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Arts & Entertainment

Richfield Artist's 'Pigenstein' on Display at Minnesota State Fair

The long-time resident's original photo was chosen as part of a highly selective process.

After learning that his “Pigenstein” photograph had been selected from more than 1,200 entries and would be on display in the Fine Arts Building for the duration of the Minnesota State Fair, Richfield resident Bob Teslow wrote in a press release that, while getting into the exhibit was like rolling the dice, artists of all stripes hoping to have their work shown “ have to play the game.”

“My work has not always been selected [at the State Fair], but I do enjoy the opportunity to participate in the only annual Minnesota art exhibit that is open to anyone, without an entry fee,” he told Patch by e-mail after displaying his photograph the night before the state fair opened.

Teslow was also selected to exhibit an oil on paper print entitled "Toward Islington" at the 2010 fair.

Teslow has lived in Richfield with his wife Denny for 24 years. The couple’s daughter Kirsten graduated from in 1996, while their son Tripper graduated in 2000. Teslow teaches photography and printmaking at The Blake School, where he is also the head alpine ski coach. A past member of the , he is currently serving his second three-year term as a member of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s board of trustees.
 
“Pigenstein” was one of more than 100 photographs picked by a jury for the fair’s annual fine arts exhibition, which allows entries in eight categories. This year marks the Fine Arts Center’s 100th anniversary. Teslow said that he has submitted painting, prints and photography to the fair’s arts competition more than 20 times over the past 40 years, although this year marked the first time he had submitted a digital photograph.

“All my photography in the past has been the ‘wet’ [kind of] film,” Teslow said.

Teslow snapped “Pigenstein” with a digital SLR camera while touring the 2010 State Fair and said the picture continued to grow on him afterward. Despite being initially attracted by the picture’s formal composition, it's abstraction continued to resonate long after he'd put the camera down.

“You really need to look closely to see that it is a pig,” he said.

Teslow began his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Minnesota, concentrating on painting and drawing, before deciding to pursue a master’s degree in education, where he focused on curriculum development.

In his free time Teslow enjoys fly-fishing for trout. In addition to local rivers and streams in southeast Minnesota, he fishes out of rivers in Wisconsin, Montana and Colorado.

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