Hermantown High School’s principal acknowledged that the school has received “a handful of communications” from parents over the years regarding a sexually-explicit art gallery previously put on by a current teacher.
As a side gig to his job teaching high school art, Robb Quisling is an artist at galleries like his 2005 show in Duluth, Minn.
A concerned parent drew Alpha News’ attention to a review of the showing, which said Quisling turned “his lens on 15 male models” while taking a “more depersonalized approach to the body to explore issues of masculinity.”
“‘Nest Project’ features large, close-range photographs of men with different household objects in their scrotums. Quisling required his models to choose their own objects, asking them, ‘If the scrotum were a nest, what objects would belong in it?’ The results are a fun and revealing absurd assortment, including rubber bouncy balls, cookie cutters and artfully arranged fruit salad. Some choices hint at something more serious and dark: a strand of rosary beads, a small padlock,” states the review. (Warning: sexually-explicit content).
In the review, Quisling explained that he was “thinking of advertising and how men might market themselves if they were reduced to their testicles.”
“Model participation was paramount to the project. Though the men selected their own scrotum still lifes, they had to rely on Quisling to set it in place while their hands held their scrotums,” the review says. “They also had to endure the close proximity of his camera lens. Quisling notes the trepidation of the task, remarking, ‘It’s like feeding a dog you don’t know.’”
In a statement, Hermantown Community Schools High School Principal Dr. John Muenich said the school is “aware of a photo exhibit that Mr. Quisling was a part of in a Duluth art gallery.”
“The exhibit referenced took place over 20 years ago, prior to Mr. Quisling’s transition from practicing artist to art teacher. Through the years, we have received a handful of communications from parents who learned of the exhibit and found the content about the human body to be objectionable,” he said.
“It has been several years since we received any communication on the topic until this October when a person who would only give their first name called and asked if the school was aware of the artwork to which we responded that we were.”
According to his professional website, Quisling is a Duluth-based artist and educator who “has spent over 20 years creating work that unpacks mental health, neighborhoods, sport, play, and the intricate ways we tie ourselves to one another.”
“When not in the studio, Robb teaches at Hermantown High School, mentoring the next generation of artists and exploring new ideas with them every day,” his website says.
In a 2009 review of Quisling’s “Domestic Disturbances” exhibit, the reviewer wrote that “several visitors to Quisling’s show expressed themselves with vehemence uncharacteristic of Minnesotans.”
“A selection of comments I noticed the day I visited: ‘WTF,’ ‘Offensive, unartistic,’ ‘Waste of time, space, materials…I didn’t like this.’”
Next up, Quisling will have an exhibit titled “Pressure” coming in late 2026
