Tamarack Color Index

For the U.S. Land Port of Entry in Warroad, Minnesota, artist Helen Mirra created Tamarack Color Index, an outdoor sculpture sited amidst a stand of tamaracks. The artwork consists of five painted geometric panels set on posts high above the ground. Reminiscent of highway signage in material, form, and scale, each monochromatic sign mimics the predominant color of the foliage and surrounding landscape at different times of the year. As the seasons change, the signs seem to take turns gradually disappearing into and reemerging from the landscape. This subtle performance calls attention to the ever-changing beauty of the natural environment throughout the year.

In the port facility's lobby, Mirra also created a text-based mural, titled Roseau County Bird Rainbow, that comprises a list of common names of migratory birds associated with Roseau County. Arranged as a column rotated perpendicular to its baseline, the list responds to the architectural surface and transforms the series of words into an abstraction. Perceived as a mass of vertical shapes, the composition alludes to a tree-line and horizon, similar to that which can be observed around the border station.

Each bird name included features a color: Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Olive-Sided Flycatcher, Green Warbler, Great Blue Heron, etc. Read sequentially, the list implies a color spectrum. The juxtaposition of monochromatic text and diverse patterns and tones found in the birds’ markings requires each viewer to negotiate perceptions, memories, and observations of the various species to fully engage the piece.