On the Spot
Salt Lake's Blake Wigdahl
Blake Wigdahl has been the VP – Design & Programming at Thanksgiving Point since 2008. In his role he manages all programmatic elements of Thanksgiving Point’s property including design, education, exhibitions, public events, professional education, and volunteers. Prior to joining Thanksgiving Point, Wigdahl gained experience at museums from around the country. During 2007, he managed the Monet to Picasso traveling at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. From 2003 to 2007, he was a project coordinator at the Teacher Institute at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, a world leader in science education. Previously, he worked at the Museum of the Rockies in the education and visitor services program until 2003. Wigdahl graduated from John F. Kennedy University in 2006 with his Masters of Business Administration with a focus in Museum Studies. He received his Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from Montana State University in 2000.
Outside of work, he spends his time with his beautiful wife, two dogs, and cat exploring the world and maintaining a passion for the great outdoors, film, art and science.
 Tell us about a piece of art or object in your home growing up that you remember:
 I have two objects/art pieces from my home growing up that are forever connected. The first is a yellow Pennent coral fish made out of painted welded steel. My parents used to live next to an artist who welded crazy sculptures. My brother and I would spend hours watching him create works in his garage. He created the fish sculpture from a picture my parents took scuba diving in Hawaii. It has a lot of life to it as a metal sculpture but it also connects to the second object I remember from that same time period. Around the same time, while hiking in the mountains with my family, I found a flat rock with the coolest looking mix of colors left by all kinds of things – the rock itself, lichen, etc. I brought it home and showed it to our artist neighbor thinking it really looked like a work of art. To my amazement he agreed and on the spot welded a stand for my found piece of art. Both are still on display in my parents’ house.
What is your favorite building in Utah?
I grew up in Utah but never spent much time in downtown SLC. When I moved back here from San Francisco, I wanted to keep the urban lifestyle, so I settled into the 9th & 9th neighborhood with my wife and we can’t imagine living anywhere else. There are so many cool buildings in downtown Salt Lake even though we don’t have the most unique cityscape in the world. My favorite building comes from not its architecture but what it accidentally creates across the street from time to time as the sun is setting at the right angle. On 200 South between 200 East and 300 East two buildings create the coolest light art I’ve seen downtown. The photo is one I took this fall…the glass on the building across the street can bend the infinite number of individual images of the sun in very interesting ways.
This personal passion for light came from my experiences with Bob Miller, a light artist from the early years of the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Bob took me on many light walks through the streets of San Francisco showing me how to look at the world differently – a powerful experience that inspires me today when I walk through downtown Salt Lake City. I’ve never been able to look at the world the same since and I am very thankful for it.
What's the most memorable exhibit you've seen recently?
The most memorable exhibit I’ve seen recently was actually an entire museum – the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. It is one giant work of art and it would be impossible to pull out any one part of it. Walking through the museum was like stepping into the internal organs of a collage. The museum is filled with creative energy and grassroots art projects – some of my favorites were works created by anonymous artists that donated they’re works by leaving them on the front doorstep of the museum one night and a giant whirligig art car outside the front of the museum. You can see and feel the passion for what was created in that museum and it was very powerful. Amazing and inspiring for someone like me interested in art and science.
|
|
15 Bytes: About Us
Our editorial contributors this edition
The content you see in this magazine is provided by a fluid group of volunteers whose ability with the pen or camera is matched by their curiosity and enthusiasm for Utah's art world. 15 Bytes is an open community forum. If you are interested in writing an article, or providing images for our magazine contact editor Shawn Rossiter at editor@artistsofutah.org
 Simon Blundell is a Salt Lake native and has studied art, communication, journalism, design, and advertising. He has a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and continues to explore photography and art in all its aspects. He loves music, literature, film, good food, travel, and motorcycles. |
 Tyler Bloomquist, is a pursuing a BFA in Graphic Design at the University of Utah. |
 Laura and Matt Chiodo have lived in Salt Lake for six years, having moved back after art school in Southern California. Matt is currently the Gallery Curator for Alpine Art.
|
 Jared Christensen grew up in North Ogden, Utah and finally moved to Salt Lake at the age of 18 to go to school. He is currently at Westminster College pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography. |
 Ehren Clark studied art history at both the University of Utah and the
University of Reading in the UK. He is now a professional writer. |
 Lewis J. Crawford is a second generation Arizona artist who now calls Salt Lake City home. He has two photography degrees; an MFA from The University of Utah, and a BFA from Arizona State University. Besides working on his art, he teaches photography and new media writing courses at U of U and Westminster College.
|
 Shalee Cooper is a freelance photographer and Curator. She is the Image Editor of 15 Bytes Magazine and an Associate Instructor at the University of Utah. She is currently working on The Heel Toe Project. |
 Laura Durham, a Utah native with a BA in Art History from BYU, has worked for the Utah Arts Council as the Visual Arts Coordinator for the past ten years managing the Rio Gallery and coordinating traveling exhibits. She served as Vice President of the Salt Lake Gallery Association from 2003 - 2006 and as Program Director for the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll from 2005 - 2010. She's assistant editor of 15 Bytes as well as managing music editor. |
 Kelly Green, a Salt Lake native, first discovered photography when her parents gave her a point-n-shoot camera while traveling through Southern Utah. She was instantly hooked. She photographs in black and white and color film with 35mm and medium formats, dipping into the digital world for live music shots or 15 Bytes assignments. |
 Gerry Johnson was an engineer in a past life. A former film, now digital photographer, his work over the last 3 years has been "to capture the 'moments of beauty' that surround each of us in our daily lives, and present them to the viewer in a way that they can also experience the spirit of beauty." |
 Sue Martin holds an M.A. in Theatre and has worked in public relations. As an artist, she works in watercolor, oil, and acrylic to capture Utah landscapes or the beauty of everyday objects in still life. |
 Shawn Rossiter, a native of Boston, grew up on the East Coast. He has degrees in English, French and Italian Literature. He dropped out of a Masters program in Contemporary Literature to pursue a career as an artist. He founded Artists of Utah in 2001 and is editor of its magazine, 15 Bytes. |
 Nathan Webster, a native of Vancouver, Canada, studied architecture at McGill University in Montreal and in Grenoble, France before embarking on a professional career that has led to architectural practice based in British Columbia, Ontario, California, and Utah.
A LEED accredited professional and architect at ajc Architects, Nathan is also one of the organizers of our Salt Lake City's Pecha Kucha Night and an occasional collaborator on sets for contemporary dance with choreographer Charlotte Boye-Christensen at Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. |
 Nicholas Wells, attorney and author, is the founder of Wells IP Law, a small Utah law firm with clients in more than 40 countries. A native of Utah who recently returned from a 3-year stint in the New York area, Nick holds JD, MBA, and LLM degrees. He is currently focused on publishing his first young-adult novel; he loves classical piano and cello and visiting art musuems in Paris and Amsterdam. |
 Geoff Wichert has degrees in critical writing and creative nonfiction. He writes about art to settle the arguments going on in his head. |
|
