Blogs Field Guide

Navigating tricky territories

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To celebrate the first day of his spring break, eight-year-old O. and I made a mid-day trek to the Walker. I’d seen the Abstract Resistance exhibition, and knew it wasn’t a show he was ready to see, but there were lots of other artworks — like Rirkrit Tiravanija’s installation featuring a GIANT and absolutely impossible [...]

Rirkrit Tiravanija, untitled 2006 (pavilion, table and puzzle), 2006

Rirkrit Tiravanija, untitled 2006 (pavilion, table and puzzle), 2006

To celebrate the first day of his spring break, eight-year-old O. and I made a mid-day trek to the Walker. I’d seen the Abstract Resistance exhibition, and knew it wasn’t a show he was ready to see, but there were lots of other artworks — like Rirkrit Tiravanija’s installation featuring a GIANT and absolutely impossible jigsaw puzzle — that I knew he’d really enjoy.

Shepherding a kid through a museum of contemporary art can be tricky — every parent has different ideas about what is appropriate for their kids — but the staff was really helpful. At the admissions desk, the staffer mentioned that the Abstract Resistance show might not be good for kids, without making a big deal of it. And when we stopped to watch Lorna Simpson’s Recollection, a guard warned us about the language, but didn’t make me feel like we shouldn’t be there. I felt like I got warnings, but that they were delivered with a light touch that left the decision up to us.

And even though we didn’t visit Abstract Resistance, it did generate a good discussion. I explained to Oskar why we didn’t see the show (that there were lots of violent images in it that I didn’t think would be good for him to see), and, after a long pause, he asked, “Why would artists want to use pictures like that in their artwork?” Luckily, there was a useful phrase in the otherwise dense exhibition brochure: the “tyranny of comfort.” The kid-friendly version of that idea? Sometimes, artists don’t want us to be comfortable. Sometimes, they want us to see things that make us really uncomfortable, because that’s a way of getting us to think about things we otherwise might not want to deal with.

And then we worked on the puzzle, and hung out in the hammocks.

Books about Play

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I uncovered a lot of fascinating reads on the subject of play while researching and developing ideas for a cluster of programs called ‘Designing Play’. The series grew from the charge that play is a vital and necessary part of learning from age 0–100+. Being such a broad topic, when it came to developing programs, [...]

I uncovered a lot of fascinating reads on the subject of play while researching and developing ideas for a cluster of programs called ‘Designing Play’. The series grew from the charge that play is a vital and necessary part of learning from age 0–100+.

Being such a broad topic, when it came to developing programs, I focused on how play aligns with design. Designers are constantly playing while problem-solving with materials and concepts, not to mention they’re also great at collaborating (another way of saying they’re good at playing with others).

I thought I’d share my reading list in the hopes that all of you could add to it. What books on play have inspired you?


The Inquisition is POSTPONED

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You may have heard that the Thursday, March 4 installment of the Walker’s new/old quiz forum The Inquisition has been postponed until the Fall.  Until then, let’s review last month’s many prize-winning (literally) moments. Favorites of ours include the open ended question “who was the most influential artist of the 20th century and why?” Walker [...]

The Inquisition, February 11, 2010. Walker Art Center

You may have heard that the Thursday, March 4 installment of the Walker’s new/old quiz forum The Inquisition has been postponed until the Fall.  Until then, let’s review last month’s many prize-winning (literally) moments. Favorites of ours include the open ended question “who was the most influential artist of the 20th century and why?” Walker Registrar Joe King began the round of answers with a plea for Jackson Pollock. College of Visual Arts President Ann Ledy argued for Andy Warhol. Walker Curator Betsy Carpenter made a defense for Marcel Duchamp, and music writer Jim Walsh closed the competition by naming Madonna as his prime choice.

And who won, you ask? A brave audience member! After the “experts” gave their answers, Inquisition attendee Hugh accepted the invitation to challenge the panel on their choices and presented an impassioned case for the Beatles. With the audience applause as judge, he, and the Fab 4, won.


Hugh makes a case for the Beatles

Vigorous clapping resumed later in the show when Betsy Carpenter was asked to identify which work hanging in Benches & Binoculars best fit the criteria for America’s “Most Wanted Painting” according to research by conceptual artists Komar and Melamid. With requirements such as a mostly blue, festive outdoor scene with soft curves and domestic animals roughly the size of a dishwasher the winner was clear:

Franz Marc, Die grossen blauen Pferde (The Large Blue Horses) 1911

Overall, the event was brimming with team spirit and playful camaraderie. We hope you join us for another round in the Fall!