3441 Cedar Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55407
phone/fax 612 722-2324
susan@susanhenseldesign.com
www.susanhenseldesign.com
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Since 2000, Susan Hensel has been expanding her storytelling out into three dimensional space in the form of installation. An installation is a work of art that makes use of the space in which it is situated as one of the materials. In Susan's installations, sound, light, motion, scent and interactivity are also key players. Viewers usually walk right into the midst of the piece. Often there are things to do and ways to respond. Always there is sound designed for the piece. This is the only way some stories can be told.
Coming Home An installation about the growth from innocence to self knowledge, about spinning in place and moving on. It's gentle, nostalgic, full of scent, motion, flowers, a lovely soundscape and shoes, many many shoes. A CD with artists book is available a 4.5 MB movie and stills are on the detail page.
Erin's Belly: Protected Real Estate A collabortive installation about Mother Earth. One hot summer, Sue Long, Nancy McRay and Susan Hensel got together and planned this project. Hundreds of pounds of pea gravel, dark brown wool, cast paper bellies, light, scent and sound resided, protected behind a fence. We created a pristine wilderness,sadly temporary like so much of our protected wilderness . A 3 MB movie and stills are available on the details page.
Kristallnacht:the bystanders A shattering experience. Entering the room was like entering a time machine. You were swept back to a darkened parlor circa World War II, into a worn, nostalgic comfort that is shattered by the sounds of breaking glass mixed with cacphonous music by Penderecki. Soon it becomes evident that all is not well. The library is stacked with holocaust literature, the side table, surprisingly, has original newspapers and magazines describing the situation in Germany. Behind the false wall awaits the metaphoric evocation of human good and evil. While this installation does commemorate the "Night of Broken Glass', it's meaning is deeper. It questions genocides past and present and our responsibility as moral beings. It demands to know whether we, too, are bystanders. A small, limited edition book entitledThe Man in the Mirror and a video about the installation are available. The video is suitable as an educational vehicle to spark discussion. $20
What if... An interactive thinking environment! The same room as all the other installations was transformed again, into a pristine, cool, zen like environment, filled with meditative sound. This installation invited people to walk into the brain of an artist and share their own creative thoughts. Hypothetical questions , both silly and serious, surround the room. A deck of cards with many more questions was in the chest of drawers. Using quill pens you were invited to leave responses. The limited edition deck of these cards is sold out. A 4.8 MB movie and stills are available on the details page.
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