Our congratulations go out to development associate Dan and his wife Laura, who are expecting their first child soon. The development and membership department celebrated with a baby shower last Friday, where we played games, opened gifts, and ate cake. We take our cake and savory treats seriously in our department. We wanted a knockout cake to celebrate the proud parents-to-be and during a baby shower brainstorming session, someone came up with the “Spoonbridge and baby” cake idea.
Wuollet made a beautiful and delicious cake for the occasion. Dad-to-be Dan ate the cake slice with the baby on it.
The two Alexander Calder works in the Sculpture Garden are being repainted to protect the works from the elements. As with Spoonbridge and Cherry, this process happens every five years.
The gray primer coats on The Spinner and Octopus:
Calder “signed” his sculptures — something I just discovered earlier this week. I’d never noticed it before.
Garden conservation isn’t just about painting efforts — there’s fire involved, too. Noah was hard at work hot-waxing a couple of bronze works. This process seals bronze in order to protect the patina from the elements. First, a blowtorch is used in a localized area. After it’s hot, a formulated mixture of waxes are applied with a brush. After the wax cools, it’s buffed to a glow.
I really enjoyed taking photos for my “Sculpture or garden?” post. Late last week, I found some late summer flowers. It’s not too often that we see new sculptures in the garden, but the plants evolve with each passing season.
Mark Di Suvero’s Arikidea is a popular work in the garden. After all, it invites viewer participation — how could you not want to swing on it for a while?
Unfortunately, it broke last weekend. Reckless swingers? Intentional damage? Who knows?
One of the brackets that supports the swing broke. The bracket is being fixed in Burnsville as we speak, and it should be back and functional by Monday.
Many modern and contemporary artists use found objects (AKA, pre-existing objects/materials) in their work. Yesterday, while crossing the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge, I stumbled upon such a piece.
Hanging down from the Loring Park northbound side of the bridge was a sunflower and twig mobile, just swinging in the breeze.
From above:
I believe the artist used the sunflowers growing in the median of Hennepin Avenue.
I liked the resourcefulness of the artist, and the fact that it was installed in close proximity to the found materials. Plus, it was located in between the Walker and the Loring Park Art Festival — great timing!
My first Walker blog post contained a blurry photo of the bird family in Arikidea.
Fellow blogger Paul was kind enough to send me a much clearer photo of the bird family, taken by Walker photographer Gene Pittman. I bet Gene didn’t fall off the swing platform while taking the photograph.
… and we’re gonna get ma-a-arried. Gee, I really love you and we’re gonna get ma-a-arried…
In my nearly six years as a Walker employee, I’d never seen a wedding take place in the garden, though I’ve seen countless prom kids come by during the late springtime dusk to have their photo taken. That all changed last Friday when my longtime friend E.L. decided to get married in front of Spoonbridge and Cherry. What a gorgeous day for a wedding — bright, sunny, and warm with a cool breeze. Afterwards, we headed inside to have a post-ceremony late lunch at 20.21 Restaurant and Bar by Wolfgang Puck. General Manager Mark Latz was fantastic about accommodating our last-minute lunch reservation (for a party of 14, no less!) and our entire party agreed that the food and service were superb.
Last month, Eric blogged about Weblog Usability, specifically, how Walker blogs do not contain author bios nor photos. I’m taking the plunge now — that’s me in the white and red dress, second from the left. Hi, I’m Masami and I’m from Japan. My educational background is in modern European history, musicology, and French language and literature. I drank the Walker Kool-Aid in July 2000 and I’ve worn a number of hats here: Sales Associate, Assistant Manager, Membership Associate. I currently work in Development and am also a volunteer Tour Guide.
Do you think of it as the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, or the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden?
I’d venture to guess that many feel it’s the former and not the latter, but perhaps you’ll reconsider? Take a look at the varied and colorful flora in the Sculpture Garden.
The sculpture is newly painted and the pond is filled with water. The fountain hasn’t been turned back on as of yet, but that’s scheduled for tomorrow (Friday).
The timing couldn’t be better! Visitors to July’s First Free Saturday in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden will have the chance to view the newly renovated Spoonbridge and Cherry. July’s Free First Saturday marks the 15th anniversary of the popular family program. It’s just two days away — pack up the sunscreen, hats, blankets, and picnic lunches — we hope to see you there!
Spoonbridge and Cherry is as good as new again! The above is one of the last photos I took of the repainting stage. But not all of the conservation projects are large in scale — sometimes, all an artwork needs is a quick wash ‘n’ dry.
Taking some sudsy water and a mop to David Nash’s Standing Frame:
Or just hosing down the fingerprints on Dan Graham’s Two-Way Mirror Punched Steel Hedge Labyrinth:
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