Blogs Field Guide

Come and Experience the Sweet and Sour World of Pickling

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The pickle countdown has begun! In just over 24 hours we will kick-off the “World of Pickling” as part of Machine Project’s Summer Jubilee. Here’s what’s in store: Food pickling demos by local chefs and film pickling with a Walker curator (4:15-7 pm) Barb Schaller, State Fair Blue Ribbon winner and Gedney jam lady, in [...]

Pickle Flyer by Scott Stulen

Have you seen these around town?

The pickle countdown has begun! In just over 24 hours we will kick-off the “World of Pickling” as part of Machine Project’s Summer Jubilee. Here’s what’s in store:

  • Food pickling demos by local chefs and film pickling with a Walker curator (4:15-7 pm)
  • Barb Schaller, State Fair Blue Ribbon winner and Gedney jam lady, in conversation with Andy Sturdevant (plus, she’ll be signing jam and posing for photos with fans) (5:45-7 pm)
  • Dilly, the Gedney pickle, serving as a life model for Drawing Club and bringing good, dill-filled cheer (4:30-6:30 pm)
  •  A caricature artist capturing you with your favorite pickle (or friend) (4:30-6:30 pm)
  • Pickle ice cream (5:30 until it’s gone)
  • A chance to share your favorite pickling recipe—real or fantastical—in the pickling journal (4-7 pm)

In anticipation of the day, I asked several of our guests a few questions. Their responses are below.

What’s the strangest thing (food or otherwise) that you’ve pickled or canned?

Dean Otto (Walker curator):

While it may not be strange, when my brothers and I were growing up our mother decided to make an enormous batch of homemade ketchup using the tomatoes from her garden.  To say that it was awful would be an understatement.  Not wanting to suffer through years of being denied our favorite condiment while the stock depleted, my older brother helped the process by dumping jars of it down the drain whenever my parents weren’t around.

Chris Roberts (Local chef):

I’ve tried pickling some fish, I still think of that as somewhat strange.

Rhett Roberts (Local chef. And yes, Chris and Rhett are brothers):

When I first started cooking at Haute Dish they had a dish called “Duck in a Can”, an homage to chef Martin Picard. Duck breast and foie gras cooked to order inside of the can along with cabbage, bacon, confit garlic, and red wine demi-glace, which was stuffed into a tin can and sealed with a hand-operated can seamer.

Barb Schaller (State Fair Blue Ribbon Winner):

Hands down, my blue ribbon-winning Pickled Boiled Dirt Chunks. Okay, you probably call them pickled beets or beet pickles. Ishta. They have placed at the Minnesota State Fair three of the last five years, and have been awarded two ribbons, including last year’s first place blue! I have never tasted them. I wouldn’t dream of putting a beet in my mouth. Blech!

What have you always fantasized about pickling or canning, but haven’t quite found the nerve to place in a Mason jar?

Dean Otto:

While it may not be a fantasy, I once had a nightmare meal of picked vegetables when I went into the former East Berlin the weekend after the wall fell.  I just stared at the plate of sour pickled cauliflower, beets, and carrots and tried to decide which I could attempt choke down.  It didn’t end well.

Chris Roberts:

I’ve always wanted to pickle spam; spam is my goto ingredient for doing anything weird.

Rhett Roberts:

Crispy mushrooms. I would want it to snap like a cucumber pickle since I don’t like the texture of wet mushrooms. Also baby corn but it is pretty hard to find fresh. And I’ve always wanted to try fermented pickles but I lack the patience to wait weeks or months before breaking into the jar.

Barb Schaller:

Well, there is that woman who has been pestering me with questions. . . .

Mrs. Fidel Romero Proudly Exhibits Her Canned Food (1946)

What pickled and/or canned items are in your pantry right now (homemade or store-bought faves)?

Dean Otto:

My parents are the canningest!  I have hot pepper jelly, salsa, green beans, tomato juice, and raspberry jelly.

Chris Roberts:

Kimchi, sauerkraut and some spicy radish pickles.

Rhett Roberts:

I have some Nathan’s spears, Boar’s Head sweet pickle chips with horseradish, some hot dog sport peppers, and a jar of neon-green pickle relish.

Barb Schaller:

Bread and butter pickles, cherry chipotle relish, more jam than you can shake a stick at, watermelon pickles, cherry chipotle barbecue sauce, raspberry jelly, pickled boiled dirt chunks — all homemade.  My favorite pickled food?  Not homemade, the cerignola olives that are sold here in Burnsville at Brianno’s (Italian) Deli off Cliff Road, near Mary, Mother of the Church. Think they’ll give me a quart free?  Probably not.

Bread and butter or dill?

Dean Otto:

Dill, please.  Better yet, simple refrigerator pickles.

Chris Roberts:

Neither really, I love pickles that are uber spicy.

Rhett Roberts:

Definitely dill

Barb Schaller:

When I make my blue ribbon (eight times) bread and butters, my husband says “Quit giving away my pickles!”  And I tell him they will be his pickles when he has a hand it preparing them. He’s a pretty good pickle scrubber. Me? I like the family dill pickle recipe.

Jam or jelly?

Dean Otto:

Marmalade, please.

Chris Roberts:

Definitely Jam

Rhett Roberts:

Definitely jam

Barb Schaller:

Sure!!  What’s not to like?  The Gedney folks make my blue ribbon cherry jam for commercial distribution as part of their State Fair line of ribbon-winning pickles and jams. What they make is every bit as good as what won the blue ribbon for me. My Boozy Floozy jams are pretty tasty. Plum jelly is what got me started in this madness 30 years ago. Who knew where two blue ribbons the first time out would take me? Not me.

For Dean specifically: What exactly is film pickling?  

Dean Otto:

When we first started discussing pickling, I remembered the amazing pickled films of Tony Conrad.  In the early 70s he started mixing food preparation techniques with film stock to create sculptural works through cooking, frying and pickling.  A more recent batch of these pickled films were included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial.

Conrad used Fannie Farmer’s recipe for Pickled Onions, substituting the onions with positive fine grain print stock—one that most simulated the look of pearlescent onions.  According to the recipe one adds mustard seeds, horseradish, peppercorns, bay leaves, and pimento slices and pours brine over the mixture. It’s a fantastic way to think of film preservation.

There is a hilarious sequence in Marie Losier’s documentary Tony Conrad: Dreaminimlist which captures Conrad in his kitchen making a batch of new picked films.  Sporting a peach colored long apron and shaggy wig, he and his assistant use a film rewinder to twist the film into long curly strands and insert them into the jars with their special ingredients.

Walker currently is displaying another of Conrad’s unconventional film works in the Absentee Landlord exhibition.  His work Yellow Movie 2/28/73 is a film that lasts a lifetime and is installed in Gallery 2.

Finally, any words of wisdom for aspiring picklers and canners?

Dean Otto:

Spice it up.

Chris Roberts:

I’d say experiment with whole spices and try to find new sweet and hot flavor combinations. It’s fun.

Rhett Roberts:

Start with cucumbers. Once you see how easy it is then you can really pickle anything.

Barb Schaller:

1) Read my canning blogs, linked from the home page of my website. The State Fair Ribbon Slut is still at it!

2) Don’t be afraid of killing yourself by making jam or jelly you don’t get botulism poisoning from jam or jelly. Green beans, maybe, but not strawberry jam.

2a) We’ve all made ice cream topping at one time or another. . . .

2b) Follow the damn directions!

3) When you are learning, use a tested and blessed (by an institution that’s done the research) recipe. Have a good basic text for reference. My favorites are “So Easy to Preserve” from the folks at the U of Georgia (site of the National Center for Home Food Preservation), our own Extension Service at the U of MN, and the most recent edition of the Ball Blue Book.

3a) Heed Myra Arrendale’s words of wisdom to me many years ago: “When our grandmothers and our great-aunties put by the harvest, they used the most current equipment and information available to them at the time. We should do no less.” Read it again and think about it.

4) Fleet Farm has the best prices on canning supplies for the average consumer’s use.

To learn more about all of the activities happening on Open Field on Thursday, July 28th, please visit the Open Field calendar. Here’s a teaser: sheep and musical lawnmowers, amplified watermelon, and filmmaking out of the back of a bus.

 

 

 

Looking at Exposed: Surveillance, Part One

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“Surveillance” adds a new element to Exposed. Thus far, the cameraman or woman has been just that–a human being.  He or she has photographed other people in the tenement, on the street, in the dark, in the park, on the battlefield or gurney.  The man (or woman) with a camera begins  an unequal relationship with [...]

“Surveillance” adds a new element to Exposed. Thus far, the cameraman or woman has been just that–a human being.  He or she has photographed other people in the tenement, on the street, in the dark, in the park, on the battlefield or gurney.  The man (or woman) with a camera begins  an unequal relationship with another where the power’s behind the lens. But “Surveillance” intimates a new character behind the lens, and it is inhuman.

No one works a surveillance camera and most of the time no one looks at the images. It’s just an “objective” machine impartially recording whatever happens into its sights for posterity or for erasure.  The camera may not be hidden, but it’s irresistible.

Preserving the subject’s dignity is hardly an issue.  There’s no question of reciprocity or fairness.  Surveillance and compassion don’t walk hand in hand and ethical surveillance has to be a contradiction in terms.

Exposed‘s surveillance photographs have an appropriately impersonal tone, including  those made by people working for a governmental authority. These are mostly archival images of shady transactions from the Cold War era;  for me they have a strange ambiguity that the captions don’t quite clear up.  There are also surveillance images of potential criminals, under suspicion because of their resistance to the legal status quo.  To me these potential enemies of the state/protesters look natural, almost comical, more earnest than dangerous.

But the photographs that interest me most in this section are not real surveillance images at all.  They are taken by photographers on their own authority.  Some fall into what I’d call the surveillance style:  it takes on the power of the unattended camera in the service of voyeuristic looking.

Others do something very different.  That is, they turn the tables, or try to, on surveillance itself.  They take on a subject without a human face:  the power behind the institutional surveillance camera. It’s one thing to turn a camera on a relatively powerless human subject or on oneself.  It’s another to expose Big Brother, his little descendants, or the less than visible institutions behind them.

More on Surveillance is coming next.

Meanwhile the Open Field event, Talking About/Looking at Exposed  happens July 28.  Take a look at the whole exhibition, count cameras, recaption photographs and weigh in with your responses.

 

Looking at Exposed: “Witnessing Violence”

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Many decades before he captured Paris Hilton weeping in a police car, Nick Ut took an iconic photograph of Kim Phúc fleeing an American napalm attack in agony.  It’s not exactly the photographer’s change of subject that concerns me, but the fact that none of the photographs in the “Violence” section of Exposed were taken [...]

Many decades before he captured Paris Hilton weeping in a police car, Nick Ut took an iconic photograph of Kim Phúc fleeing an American napalm attack in agony.  It’s not exactly the photographer’s change of subject that concerns me, but the fact that none of the photographs in the “Violence” section of Exposed were taken in this century.

That  should put a safe historic distance between me and the images. Oliver Lutz’s 2009 trick of inserting museum viewers into the crowd that surrounds a lynched body uses a photograph nearly a century old, instead of say, the Abu Ghraib snapshots. Lutz puts the us in the middle of a bad history, but it is history, and time has a wonderful way of diluting responsibility.

Age aside, the  images in “Violence”  don’t always affect me as I think they will or should.  This one  reminds me weirdly of the sadistic photographs in the “Voyeurism” section:

Tom Howard, The Electrocution of Ruth Snyder, 1928. Gelatin silver print. Collection SFMOMA.

Was there a question in here about character, about crime and just punishment or the definition of “cruel and unusual?”  Instead of provoking thought about society and justice, this awful throned figure, her attendants cropped out of the image, makes me wonder about Death itself and its boundary with Life. Given the subject, this was not the ethical looking I was aiming for.

It is the images of the harmed but living that touch me (Bill Burke’s amputee in the Hôpital Calmette, Phnom Penh, for example). Here, respectful attentiveness to another’s life seems like a nearly reverent act. And yet, images of  massacred remains as  in Susan Meiselas‘s photograph of a killing field in Nicaragua, fail to engage my humanistic concern. The corpses are permanently other, objects for me of scrutiny rather than pity.  Instead of compassion, I feel horror at the barbarism–somewhere outside the photograph, and surely with no connection to me–that made them so.

Does an ethical response to images of violence begin in feelings or in thought?  Do the values of compassion and justice require different approaches?  Should I care for the victims or stop the killers?  Is atrocity a problem rooted in psychology or in society?

Malcolm Browne, Thich Quang Duc, Buddist priest in Southern Vietnam, burns himself to death to protest the government’s torture policy against priests, June 11, 1963, 1963. Gelatin Silver Print. Collection of Alan Lloyd Paris; © Associated Press/Malcom Browne

In her book Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag tackled images of atrocity, how we  respond to seeing them, and how we should respond.  She recognized that horrific sights can fascinate and that feeling sympathy only leads to feeling innocent of responsibility. Instead she urged “paying attention” to what images mean, “thinking” about where responsibility for savagry lies, and considering the possibility of action.

Of course we haven’t protested, thought, or wept state warfare or human cruelty out of existence yet, not since Goya’s Disasters of War, not since Alexander Gardner’s Civil War dead, not since Nick Ut’s crying Vietnamese girl, not since the abused of Abu Ghraib.

Effectiveness or its lack doesn’t account for the continuing power of these images. The dog in this old news photo  is always seconds away from closing in on his victim:

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United Press International, Suffolk, Virginia, Race Confrontation, May 6, 1964, 1964. Gelatin silver print. Collection SFMOMA. © United Press International, Inc.

The print’s  graininess makes the event recorded  seem slightly unreal, like a bad dream come back to haunt a guilty conscience.  Is racism  in this country fading away like an old print?  Does it keep repeating, morphing perhaps into new forms, finding new victims?

It still seems odd that a selection of images of mostly state-sponsored violence includes nothing contemporary.  Are we off the political hook for fresh inhumanities undertaken on our behalf?  Are we waiting for news to turn into elegy? Will images deliver us from doing evil?

Next time:  Surveillance.

Postscript:  The war images in this section of Exposed remind me of Wilfred Owen’s powerful poem about death in the trenches.  Do you have links to more contemporary war poems?

 

 

 

 

 

TAKE 5: Five questions answered by Abbie Anderson of Open Phenology

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TAKE 5: Five questions answered by activity organizers on Open Field this summer Name: Abbie Occupation: Artist, administrative assistant, amateur naturalist, and aspiring citizen scientist City/Neighborhood: Golden Valley Open Field Activity: Open Phenology Activity Description: Open Phenology is an experiential and experimental project dedicated to observing (mostly) natural phenomena occurring in the Walker Art Center’s [...]


TAKE 5: Five questions answered by activity organizers on Open Field this summer

Name: Abbie
Occupation: Artist, administrative assistant, amateur naturalist, and aspiring citizen scientist
City/Neighborhood: Golden Valley
Open Field Activity: Open Phenology
Activity Description: Open Phenology is an experiential and experimental project dedicated to observing (mostly) natural phenomena occurring in the Walker Art Center’s vicinity. Everyone is welcome to participate.
Date of Activity: Fridays (nearly every Friday) at 10 am, May 13–September 2
Check it out on the Open Field calendar of events!

1) What’s your favorite public space, in the Twin Cities or beyond?

Big hug for State Parks. Flickr. Leave room here for the space I haven’t yet discovered.

2) How did you find out about Open Field and why did you decide to host your own activity on Open Field?

As a Walker staff member, there’s no hiding from Open Field! Motivating me to take the plunge were collegial support, the ever-expanding world of citizen science, and spring.

3) If you could learn any skill on Open Field, what would it be?

I’ll jump on board with Angela Sprunger’s dream of moss graffiti art, adding lichens to the mix.

4) What is the ideal audience for your Open Field activity?

I consider my “audience” to be collaborators. The ideal collaborator is excited to absorb a new vocabulary word—phenology—and then make the most of a little time pondering our environs.

5) If Open Field had a mascot, who/what would it be?

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria? The mascot for my project might be this Google placemark:

Looking at Exposed: “Celebrity and the Public Gaze”

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Many of the “Voyeurism “  photographs in Exposed  needed no faces.  But “Celebrity” photographs depend on faces, on names, on recognition, on a well-known persona caught by chance, unready and often unwilling: Celebrities need fans, but what about unmanageable voyeurs? Trading anonymity for fame means  tending a public  image that paparazzi seem eager to deflate with unflattering views [...]

Many of the “Voyeurism “  photographs in Exposed  needed no faces.  But “Celebrity” photographs depend on faces, on names, on recognition, on a well-known persona caught by chance, unready and often unwilling:

Georges Dudognon, Greta Garbo in the Club St. Germain, ca. 1950s. Gelatin silver print. Collection SFMOMA © Georges Dudognon.

Celebrities need fans, but what about unmanageable voyeurs? Trading anonymity for fame means  tending a public  image that paparazzi seem eager to deflate with unflattering views and intimations of bad behavior:

Marcello Geppetti, (detail) Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, 1962. Gelatin silver prints. Courtesy Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco; © Eredi Geppetti; photo: Ben Blackwell for SFMOMA.

What’s the point? Do we want to see that the famous are also human, just like us? Do we want to celebrate them?  Adore, humanize, tease?  Or do we want blood?  Do we share a kind of Schadenfreude, a guilty pleasure when the high and mighty walk around off-duty in schlumpy clothes or better yet, when they fall from grace?

Nick Ut, Paris Hilton is seen through the window of a police car as she is transported from her home to court by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in Los Angeles on Friday, June 8, 2007, 2007. Chromogenic print. © Associated Press/Nick Ut.

What does this apparently weeping woman mean to us?  Earlier, the social reform photographs included in Exposed made me think about conflicting values: social justice trumping respect in gazing at those helpless to resist.  With prying paparazzi, it often seems Kwame Anthony Appiah’s “democratization of dignity” has reversed and become the spread of contempt.

Anyone who’s flipped through a copy of People magazine in a waiting room knows the fascination of these unnecessary and often mean photographs. But Exposed presents these images in a museum setting and asks for a different kind of viewing.

What have we learned?  How have we been transformed? Do we muse about the life of the celebrity, about the social needs of fans and their subcultures?  About the relationship of the public and the famous, and the persona that stands between them?  Or the human need for relief from public attention and the unending performance it requires?

Ron Galella, What Makes Jackie Run? Central Park, New York City, October 4, 1971. Gelatin silver print. Collection SFMOMA. © Ron Galella, Ltd

Stolen images make reciprocity difficult.  And voyeurism provides poor conditions for an act of respectful (or awestruck) witnessing. I keep looking for  a  visual relationship with the photographed subject and end instead, wondering about the psychological and social relationships that the photographer didn’t focus on, but that managed to make it into the picture anyway. Sometimes critical looking makes more sense than ethical looking, or maybe they’re mixed up together in an an-too-human stew.

Images of violence are coming next.

Machine in the Field: Breaking In and Out of Cars with Kids

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There are those of you out there who think teaching kids how to break into cars and escape from locked trunks is a bit devious. Let me try to convince you otherwise and why attending this car break-in workshop with Jason Torchinsky, hosted by Machine Project, rocks and is a great idea… 1) Knowledge is power and [...]

There are those of you out there who think teaching kids how to break into cars and escape from locked trunks is a bit devious. Let me try to convince you otherwise and why attending this car break-in workshop with Jason Torchinsky, hosted by Machine Project, rocks and is a great idea…

1) Knowledge is power and with power comes responsibility. It’s like sending kids to karate class. Knowing how to beat up the other kids often makes them less likely to do it.

2) You will no longer need AAA services as long as your kids have a wire coat hanger, putty, and pliers on hand at all times.  Imagine one morning running back to the car to grab their dirty uniform they left in the car that needs to be washed before tonight’s game.  Your arms are so full you don’t notice you’ve locked the keys in the car. Instead of waiting for a tow trunk, your nifty nine-year old can run back in the house and grab their emergency kit, pop the lock and you’re back in the car faster than you can say ???

3) The American school system is failing.  In addition to cutting arts programming, more and more schools are losing their auto tech programs.  If you took a shop class you may recall learning a few tricks yourself while the teacher showed the new kids the different parts of an alternator.

4)  Your kids will become more successful adults. After seeing the inner workings of locks and hinges your child will suddenly begin taking apart appliances at home trying to unravel the many puzzles locked inside. They will join online forums and discuss with other kids from around the world how to build cars that are powered by spinach and serve mac and cheese while they wait at stop lights.  They will then get a full ride scholarship to an ivy league college before they become a fellow at NASA…okay maybe not but you never know.

5) The TRUE reason: Kids spend so much time in a car why not give them an opportunity to explore the mysterious beauty and wonders that are hidden inside.  Check out this video with lots of smiling faces. It’s a great time and there are a few spots left for the workshops.  Learn how to sign up here.

Looking at Exposed: Voyeurism and Respect

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Once you’ve bitten into it, you can’t just turn away from a bad apple’s taste. Short of leaving, you can’t avoid the smell in a smoky room; the feel of water when you’re in it is inescapable; there’s only so much street noise you can tune out. But seeing is different: it is the most [...]

Once you’ve bitten into it, you can’t just turn away from a bad apple’s taste. Short of leaving, you can’t avoid the smell in a smoky room; the feel of water when you’re in it is inescapable; there’s only so much street noise you can tune out. But seeing is different: it is the most voluntary of the senses.  You can close your eyes to what you don’t want to see. You’re free to choose; you’re responsible.

I considered using my freedom of visual choice to skip the “Voyeurism and Desire” section of Exposed; many of its images made me uncomfortable. But some did not.  Nan Goldin’s sometimes brutally honest images of  (consenting) friends, relatives and self don’t, as I’ve said, seem voyeuristic.

Nan Goldin, Nan and Brian in bed, New York City, 1983; detail from The Ballad of Sexual Dependency; 1979-1996. Whitney Museum of American Art. © Nan Goldin

Acting as a kind of participant-documentarian, she invites me to imagine the feelings and experiences of her fellow subjects and leaves me the space to connect respectfully, without actually entering her scene.

It’s hard, though, to respect this bent over woman, unwittingly exposing her vaguely clad derriere to a hidden camera.

Miroslav Tichý, Untitled, ca. 1950s-1980s; gelatin silver print and ink. Collection SFMOMA. © Miroslav Tichý / Foundation Tichý Ocean

This is the look of a secretive voyeur, and I don’t want it. It’s been noted, though, that Tichy’s works are his response to government repression in the former Czechoslovakia and suggested that he identified with his subjects. Do we? Or do we identify with an objectifying (male) gaze, gloating in its relative power?  Does the image’s dreamy blur, an effect of Tichy’s jury-rigged camera, express a sad yearning to touch?  Or does it read as creepy?

Another group of “Voyeuristic” images in the exhibition look at voyeurism itself.

Shizuka Yokomizo, Stranger No. 2, 1999. Chromogenic print. Collection SFMOMA. © Shizuka Yokomizo

It’s not the couple making out that seems to be caught in flagrante here; it’s the crawling figure–another photographer?–and the man lurking in the shadows, his hand on his fly. This photo pulls back from the scene, primal or otherwise; it preserves the identity if not the privacy of the actors, and instead watches the watchers. Who has the power in this photograph and to whom do we owe respect?

The posed near-portraits (by Robert Mapplethorpe, Man Ray and Nobuyoshi Araki, especially) of presumably consenting models give me pause. Some offer a brave and even beautiful self-exposure; others make me wish for a sign announcing that no models were hurt in the process of making this photograph. Voyeurism is one thing; victimization another and some subjects seem like sacrifices to our bad appetites.  Do the scratched-out faces and masks in E.J. Bellocq‘s Storyville Portraits rob these women of their individuality or confer protective anonymity?

Some of “Voyeurism’s” photographs stretch my loyalty to the old idea that “nothing human is alien to me.”   Kwame Anthony Appiah, whose ethical thinking inspires my search for ethical looking, uses this mantra in an essay where he also claims a belief that “everybody matters.”  How can everybody matter if humiliating others is a habit everybody shares?

How does the value of upholding the dignity of every person square with mainstream sexting and everyday visits to porn sites? Do voyeuristic photographs in a museum lead us to criticize, or condition us to live comfortably in a world where upskirt and downblouse shots, legal or not, circulate freely on the web?

If the desire to look at voyeuristic images is just the nasty side of the human condition, common and natural, is turning away from them a moral response or just squeamish hypocricy?   In some of these photographs,  the possibility of respectful looking seems beside the point.  How can you feel empathy  with a sex object?  If vicarious respect isn’t always possible, is it always necessary?  Should we rest easy knowing that every photograph is a fiction?  Or should we stop looking?

Postscript:  The August 1 film in the Walker’s “Summer Music and Movies” series is Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window.  It’s no skin flick, but Rear Window is Exhibit A in discussions of cinematic construction of the dominating, objectifying male gaze and voyeuristic looking.

The State of Things: Part Two

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Following Leslye Orr’s lively keynote address, we had a panel in which the representatives of four major cultural and educational institutions talked about accessibility-related efforts and issues. The panelists of the day were Courtney Gerber of the Walker, Hunter Gullickson of the Guthrie Theater, Debbi Hegstrom of the MIA, Deb Helmke of Interact and Kit [...]

Following Leslye Orr’s lively keynote address, we had a panel in which the representatives of four major cultural and educational institutions talked about accessibility-related efforts and issues. The panelists of the day were Courtney Gerber of the Walker, Hunter Gullickson of the Guthrie Theater, Debbi Hegstrom of the MIA, Deb Helmke of Interact and Kit Wilhite of the Science Museum of Minnesota. Euan Kerr of Minnesota Public Radio served as the moderator.

The discussion was well-rounded, stimulating and regrettably punctuated by the sounds of my frantic typing. Hunter kicked it off by explaining that it’s the responsibility of the institution to make itself more financially and physically accessible. The issue of physical accessibility in particular warrants more attention, since it tends to get over-simplified. It’s not just about cramming the architectural blueprints with ramps and elevators. As Courtney mentioned, every detail of a physical space plays a big role in building a welcoming environment.

On the subject of over-simplification, one must remember that the issue of accessibility encompasses more than just ability, socioeconomic status and cultural background. Kit gave a very demonstrative example about interacting with children with disabilities. Understanding the needs and behaviors of a younger demographic won’t be a walk in the park, so talk to their parents. Maintain an open exchange of information with them and work together as much as possible.

So far the panel had touched on challenges in both interpersonal and institutional spheres, but how about the internal conflicts that get in the way of fighting the good fight? Even after years of experience, thinking of ways to help a group who faces different challenges can be still daunting. Kit described a conundrum familiar to so many of us: you want to take risks, to push the envelope and bring a fresh spark to current endeavors. At the same time, however, there is the fear of over-stepping boundaries and the resulting desire to be a more passive listener. As hard as it may initially be, it’s important to make sure the dilemma doesn’t paralyze you. It’s no less crucial to keep a flexible mindset that is open to innovation and creativity; in the words of Euan, what works for one group might not work for the other. To make sure efforts don’t stagnate, engage with other organizations to exchange findings and program development ideas.

By the end of the panel, my fingers were starting to feel like they’d been trampled on by several large men. But the audience was almost bursting with questions, so I shelved all wistful thoughts of ice packs and Bloody Marys for another round of note-taking. Here are the results!

 

Q & A:

 

Q: Hunter, could you talk to us about user experiences of the open-captioning system at the Guthrie?

Hunter: The open-captioning system is basically live text that scrolls in tandem with the show. We have a live operator who gets the script in advance, as well as an LED screen. A lot of usage comes from people who are deaf/hard of hearing as well as people with English as a second language. It works particularly well with Shakespeare shows or ones featuring people with more difficult accents. The reactions so far have been wonderful! Results of randomly-conducted surveys show that 90% of the audience has used it at some point during the show.

 

Q: How often do institutions consider the accessibility of their entrance areas? Prior to attending a show at the Opera Center, a friend of mine found that getting from the ramp to the theater was surprisingly difficult. It’s an especially important issue since we often face the prospect of bad weather conditions.

Debbi: Taking this matter into consideration, we’ve built accessible parking spaces right in front of the MIA building. It’s always a bit of a struggle when changing the landscape is involved – the accessibility team was flabbergasted by how much it took just to create those spots.

Courtney: It all comes down to the initial conversation. There will be physical challenges present in each institution’s structure, but if we provide visitors with disabilities and their caregivers enough information in advance and have a member of the staff present to greet and help, it can really make a huge difference.

 

Q: In terms of internal advocacy, are you thinking of aligning your efforts with organizations that offer programs for seniors? How does that demographic figure in your long-term plan?

Courtney: To the first question: yes, definitely. Considering this issue was a big part of what spurred us to collaborate with the Alzheimer’s Association and begin the Contemporary Journeys program. Through said program we’ve developed a lot of good relations with senior citizens and day activity centers all over the Twin Cities.

Debbi: We have a program called Discover Your Story for people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers – it’s offer to day-care centers, but walk-in public tours are available as well. We’re working on providing assisted listening devices for our tours.

Leslye: When keeping senior citizens in mind, don’t neglect issues of visibility. At the Dreamland Arts theater, signs were provided, but people kept tripping all the same because they were shifted from an extremely bright place to an extremely dark one. Having guides present is extremely helpful.

Courtney: With regards to physical comfort, there are amazing gallery stools that can be purchased.

For visitors who are a little less stable on their feet, we obtained folding chairs that are light, comfortable and easy to place in galleries.

Deb: It’s also very useful to have a network of people that one can ask for information regarding a place’s degree of accessibility.

 

Q: I work with a center dealing with adults with mental disabilities. We’ve had some collaborations and partnerships with numerous organizations, including the Walker. It has produced great results for us, but we were wondering what we could do for cultural organizations as people who work directly with people with disabilities. How can we contribute to your accessibility-related efforts?

Debbi: When in a partnership with us, feel free to tell us when you spot an event that might fit well with our agenda. Also, let us know what you want to see in our institutions. Think of it as a good opportunity to expand awareness.

Leslye: Give us as many details about your population so that everything can be worked out in advance and expectations can be met on everyone’s part. Then nobody will feel like they’ve crossed boundaries or that they’ve overestimated their clients.

Courtney: Be open – feel free to give us honest feedback on what we’re doing right and what we’re not. Also, if you think an organization is less skilled in a particular area and you know another organization that can offer corresponding guidance, please let us know.

 

Q: Does anyone have specific advice for an organization seeking to train staff in inclusiveness-related efforts? Should we get consultants to get a good handle of what works?

Hunter: Yeah definitely. Staff have responded very well, particularly to consultants that talk about personal experience. Firsthand conversations go a very long way. There are a number of resources available out there regarding set up and training and protocol. However, direct conversations are very effective.

Leslye: In the case of people with English as a second language, I would encourage going online to look at their first language and learn the corresponding ways of respectfully addressing them.

Kit: We partner with teachers in the state, trying to make training as interactive as possible. We also have small discussion groups to introduce an element of peer-coaching and make things less lecture-based. Getting first-person accounts are essential in making the training a richer experience.

Debbi: The MIA has consulting sessions for its docents. The organization Vision Loss Resources sends us people who provide very hands-on consultation. They even have types of glasses that simulate different degrees of vision loss! As for ASL-interpreted tour training, we invite interpreters as well as people who are deaf. The one-on-one experience is important – fears just melt away when there is direct interaction.

Deb: At the Interact Center, there’s no formal training. To us, the best thing is to sit down and get used to artist with disabilities. You’ll find that it’s not so different from working with everybody else – it really boils down to a matter of mutual respect. If you want to know how you can help, just ask the person in question him or herself.

TAKE 5: Five questions answered by Christina Elias of The Swatch Team

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TAKE 5: Five questions answered by activity organizers on Open Field this summer Name: Christina Elias Occupation: Artist City/Neighborhood: Loring, but travel around the country Open Field Activity: The Swatch Team: Yarn Bombers Unite! Activity Description: The Swatch Team wants you! Calling all knitters to create a yarn bombing at the Walker. Crotcheters welcome. Weekly [...]


TAKE 5: Five questions answered by activity organizers on Open Field this summer

Name: Christina Elias
Occupation: Artist
City/Neighborhood: Loring, but travel around the country

Open Field Activity: The Swatch Team: Yarn Bombers Unite!
Activity Description: The Swatch Team wants you! Calling all knitters to create a yarn bombing at the Walker. Crotcheters welcome. Weekly creative rendezvous every Thursday will culminate in a yarn bombing on September 1st. Questions, inquiries, or creative contributions welcome every Thursday from 5-8 pm.
Date of Activity: Every Thursday, 5-8 pm.
Check it out on the Open Field calendar of events!

1) What’s your favorite public space, in the Twin Cities or beyond?

The Good JuJu Garden in the heart of Minneapolis, 14th Ave South and 22nd Street–a beautiful safe haven in the ‘hood.

2) How did you find out about Open Field and why did you decide to host your own activity on Open Field?

Jan (my greatest fan!) turned me on to Open Field. When I proposed “Yarn Bombing” the response was “This is the most serendipitous thing that’s happened all week!”

3) If you could learn any skill on Open Field, what would it be?

COLLABORATION!

4) What is the ideal audience for your Open Field activity?

We hope for the neighborhood and community of Minneapolis to be present for the “installation” on September 1st!

5) If Open Field had a mascot, who/what would it be?

A sheep, an alpaca, and an Angora goat!

Machine on the Field: Cowboys and Angels Trailer

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Singer/song-writer Emily Lacy kicks off Machine Project’s residency with a musical tour of wistful country songs and vocal electronica. Every day, from July 19th-29th, beginning at 2 pm, Emily’s folksy, heartbreaking croons will echo throughout the public spaces and peripheries of the Walker Art Center. If you detect an otherworldliness to her sound that’s got you [...]

Singer/song-writer Emily Lacy kicks off Machine Project’s residency with a musical tour of wistful country songs and vocal electronica. Every day, from July 19th-29th, beginning at 2 pm, Emily’s folksy, heartbreaking croons will echo throughout the public spaces and peripheries of the Walker Art Center. If you detect an otherworldliness to her sound that’s got you thinking she’s a busking Laura Ingalls Wilder from the future (funny coincidence that her tour ends the same day that Cowboys and Aliens opens!) it’s because she re-mixes her own voice through electronic gadgetry that comes packed in her portable trunk-turned-stage. Aside from her beautiful voice and musical experimentation, Emily also has a flair for eccentric raiment. Last January on her Walker visit, you may have caught her dressed as a bear while her voice radiated from the cavernous spaces of the bigloo in Open Field. As for her stylings this summer, I’ve had a fun time trying to coin it, goth prairie girl was the first thing that came to mind when looking at these photos. Here’s the detailed list of tour locations so you can plan accordingly, followed by a trailer to whet your appetite.

7/19 – about 30 feet from the Bazinet Lobby entrance, in Open Field
7/20 – the interior glass vestibule right outside the Bazinet Lobby entrance
7/21 – Bazinet Garden Lobby
7/22 – Orientation Lounge, behind the Bazinet Lobby desk
7/23 – freight elevator, opened to Cargill Lounge
7/24 – Cargill Lounge
7/25 – Walker closed Mondays, no tour
7/26 – long walkway/hall between Cargill and Hennepin lounges
7/27 – Hennepin lounge
7/28 – inside or near ‘Sky Pesher’ sculpture on Open Field
7/29 – Hennepin Lounge, closer to Hennepin Avenue entrance

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