Art Hounds: Patrick Martinez, Duluth Does Low, and removing the script from the holidays

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Patrick Martinez's work at Public Functionary in Minneapolis, Minn. (Photo credit: Sharolyn B. Hagen.)

This week: Neon sign sloganeering, an audience-designed, improvised Christmas musical, and a celebrated indie band is feted in its hometown.

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john schuerman

It's not just neon sign artist Patrick Martinez who's catching John Schuerman's attention. John, director of Instinct Art Gallery in Minneapolis, likes how Martinez's glowing signage subverts the language of advertising and pops on the colored walls of Public Functionary in Minneapolis. But he's also impressed with the energy and engagement of the gallery itself. Martinez's show, "Buy Now Cry Later," runs through Dec. 20.

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Who wants to see a completely improvised musical about a nondescript Minnesota town on the verge of having its annual holiday party totally ruined by an evil, wealthy scrooge? St. Paul actor Nick Wolf does for one, partly because he's a big fan of Twin Cities improv group Danger Boat Productions. At the Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis through Dec. 21.

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Duluth Nerd Night performer Alison Klawiter reports the revered Minnesota indie rock band Low is marking its 20th year of existence. To celebrate, a host of other Duluth bands will interpret the Low canon as part of "Duluth Does Low." It's happening tonight, Dec. 12, from 7 - 11 p.m., at the Sacred Heart Music Center in Duluth.

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