I was happy to see that despite our loss our mascot ended up prominently displayed on a number of screen-printed shirts being cranked out at Calpurnia Peach’s Remake, Revamp.

SPE mascot with name

SPE gorilla with alternate text

Truth be told, we as a team never got around to getting our mascot on our shirts prior to the fated game, so it wasn’t exactly clear to Field Day goers that the sporty ape had a kickball connection. I had actually commissioned my husband, former opera singer and current finance professional/guerilla sketch artist (pun intended), to bring our team name to life. The gorilla’s colorful (re)appearance at field day was a fun surprise. Wear him with pride Minneapolitans.

Seexeng, who’s a practicing artist and teacher at South H.S., developed the overarching design on a series of 50 small square canvas tiles and asked participants to select a tile that spoke to them, and fill it with their own symbols. Once the paintings were complete the families helped themselves to a delicious buffet of food from Mango Thai, while Seexeng speedily dried and assembled the paintings onto a large plywood frame behind closed doors so that the unveiling was, to quote Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, “the best prize of all, a SURPRISE!”

Families hard at play

Calvin Her, PaYong Xiong, Missy Her, Mysister Her

The spread, courtesy Mango Thai Restaurant in St. Paul

Voila! The culminating masterpiece

Detail of mural

What images and symbols can you find?

I recently asked Galen Treuer, Artistic Director of Live Action Set, a few questions about exploring dementia and Alzheimer’s through theater. Treuer and his Live Action Set colleague Noah Bremer co-directed the company’s My Father’s Bookshelf at the Guthrie in June, a play that looked at the powerful effects Alzheimer’s disease has on individuals, families and communities.

Treuer’s efforts illustrate an interest within performing arts to bring the subject of memory loss to the fore. Another local performing arts group engaging people with memory loss is Kairos Dance Theatre. Their The Dancing Heart keeps people living with dementia tapped into the world through movement.

Below is my conversation with Treuer.

Why Alzheimer’s? What got you interested in the subject of dementia and society’s response to this disease?

The idea started a weekend a couple of years ago at my parents’ house. I realized I knew them when they were my age – about thirty – and I started thinking about all the stories I would never hear from them. I imagined making a piece about aging and intergenerational exchange. At the time I was reading “A User’s Guide to the Brain” by John J. Ratey, actually I’d been reading it off and on for the past few years, and was interested in doing a play with neuroscience in it. After talking this idea over with Noah Bremer, we came on the idea of dementia as a good subject for interrupting the story telling. Initially I was drawn to the obscure forms of dementia, but as I read more about Alzheimer’s it became clear we could make something more relevant, less sensational by focusing on the most common form of dementia.

What elements of theater make it an effective media for sharing stories of memory loss?

Theater is a live art. You share the experience with the audience physically, in the moment. People with Alzheimer’s often lose words and the ability to share specific stories, but they gain an ability to live in the present moment. They are not worried about what is going to do tomorrow or the embarrassing thing they said 10 minutes ago. They are concerned with the here and now. Also, our style of theater lends itself to non-linear story telling. Time is flexible, and stories repeat or don’t follow a traditional narrative order. In Alzheimer’s time becomes confused and the linear path of experience breaks down. Also, connection and personal history are the most important thing for people with Alzheimer’s. If someone can’t communicate, at least they can feel like they belong and are heard by creating a connection. And personal histories are the last thing to be forgotten, so they are a great way to build connections. Theater is the energetic connection between an audience and performer. It helps people practice emotionally empathy, and it is a great venue for sharing personal stories.

Theater can also create a neutral ground where scientists, social workers, caregivers, and family members can observe the challenges and nuances of a very personal and scary disease without it being overwhelmingly personal or clinical. The arts create metaphorical space where people can synthesize new perspectives.

At the Walker we’re currently exploring visual arts programming that keeps people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers engaged in the community. Do you believe joy is possible for people living with Alzheimer’s and that art — visual, performance, musical — may assist in eliciting positive, enriching experiences for them?

Joy is absolutely possible for people living with Alzheimer’s – both those with the disease and their family members. Art is a powerful tool for connecting. It is very emotional and metaphorical. Art provides space to connect and discover each other. There is a lot of wisdom in older individuals (even those with Alzheimer’s), and it’s a joy for both parties whenever you get to share it. Music and dance are especially powerful. I spent an afternoon in a locked memory ward in St. Paul, and when the woman leading the activities started singing the entire room transformed. Everyone became attentive, began humming and started smiling. That afternoon I sat next to a man who had a little radio playing big band music; he just wanted to hold my hand, tap out the rhythm, and tell me,“Yeah, that’s it!” Later, I heard he was never a musician or really all that into music until after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

In an interview for MPR your directorial partner, Noah Bremer, mentions the importance of laughter and humor for people living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. Can you speak to the role you understand humor playing in coping with an ultimately deadly disease?

The most telling thing I noticed in our research was that every nurse I met who spent years in direct contact with Alzheimer’s patients had a wicked sense of humor. In January I spent an hour talking with two nurses at the New York Mills, MN Elders Home about their experience with Alzheimer’s. We probably spent 3/4 of the time laughing. Without laughing, I don’t know how you could deal with the looming tragedy of the disease. It’s also a really great way to keep your interactions dignified. I find humor empowering. It lets us approach uncomfortable topics and laugh at our mistakes and our fears.

In creating My Father’s Bookshelf we needed to use humor, otherwise the play would have been too painful to watch. Ultimately the humor also let the audience connect with Bob (the main character), to love him and respect him. It seems like it made for a more pointed, accessible, and personal tragedy that sat with the audience rather than on the stage.

What was the most meaningful thing you learned during your research and preparation for “My Father’s Bookshelf”

Age related dementia is an epidemic. We will all have to deal with someone who has it at some point, and it’s absolutely possible that I might get it. My family tends to live will into their 80’s, and half of people over 85 show signs of some form of dementia. That said, the way to deal with this is through connection and understanding. It’s what everybody wants no matter how old they are or if they have a disease. We can all start practicing right now. Start collecting stories.

Watch Treuer’s conversation with nurse Ellen Swanson about My Father’s Bookshelf:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

Although Fantastic Fourth! was wonderful as a stand-alone event, it is just one of many memorable events since the inception of the Walker. The image below was taken at a Walker concert held July 4, 1959. The individuals in the photo are sitting in a space referred to as the ‘backyard’; an open space that existed before the (first) Guthrie was built. This image seems to capture the innocence of the era–the quintessential American Independence day filled with good, clean family fun.

Walker Backyard, July 4, 1959 Courtesy Walker Art Center Archives

Although the 1950s seems centuries ago in terms of how our world has changed, the theme of the Walker as a place for place for families to gather to celebrate art, life, culture and each other still rings true. What a far-reaching vision the founders of this institution (and its subsequent Sculpture Garden) had in providing such a tremendous space to host events that have the capability of engaging the whole community.

Whether it was the kids creating their own Spin Art Surprise, concertgoers listening to the music, or those enjoying some delicious grilled corn on the cob, one thing that was hard to avoid were the smiles-lots of them. Maybe that 1950s era sense of picture-perfect “happiness” really isn’t that much of a stretch after all; maybe all we have to do is look around…

Spoonbridge and Concertgoers, July 4, 2009

During our first art lab of the summer, teens from Kulture Klub were on hand to receive clothing donations. The response was great. People brought in bags of clothing. Thanks!

This Thursday, I hope you feel warm and cuddly when I tell you that folks from Arc Greater Twin Cities will be here to take your gently used clothing and put it to good use. I contacted Laurel Hansen, their business director, to find out more about them.  So, if you have some bags of clothing sitting on your front porch that you’ve been meaning to get rid of bring it on down to the Walker and give it to Arc Greater Twin Cities! Oh, and participate in our art lab as well with the dynamic duo that is Calpurnia Peach!

 Describe what Arc Greater Twin Cities does and how it got started as an organization?

 Arc is a nonprofit organization providing advocacy and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Arc Greater Twin Cities was started originally in 1946, led by parents who wanted a better life and more opportunities for their children with disabilities.

 Arc’s Value Village Thrift Stores & Donation Centers (www.arcsvaluevillage.org) are owned and operated by Arc. Arc’s thrift business provides 40% of Arc’s annual support.  Arc’s Value Village has stores in Richfield, New Hope, and Brooklyn Center, and will soon open a St. Paul store.

 How is your organization different from other community organizations?

 Arc’s mission is to secure for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families the opportunity to realize their goals of where and how they live, learn, work, and play. Arc serves people and families throughout the many stages of life. 70% of the people who work at Arc’s Value Village Thrift Stores are volunteers. Proceeds from the stores benefit Arc’s services. More than 3 million items are recycled and reused annually at Arc’s Value Village.

Have you seen an increase in demand for gently used clothes during this last year? If so why?

 Thrift shopping is very “on trend” right now, and Arc’s Value Village provides a great way to shop smart, shop green, and shop local. It’s “Shopping with a Purpose” at Arc’s Value Village. While demand for used clothing is up, more donations to Arc are needed to support this demand. Donations to Arc are tax deductible and accepted daily; Arc provides a tax receipt. Arc also accepts accessories, household items, books, children’s items, select furniture, automobiles, and more.

I know that some kids, especially teenagers, might feel somewhat self-conscious wearing used clothing around their peers at school. How can people’s attitudes and perceptions of used clothing as being only for people in need change?

 The movement to reuse and recycle is gaining momentum, and more people than ever are shopping at thrift stores. This is especially true of young people, who are leading the trend. Vintage items from the 1980’s and other eras are desirable to many shoppers, who crave a unique, one of a kind style that can be achieved by shopping at Arc’s Value Village Thrift Stores.

When customers shop at Arc’s Value Village, they appreciate that the store is clean,organized, and fun & easy to shop. Merchandise is high quality, diverse, and plentiful.  Donations are accepted daily, so customers often shop and donate each time they visit.  At Arc’s Value Village we love our customers and always say, “Keep on Thrifting!”

What advice would you give a stranger? What are your hopes and dreams? Those are the kind of questions art lab participants will ask each other during Wing Young Huie’s art lab here at the Walker next Thursday, March 26th. These same people will be asking those questions of complete strangers and take their picture too!

Huie is an award winning photographer who not only has a reputation here in the twin cities, but nationally. His series of Lake Street photographs have been hailed as a truly extraordinary public art project. And that’s because he truly believes in people and has faith that they will always do the right thing.

I talked to him about his work and what we can expect next Thursday during his art lab that takes on some of the themes in the Elizabeth Peyton show Live Forever.

What drew you to photography and why did you choose this medium over say painting?

 I grew up wanting to be a writer, ended up majoring in print journalism at the University of Minnesota. Worked at Minnesota Daily as a general assignment reporter. Two stories of which I’m particularly proud, a two-parter on “Loneliness” and an in-depth report on the phone numbers scrawled on campus bathroom walls.

But when I was a sophomore, age 20, I bought a camera and was hooked. My father was my first subject. I was twenty, living at home, experimenting with my new Minolta SLR camera, when I made the first exposures of my dad in the kitchen. It was strange and exhilarating to look at someone so familiar so intently, and see something new.

Now, some thirty years and hundreds of thousands of exposures later, I’m still trying to look at the world anew.

You’ve done a number of public art projects. Ones that require intense participation on the part of your subjects. Why do you do them?

 I didn’t know anything about public art when I decided to display my Frogtown photographs outdoors in an empty lot on University and Dale. It just seemed to make sense to put it in a place that was accessible for anyone. It went well, so I expanded the idea with Lake Street.I’m doing another large-scale project on University Avenue, made by possible by the Joyce Foundation, produced and further funded by Public Art St. Paul. In spring 2010 hundreds of photos will be installed and projected at night along University Avenue.

 I read an article in the Star Tribune from 2000 that quoted Vince Leo, head of the MCAD media department, as saying, “Wing has a tremendous faith in human beings; I don’t know how else to say it.” Is this what moves you to document people that maybe the rest of us would never see? And, with everything that has happened in the last few years around the world and here in the US, are you still optimistic about people being able to make the right decisions?

I’m not sure if it’s faith. I also don’t think it’s particularly useful for the artist to understand the why of things. Who really knows why we do what we do? No sense to lay yourself out on the couch. The real question is how to keep doing it. I think it’s hard to be creative for a long time. It’s easy to make excuses. I know them all.

 I’m not even sure if I’m well-suited for this kind of work. I’m really kind of a private person but yet I’ve interacted with thousands of people. It’s intrusive what I do. I guess I’m curious, persistent, and believe that what I do has value. I’m interested in how things are, not how they should be. I don’t think I know what the right decisions are. I mean, I’m not an activist. I want to show you, not tell you. And what I show is open to interpretation.

It’s been nearly 10 years since the Lake Street project was completed. How has that street changed? Or has it? Do you think your project made an impact on people who, both participated and who just happened to see them while walking by or riding the bus?

During the Lake Street exhibit we put comment books in the various coffee shops along Lake Street. Here is what an anonymous person wrote:

“Where art is not afraid to look into the eyes of us, regular poor folks just living our lives, this art comes down from the pretentious, self-concious and exclusive upper-class realm and becomes community art, art with a purpose, humane.  These are the pictures you’ll never see in Nike ads or car ads or perfume ads.

These are the majority of Americans picking up their broken identities and trying to scrape together a living, a culture, an identity, a life. Most of the images we see are of advertisements, trying to sell us a euphoria and prestige we could never achieve. We look around us and are disappointed, we struggle but don’t measure up.  These photos show us, real and valuable just as we are. They are sad because they aren’t the perfect images of others we’re used to seeing. They are empowering for the same reason. Thanks, for these images and a chance to respond. Peace.”

Tell us what people can expect at next Thursday’s art lab? What do you want participants to take away from it?

For the Art Lab you can expect to get outside of your own bubble and photograph someone you don’t know. I try not to have expectations, but I can tell you that in my private life I am plagued by the usual misperceptions and annoyances of my fellow human beings, but when I’m encountering the world with my camera I’m better able to put aside those qualities that make me insular, and in that sense I am a better person as a photographer.

This upcoming Free First Saturday, February 7^th, is truly important.  We’re celebrating mnartists.org, the Walker’s online program that supports the state’s creative community.  Come for FREE admission and rub elbows with many of the area’s most innovative and vibrant arts organizations, including Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Juxtaposition Arts, Universal Dance Destiny, and In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and more.

Also featured is a performance by local piano virtuoso Michael “The Hook” Deutsch.  Michael’s ingenious creativity and extraordinary technique are amazing to experience.  After losing his left hand in an accident nearly 30 years ago, Michael overcame this obstacle and taught himself blues and jazz piano.  “What I do is I try to keep the blues alive,” he says in an interview on current.com.  “It’s part of our American heritage.  Blues and jazz-we gotta keep it going.  They don’t teach this stuff in schools.”

Watch this video for more info and to see how Michael modified his prosthesis to suit his playing technique.

Free First Saturday is the Walker’s free day for families.  On the first Saturday of every month, Walker galleries are open and free of admission fees from 10 am-5 pm.  Free family-friendly activities and performances are scheduled throughout the day.  Call the box office at 612.375.7600 for more info.

The exhibition Tetsumi Kudo: Garden of Metamorphosis, currently on view in Galleries 4—6, posed a challenge to us during Free First Saturdays, the Walker’s monthly program for kids and families. For those of you who haven’t seen this incredible exhibition, there is some “mature” content (there are hundreds of sculptural representations of phalluses and other detached body parts). Of course the Walker has never been shy about exhibiting work that challenges our boundaries. The content of the Kudo exhibition is complex and symbolic, rather than graphically sexual, so we began thinking about how to present this exhibition to families on Free First Saturday. Some of you may remember discussions about the subject of “Warning: Mature Content” signs on the blogs here and here. Aside from the argument that these warning signs don’t effectively communicate much about the content of such a complex exhibition, these signs may keep people away because parents can’t simply leave their kids to preview the exhibition.

We decided on a new approach for this particular exhibition on Free First Saturdays. We staff the entrances with greeters who could offer families a preview before they enter the exhibition. These greeters are equipped with exhibition catalogs and talking points prepared by the Visual Arts department. Almost every parent, regardless of their opinions about the exhibition, are grateful for the information. Knowledge is power, right? According to the greeters, most who have looked at the catalog decided to enter the exhibition. Some decide they aren’t interested and move on. I’m sure that many families have seen Garden of Metamorphosis who would have otherwise avoided it at first sight of those warning signs. Success! Much appreciation is due to all the Visitor Services staff who have acted as ambassadors to this important exhibition.

Tetsumi Kudo: Garden of Metamorphosis is on view until March 22, 2009. Upcoming Free First Saturdays are February 7 and March 7, 10 am—5 pm. Come see Tetsumi Kudo for FREE (or at least come to decide if you want to)! Exhibition catalogs are available for preview at the lobby desks and for sale in the Walker Shop.

Checking out some paintings by Lifeworks clients

Our choice for Best in Show ended up being a portrait done in crayon of a figure whose gender is ambiguous. The person has a gray beard, but has breasts and wears a feminine-cut green and orange blouse, earrings, and blush. He/she is placed against a vibrant magenta background that appears to be sucking the him/her backwards into a vortex of color. The right side of the figure’s head leans toward the upper right-hand corner of the paper, creating a strong vertical line, while the rest of the figure’s body swerves left. The crayon is applied thickly and throughout the surface of the picture are short, lively, meticulous scratch marks. The work is expressive and intensely personal – it doesn’t offer a clear idea of who this person is or how this person is interacting with the world. The viewer isn’t privy to the whole story.

Sorry that I don’t have a picture of the work to share.I’ll post one once one becomes available. I promise. For now you’ll just have to use your imagination.

“What’s Lifeworks?” you may ask. Lifeworks is a private nonprofit organization that serves 1,200 people with developmental disabilities and their families in the Twin Cities metro and Mankato areas, offering its clients career development and social enrichment services. Currently six of the eight Lifeworks locations offer visual arts programming. Lifeworks is partnering with the Walker over the next two years on enhancing tour experiences for visitors with cognitive disabilities through our Open Door Initiative, which focuses on accessibility through tours and art-making. Open Door Initiatives are funded by MetLife Foundation.

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.