Crush Collision

At the Minneapolis Institute of Arts this month, Chris Larson debuts his newest work, Crush Collision, a film of a two-story wooden house (built by Larson), which floats on a lake and is inhabited by a gospel family. Larson’s multimedia work can be difficult to categorize, but often delves into middle American myth and pathos. Here’s some personal trivia for the curious. 

About Crush Collision: “It took about a year from start to finish. It took some time to figure how to float a two-story house on the water.”

Tools used to build the house: “Razor blades, saws, German staplers, glue, and a Gränsfors Bruks axe for trimming the wood frame for the house.”

Strangest art critique: “One reviewer from a local paper [called Crush Collision] ‘Lincoln Logs on acid.’”

Hometown: “I grew up in Lake Elmo. We had a horse, a huge garden, and plenty of room to run and make things. It is a different place now—3M moved in and bought the farm and the field.”

Travels outside Minnesota: “When I was fifteen, I took a trip to Wilton, Kentucky, for a youth trip. We helped rebuild a young men’s retreat cabin. That was a long trip.”

Earliest memory: “I remember when I was nine or ten and we had the same thing for lunch at school for an entire week . . . . I can’t remember what it was though.”

Latest read: “I just finished Murder in Minnesota by Walter N. Trenerry. It is a collection of actual murders in Minnesota. People always tell me nothing ever happens in Minnesota. Now I have proof.”

Chance or destiny: “If I left things to chance, little would happen. I work very hard and things happen.”

Opens Nov. 17. 2400 3rd Ave. S., Mpls., 612-870-3131