She received numerous Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants, three MRAC/McKnight Foundation Next Step Grants, the Jerome Foundation Fellowship in 2011/12, an Artists on the Verge Northern Lights/Jerome Foundation fellowship in 2013/14, a McKnight Fellowship in Visual Arts, and an artist in residence at the University of Minnesota’s School of Medicine through an experimental program at the Weisman Art Museum in 2018-20, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2021 and had a solo exhibition at UCLA Art | Sci Center in Los Angeles 2022. She recently received the 2024/25 McKnight Fellowship in Visual Arts with an upcoming solo exhibition at the University of Minnesota Morris this fall.
Alison Hiltner
Survival Tactics—Body Heat
Silicone, polymer clay, Arduino, IR camera, vibration motors
“The root creatures become nervous, even frantic when a spike in the environmental temperature is detected; that spike is our body heat. If the viewer remains still, slowly, the tendrils become accustomed to their presence and begin to calm down, only to reactivate anew if a new presence is detected or the current one becomes too active. It cultivates a reminder of how a threat is perceived by the unknown, and sometimes, with time, we can achieve a mutual understanding.”
— Alison Hiltner
About the artist
Alison Hiltner
She received numerous Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants, three MRAC/McKnight Foundation Next Step Grants, the Jerome Foundation Fellowship in 2011/12, an Artists on the Verge Northern Lights/Jerome Foundation fellowship in 2013/14, a McKnight Fellowship in Visual Arts, and an artist in residence at the University of Minnesota’s School of Medicine through an experimental program at the Weisman Art Museum in 2018-20, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2021 and had a solo exhibition at UCLA Art | Sci Center in Los Angeles 2022. She recently received the 2024/25 McKnight Fellowship in Visual Arts with an upcoming solo exhibition at the University of Minnesota Morris this fall.
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