Education and Community Programs

If you’ve spent any time in the Walker’s summer exhibition The Quick and The Dead, you have probably noticed a small vitrine of curious forms made of brightly colored yarn. If you knit using a circular needle, these objects may look familiar to you as a hat or baby sweater gone terribly wrong; all twisted and turned over on themselves. In fact, these are not botched knitting projects, but crocheted representations of a mathematical theory known as hyperbolic space.

As a most basic explanation, hyperbolic space is a theoretical principle of geometry that suggests spatial structures altogether different from spheres and those defined by rules parallel lines, i.e. Euclidean geometry. A much more thorough explanation is found here, in an interview between mathemetician Daina Taimina and geometer David Henderson. In 1997 Taimina solved a century-old quandary of what forms hyperbolic space assume by figuring out that crochet could model it.

The interview was conducted by Margaret Wertheim, who along with her sister Christine Wertheim, make up The Institute For Figuring, an LA-based educational organization that conducts projects, makes publications and curates exhibitions aimed at illuminating the poetic and aesthetic dimensions of math and science. Soon after the 1997 crafty breakthrough, the IFF teamed up with Dr. Taimina to further explore and elaborate on her methods of crocheting hyperbolic space, while sustaining a feminist conversation about craft, gender, and labor. Through public workshops around the world, the IFF and many curious crocheters have continued to hook together these symbolic forms, including the ones found in The Quick and the Dead.

If you have further questions on the subject of non-Eucilidean space, the physics of snowflakes or any other wonder of figuring, the IFF will be here on Thursday, July 30 to answer them. For their engagement at the Walker, Margaret and Christine will lead a workshop on how to crochet hyperbolic forms that is open to all skill levels. Yarn and hooks will be provided, although participants are welcome and encouraged to bring their own. The lesson takes place from 5 to 6:30 pm in the Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab. After the workshop, everyone is welcome to continue working on their crocheted objects at the IFF’s lecture, at 7 pm in the Walker Cinema, where they’ll discuss their various projects, including their ongoing effort to draw attention to the plight of the world’s coral reefs through crochet.

A central theme in the exhibition The Quick and the Dead is the expansive idea of time. Represented by watches, a flip clock, a time capsule and various other forms, musings on the passage of time are found in several works in the show. Tony Conrad’s Yellow Movie 2/28/73 (1973) consists of white paint on white paper that slowly yellows over years of exposure to light. Rivane Neuenschwander’s digital clock titled 00:00 (2007) sits inconspicuously on the wall above a gallery entrance mechanically flipping to zero over and over again.

Stephen Kaltenbach uses a delightfully familiar symbol of a culture’s time passing in his piece Time Capsule (OPEN AFTER MY DEATH) from 1970. The directive of the work found in the title addresses another monumental subject tackled by this exhibition: our own inescapable ends.

These two fundamental notions–the nature of time and the inevitability of death–are key forces in the life and career of Dr. Ronald Mallett, a theoretical physicist who will speak at the Walker in July in conjunction with the exhibition.

You may have heard Mallett’s story featured on the radio show This American Life, or more recently, on a special Father’s Day edition of Good Morning America. Or perhaps you’ve heard word of Spike Lee’s interest in making a biopic on Mallett. Regardless, it’s the kind of life that inspires everyone—from filmmakers to science fiction fans.

When he was just ten years old, Mallett’s beloved father died of a heart attack. A year later he stumbled upon a comic book based on H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, the famous science fiction tale of time travel originally published in 1895. Inspired by the seemingly magical ability to travel backwards in history, Mallett formed a secret plan that he hoped would one day allow him to reunite with his father. Decades later, as a tenured professor in the physics department at the University of Connecticut, he has developed his childhood dream into a working theory of time travel.

Using Einstein’s theory of relativity which states that energy equals mass, Mallett’s machine uses circulating lasers to create loops or warps in time.* It’s a bit much to explain here (especially for a museum educator with a high-school physics education such as myself; this article does a better job), but luckily you can get it straight from the source.

On Thursday, July 9 Dr. Mallet will take the stage to give a lecture on his theories, including a basic introduction to scientific thinking on time-space. He’ll also read from his memoir, Time Traveler: A Scientist’s Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality and will be available to sign books.

Join us for an evening steeped in the mysteries of the universe via science and art. Gallery admission is free on Thursday nights from 5 to 9 pm–come early to discover the shapes of time found in The Quick and the Dead.

*It would be disingenuous to end this post without mentioning that Mallet’s time travel experiments are currently limited to sub-atomic particles, although he believes that with enough funding and research, human time travel can happen in this century. Now if someone can just figure out a sure-fire method for human cryopreservation we’ll all be back to the future!

If you steal away for afternoon* in the exhibition Text/Messages: Books by Artists you’ll encounter a wide array of fascinating objects that relate in one form or another to the notion of the “book.” Among the things you’ll see are: a kite, a cake, a pistol, hand-made paper, mass-printed magazines, gas stations, comics, and cardboard. Together, these works are an imaginative wonderland that manage quite well to illustrate the vast styles, procedures and philosophies that make up the field of book arts.

A panel discussion this Thursday attempts a similar feat by gathering book makers and thinkers for an all-over conversation about the current state of artist book production. Here is a mini-introduction to the panelists:

Buzz Spector: artist and critical writer whose work makes frequent use of the book, both as subject and object. He is concerned with relationships between public history, individual memory, and perception. Spector has issued a number of artists’ books and editions since the mid-1970s, including, most recently, Time Square, a limited edition book whose text is taken from a sequence of Google searches on the nature of time.

Harriet Bart: maker of installations, large-scale sculpture, objects and books from her studio here in Minneapolis. All of Bart’s work is inspired by her deep interest and engagement with books and the written word. Her piece, In the Presence of Absence is featured in Text/Messages. She has also completed more than ten public art commissions around the world.

Sally Alatalo: artist, writer and performer based in Chicago. Her written, printed and performative work intersects with popular-cultural forms and activities such as genre fiction, hairdressing and household tasks. She is a force behind Sara Ranchouse Publishing, a xxx that deals in artist’s books, printed multiples and “art-at-large.” Read her publishing manifesto here.

James Hoff: artist and co-founder/editor of Primary Information, a non-profit publisher devoted to printing artists’ books and multiples by artists both young and old including John Cage, the Art Workers Coalition, Disband, Robert Filliou, Dick Higgins, Allan Kaprow, and Dieter Roth, among many others. He is currently co-editing a facsimile edition of the seminal Avalanche Magazine.

David Plaztker, moderator: curator, book dealer/scholar, former director of Printed Matter, Inc., and purveyor of Specific Object, a personal venture dedicated gathering and presenting interesting objects in any artistic medium. Material shown range from artists’ publications, ephemera, prints, multiples and other editions to literature, music / audio works and unique artworks of the contemporary world. His most recent project is a film screening and exhibition of Belgian Conceptual artist, Marcel Broodthaers’ unusual hybrid of book and film, A Voyage on the North Sea (1973 – 1974).

Please join these folks for a stimulating conversation this Thursday, February 5 at 7 pm. Bring your questions and ideas on all things bookish and get inspired!

*A sunny day is recommended. The windows onto the terrace make for lovely sun bath in the reading area of the exhibition.

This winter the Walker Art Center turns bookish with a season of events surrounding Text/Messages: Books by Artists, an exhibition of works from the museum’s collection and library opening on December 18. Over the past three decades, the Walker has amassed a significant collection of books by artists. This show highlights this important trove of material, showcasing examples from a broad range of artistic movements, book structures, concepts and narratives. Many of the works are sculptural, multidimensional, or made of material other than paper—some have no pages at all. “Books have historically been an important arena for artists,” says exhibition co-curator Siri Engberg. “In addition to conceiving works as books, many artists today are also engaged with a more abstract notion of ‘book,’ and where that idea can lead them in making a work of art.”

In celebration of this exhibition and all things book-like, the Walker teams up with Minnesota Center for Book Arts, mnartists.org, and Rain Taxi Review of Books to present Multiples Mall: A Bookish Fair on Saturday, February 21 from 11 am – 4 pm at the Walker. This day of festivities includes tours of the exhibition, a presentation on the history of chapbooks by Rain Taxi editor Eric Lorberer, and an artists’ book fair and sale open for browsing throughout the afternoon. This is an opportunity to gather and showcase the creative talents of Minnesota’s thriving book arts and literary communities and for an artistic exchange between makers themselves and the general public.

Minnesota artists are invited to submit an application for participation in the fair portion of Multiples Mall. Organizers are looking for work that exists within the elastic discipline of book arts, including artist-made books, chapbooks, fine press work, graphic design, artful zines, and multiples that claim a relationship to the form or concept of the “book.”

Each selected artist will have four feet of table space to display their wares and the opportunity to have work for sale by the Walker shop during the event.

SUBMISSIONS PROCESS
Participants will be chosen based on the appropriateness of their work for this event by a panel of representatives from each presenting organization. To be considered for inclusion in Multiples Mall, please email the following to submit@mnartists.org .

1. Up to five images of your work that represents what you would display

Digital images should be saved as JPEGs and sized to 96 pixels/inch and measure 7 inches (or 672 pixels) on the longest side. Images must be labeled with a number and last name.
For example: 01smith.jpeg, 02smith.jpeg, etc.

2. A resume with contact information

3. A brief explanation of how you think your work relates conceptually or formally to the “book.” (150 words or less)

All submissions must be received by midnight on MONDAY, DECEMBER 15 to be considered. Participants will be notified by December 19th.

Please direct questions about digital submissions to scott.stulen@walkerart.org.
For general questions, email sarah.peters@walkerart.org

Critic Claire Bishop, known for extensive writing on contemporary art and social engagement, will speak at the Walker on Thursday, October 30 at 7 pm. The first in a fall series of Mack Lectures, Bishop’s talk will focus on the complex ethics of performance and representation in contemporary art, drawing on recent works in which artists such as Artur Zmijewski, Jeremy Deller, and Phil Collins employ others in a piece and examining issues of authorship and authenticity that arise in these situations.

Newly appointed as a professor in the History of Art Department at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York, Bishop’s work has centered on a critical examination of how aesthetics and participation are evaluated in work termed “relational.” Her oft-cited article “Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics” appeared in the journal October in 2004 (available here) and prompted a lively exchange in the journal’s “letter and responses” page, as her 2006 essay “The Social Turn: Collaboration and its Discontents” did for the letters to the editor section of Artforum. She is also the author of the book Installation Art: A Critical History (Tate Publishing, 2005), and the edited anthology Documents of Contemporary Art: Participation (Whitechapel/MIT Press, 2006).

The talk is free; pick up tickets at the Bazinet Garden Lobby desk starting at 6 pm on the night of the event.

Read up and bring your questions!

Many of you may remember Solutions Twin Cities as the force that brought us Solutions for the Other 90% last summer during the Design for the Other 90% show. Well, they’re at it again and this time they’ve put together lunch-hour’s worth of presentations on science and art as part of the Innovation 2008 conference at the University of Minnesota this week.

So if you’re in the university neighborhood, head over to the U of M’s McNamara Alumni Center at 11 am on Tuesday, October 21 for a mid-day menu of 6 minute and 40 second presentations by innovative artists, scientists, and educators from the Twin Cities. They will each use their unique perspective to discuss how a fusion of art and science can be used to broaden the appeal of science policy in the public eye. The speakers are:

David Goldes, photographer and professor at Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Rachel Breen of Invigorate the Common Well
Ananya Chatterjea of Ananya Dance Theatre
Steve Jevning of Leonardo’s Basement
Neil Olszewski of the U of M’s Plant Biology Department
Lawrence Rudnick of the Minnesota Planetarium & Space Discovery Center
Jeffrey Kahn of the U of M’s Center for Bioethics

Best of all, its free! Well, the ideas and inspiration are free. You’ll have to bring your own lunch. For directions and rsvp information go here.