Download a photo of artist Tylar Larson.
Download a photo of Lauren Carlson.
Download a photo of Nate Otto.
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — Pioneer PBS’s Postcards program will feature stories about student artist Tylar Larsen of Redwood Falls, poet Lauren Carlson of Dawson and Nate Otto who restores old player pianos on Thursday, February 27 at 7 p.m. The stories will also be available for online viewing through the station’s website: www.pioneer.org/postcards.
Tylar Larsen graduated from Redwood Falls High school in 2019 and is currently attending the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. Last summer he attended the Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute, an art camp for Native American students. There he met artist-in-residence Cannupa Hanska Luger who told him, “Art is a verb. It’s an action. You are making art. Art is not the final product. You need to worry about enjoying the process and not worrying about the final product.”
Lauren Carlson is a poet and an essayist, exploring topics relating to her experience living in rural Minnesota. She is a mother of three young boys. She’s a published author, maintains her studies and has produced a Pioneer PBS Digital Studios show, Poems from the Field.
More than a million player pianos were made at the turn of the century and Nate Otto has taken it upon himself to keep the ones that come across his path in tune and in good repair. He met up with the Postcards crew at his family cabin near Richmond to talk about his trade. “I really feel every piano has its own story,” Otto said. “Not only through the stories I hear from the customers, but also as I am tearing into the piano and doing the restoration work I find signatures, people I’ll never know, but people who stood at that piano just as I am.”
About Postcards
Postcards is produced by Dana Conroy with videography and editing by Kristofor Gieske and Ben Dempcy. The program is made possible by contributions from the voters of Minnesota through a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Production sponsors for the program include Shalom Hill Farm, Explore Alexandria Tourism and the Lake Region Arts Council.
About Pioneer PBS
Established in 1966, Pioneer PBS is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world. For more information visit: www.pioneer.org.
