90,000 words trimmed to focus on rural Minnesota memories

Christopher Vondracek cut 90,000 words from his manuscript to shift the focus of his book. The author originally wrote a long-form work centered almost entirely on the painter Terry Redlin. At the request of his editor, Vondracek shortened the text to better highlight his personal experiences. The final result is a collection of essays that parallels his childhood in Minnesota with his adult interest in Redlin's art.

Vondracek spoke about these themes during an informal reading at Bookworm Books in Omaha. The event was the first stop in a series of readings across the Midwest. He drove from Washington, D.C. to Nebraska for the occasion. A small group of family members attended the session in the corner of the store. His parents, a cousin, and his wife's aunt and uncle listened as he read short passages and discussed specific paintings by Redlin.

The connection to Redlin began in 2020 during the pandemic. Vondracek was living in an 800-square-foot apartment in D.C. with his wife, Carrie. His favorite art galleries were closed to the public. He turned to online archives that had digitized hundreds of Redlin's works. He described the experience as a sudden trigger for memory.

"And that tripped a wire for me because I wouldn't have had access to those paintings had it not been for, you know, digital culture," Vondracek said. "The technology sort of lifted me into the space where I was all of a sudden recalling events and scenes from my childhood in the '80s in rural Minnesota that was being wracked by, like, farm foreclosures and the schools were consolidating."

Redlin is a well-known figure in American folk art. US ART Magazine named him the country's most popular artist from 1991 to 1998. His paintings feature bright colors and dramatic lighting. They often depict barns, homes, and landscapes in the Midwest. Animals such as pheasants, ducks, geese, and songbirds are common in his work, while human figures are rare. His art is frequently found in gift shops rather than major galleries.

Vondracek moved from Minnesota to South Dakota to earn a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in literature. In his book, he examines the reputation of flat, rural areas. He notes that people from places like Nebraska or eastern South Dakota often make fun of their own surroundings because national media rarely labels them as beautiful. He argued that oil painters like Redlin find grandeur in wide horizon lines and skies, not just high mountains.

He cited Paul Groucho, a writer from southwestern Minnesota, in this discussion. Groucho noted that sublimity can be found in the vastness of the sky and the flatness of the land. Vondracek said he loves how an oil painter sits with a place. This perspective allowed him to reconcile his resentment of the idyllic stereotypes with his appreciation for the artistic merit of Redlin's work.