to see some incredible sights in Australia. Then, you’ll see the work he’s done in the United States and finally, you’ll see that he’s done unique works of art in parts of Europe on the sides of tall office towers rather than grain elevators.
Those of us who live in and around Minot know full and well how ugly that elevator is downtown just a couple of blocks away from the Ward County courthouse and very near the downtown business district. It’s going to transform downtown Minot and you can bet tourism will be picking up.
