Walker Blogs

Off Center

Walker Channel Madness: Vote on Games 2 and 3

Posted March 18, 2011 at 3:33 pm — Filed under:

Welcome to Day 2 of Walker Channel Madness! We’re opening up two games today, as I realized just how many polls I’d have to make and keep track of over the next week. The match-ups come from the LECTURES and TRAILERS pods. As always, you can check out all the details over at the introductory blog post.

And without further ado…

Game 2
ARTIST TALK: LORNA SIMPSON vs FOUR VISIONS OF THE MINNEAPOLIS RIVERFRONT

We have two very different types of lectures going head-to-head today: In one, internationally renowned artist Lorna Simpson talks about collecting amazing things and finding meaningful ways to do something with them, including her recent practice of appropriating and restaging 20th century photos she finds on Ebay and flea markets. In the other, the Final Four teams (see what I did there?) in the Minneapolis Riverfront Design Competition (the winner has since been announced) share their visions (and computer generated visualizations). Which one gets your vote?

Lorna Simpson:

Four Visions of the Minneapolis Riverfront:

Game 3
ROCK THE GARDEN TIME LAPSE VS CHRIS LARSON: ONE OF THE 27 ARTISTS IN THE SPECTACULAR OF VERNACULAR

Well, these are short videos so you have no reason not to watch both. Do the changing shadows and crowd patterns of the 2010 Rock the Garden time-lapse video move you? Or do you delight in seeing the behind-the-scenes construction of Chris Larson’s site-specific installation?

Rock the Garden time-lapse:

Chris Larson:

Walker Channel Madness!

Posted March 14, 2011 at 1:10 pm — Filed under:

Guess what? We’re joining the ranks of other events and organizations that have nothing to do with basketball and jumping on the March Madness bandwagon!

This is what’s happening: we’re pitting our Walker Channel videos against each other in fierce competition to find THE VERY BEST ONE. Using the strict guideline of videos uploaded in the last year, we’re seeding them based on type of video and ranking (total views). Over the next week, viewers will vote for their preferred video and as the polls close, we will be closer to finding out which video will emerge victorious.

Scientific? Indubitably.
Competitive? Oh, you bet.
Exciting? YEAH!
Meaningful? The most meaningful competition in the world!

What is the Walker Channel, you say? It provides live webcasts of Walker programming and is home to an archive of nearly 300 video and audio recordings featuring a wide range of public programs, including lectures, readings, and presentations involving artists, scholars, and critics of contemporary art and culture. It’s been around for eight years, when live video streaming was still a rare, sketchy technology. You can find the HD videos online at channel.walkerart.org, on the Walker’s YouTube channel, or from iTunes U.

Now I present to you: THE BRACKET.
(Click for full size.)

(Download PDF)

THE PODS:
Dialogue/Performance: artist interviews and performances
Lecture: lectures by artists, designers, thinkers, and other special guests
Trailer: videos made and produced especially for the Channel, like exhibition previews and performing arts trailers
Up Close: behind-the-scenes videos, like short curator talks and artist interviews and insights

The tournament will run from March 16 thru April 1, with the first round of 16 taking the majority of the time (because you will have to watch the videos.) The week of March 28 will be a whirlwind of competitive activity, with the Round of 8, the Final 4, and finally, the Final on April 1.

Polls and videos will be embedded in a blog post for every day of competition. You will also be able to find them on the Walker’s Facebook page and linked from our Twitter feed, but voting is strictly on the blog poll.

So go ahead and start an office pool and come back on March 16, when the madness kicks off with Alec Soth’s Opening Day Dialogue vs. Making Music with Dave King, and Four Visions of the Minneapolis Riverfront vs. Lorna Simpson’s Artist Talk.

Live match-ups:
Game 1: Alec Soth vs Dave King
Games 2 & 3

Questions? Concerns? Confused? This may be possible. Holler below.

P.S. I hope you like the tournament logo I made, based on a quick Google image search.

How to Win a “Most Minnesotan” Sweater Contest

Posted January 14, 2011 at 5:11 pm — Filed under:

On Friday, January 28, we are hosting an After Hours unlike any other After Hours. (It’s indoor AND outdoor…in January!) In celebration of the new exhibition of The Spectacular of Vernacular, our theme is, well, vernacular, and specifically, Minnesota vernacular. So along with hot dish appetizers, an ice bar, and a hot cocoa station, we’re encouraging you all to get your Minnesotan garb on and take a picture at the Party People photo booth (back in the Bazinet Lobby this time). It will be added to our Flickr pool of Party People collection and the next day, we’ll pick the “Most Minnesotan” for a grand prize! (Prize TBD)

Here are some guidelines I just made up that should help you win that great big TBD prize. Here we go:

How to Win a “Most Minnesotan” Sweater Contest

1) Classic Norwegian

You might be able to find these beauties at Ingebretsen’s Gift Shop or Iverson’s Scandinavian Imports in St. Louis Park. They are high quality and very warm (which is why my mom loves them, she says) and there’s nothing like the sight of a church hall full of proud Scandinavians wearing these sweaters and eating lots of Scandinavian food.

2) Woodland Creature

Any homage to any species of Minnesota fauna is very welcome, be it common birdseed stealing pests or majestic creatures of the North Woods.

(Fun fact: The top two are from H&M and Anthropologie, respectively.)

3) Church Dinner

Obviously, your best Norwegian sweater is a good place to start, but if you want to show how much you love Swedish meatballs, lefse, or lutefisk, you will have to go the extra mile. This sweatshirt is available from the Uffda Shop in Red Wing AND online!

4) Paul Bunyan

Well, I’m sure several people will come dressed like Paul Bunyan, but I challenge you to find a sweater that depicts him. Like this one. (Maybe? I always pictured Paul Bunyan to have less billowy pants and a darker beard and less like a jolly Scottish man on his day off. I also didn’t know Babe had spots like a cow, but I’m still pretty sure this is a helpful image for you.)

5) Fishing & Hunting

I’m getting really tired of doing Google image searches, but you know there’s a lot of these out there. Sweatshirts, t-shirts, sweaters, you name it. I’m a really big fan of this pheasant sweater, because I have never known a man to love pheasant more than my Minnesotan grandpa.

Bonus Points: Managing to incorporate the phrase ‘Uff Da’ anywhere on your person.

Something to Note: Remember that fashion is not just about the clothes on your back, but your state of mind while wearing said clothes. For example, while this fine young man clearly understands guidelines 1 and 2 (Classic Norwegian and Woodland Creature), I am not sure how he would react if you dropped him off in the middle of a frozen lake or put a plate of lutefisk in front of him.

This guy, however, knows exactly how to be a Minnesotan.

Dwell: A Photo Caption Contest

Posted September 23, 2010 at 3:43 pm — Filed under:

"Best to keep the gingers behind bars."--Unhappy Hipsters blog

To our wonderful, funny, and sarcastic readers and visitors–

This month, Dwell features the Julie Snow-designed home of the Walker’s very own Andrew Blauvelt and Scott Winter. The first thing I did after I viewed the slideshow (or maybe even before) was pop over to the blog Unhappy Hipsters, whose sole purpose is to write tongue-in-cheek melancholy narratives for the photos in modern home design publications. I was rewarded with the picture and caption above.

Now it is your turn to show off your caption-writing prowess. Take a look through the entire Blauvelt/Winter residence slideshow (shot by Dean Kaufman), pick an image, and write a caption. Leave a comment with your contact information, a link to which photo you are captioning, and your caption.

The winner receives two tickets to the Yves Klein After Hours Preview Party on October 22.

I think this one has some possibilities:

Play nice and happy writing!

Nice Ride: Biking to and from the Walker

Posted September 21, 2010 at 9:55 am — Filed under:

I recently moved to Minneapolis from Northfield (Cows, Colleges, and Contentment!), forty miles south of the Cities. I’m fortunate enough to have a car, but having had to deal more with cattle crossing than heavy, downtown traffic and confusing one-ways, city traffic can be a little overwhelming. Adding that to the fact that my bike is falling apart (that’s what $40 on Craigslist gets you), getting around Minneapolis for work and leisure isn’t always the easiest to do.

I just started interning in the PR/Marketing department at the Walker, about two miles from my apartment. It’s too far to walk, but I feel guilty driving such a short distance (not to mention having to find parking). So what’s a geographically-challenged guy to do?

Three months ago, Minneapolis introduced a new, really unique, really convenient way to get around. The city built 42 bike stations downtown, uptown, everywhere in between, and stocked them with 350 bikes. As of July, it’s been upped to 65 stations with 600 bikes. You can spot the bright green ‘Nice Ride’ bikes pretty much everywhere around the city, in use or parked at busy locations. The Walker has a station right out front, usually stocked with at least a half a dozen bikes. In the morning, I’ll grab one at the Lake & Humboldt station, turn onto Hennepin, and follow that a dozen blocks north to the Walker. It helps not only that drivers in Minneapolis are incredibly bike-aware, but that the cost of a ‘Nice Ride’ is reasonable. $30 gets you a month pass, or $60 for a full year, and every ride under a half hour is free. In all, it beats gas prices by a huge amount.

If the advertising for 'Nice Ride' is representational of their users, most riders sport bow ties, vests, or cardigans

If the advertising for 'Nice Ride' is representational of their users, most riders sport bow ties, vests, or cardigans

Nice Ride also just published their three-month update online (you can find it here), detailing overall usage, revenue, stats, complete with nifty pie charts. Turns out that the Walker is one of the most popular destinations for Nice Riders, many coming from my neighborhood but also from Whittier, downtown, and even as far away as Seward and University. There’s still plenty of comfortable fall days left to check out these bikes. If you’re close, you should definitely grab one and swing by the Walker. It’s hard to beat a day filled with art and biking.

A View from Three Feet Up: Eavesdropping on a Sculpture Garden tour

Posted August 19, 2010 at 12:26 pm — Filed under:

 

Octopus, lion, giraffe, or spider: Which inspired Mark di Suvero's "Arikidea"?

Out in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden recently, I tagged along with a gaggle of field-tripping preschoolers from various day care centers in White Bear Lake. Following are outtakes from their spirited debates about the artistic representation of animals in the Garden.

Kim, the group’s intrepid tour guide, started the conversation: “What do you think you’ll see in the garden today?”

“I think we’ll see a cherry and spoon,” quipped Bella, 5, showing off copious advance research.

Jake, 4, stated that he had seen some dragonflies in his backyard recently.

“I’m three!” shouted Aiden, 3, before telling everyone to be quiet.

Kim moved the group into the Cowles Conservatory, past the fragrant Madagascar jasmines and New Guinea impatiens and into the exhibit space with Frank Gehry’s Standing Glass Fish. “Can anyone tell me what they think of when they see this sculpture?” she asked.

“It’s flopping its way out,” said Caden, 5.

“He got one tail,” explained George, 2.

“What is this fish made of?” asked Kim.

“Likeable stuff,” answered Zander, 3.

Kim nodded in agreement. She told a story of Gehry’s grandmother, who used to come home from the market with a live fish and let it swim in the bathtub until dinnertime. That’s why Gehry likes to make art look like fish, she explained.

Continuing into the outdoor garden, Kim stopped the group at Deborah Butterfield’s Woodrow. “What do you think this animal is?” she asked.

Hannah was certain it was a giraffe. Multiple votes were cast for a deer. Someone suggested it was a moose. Kim shook her head. “Any more guesses?”

“It’s a giraffe,” said Aiden.

Kim provided a hint: “It’s something you might find on a ranch or farm.” A debate followed regarding the constitutions of horses and cows. An agreement was reached. Horse.

The group migrated to see Mark di Suvero’s Arikidea, which Kim alleged to be another animal—but what kind?

“It’s an octopus, because it has lots of legs,” said Nick, 6. Caden thought it had a head like a lion. Aiden thought it was a giraffe. Hannah guessed correctly: a spider.

Seven of the children climbed onto Arikidea’s giant platform and got a push on the swing. Joni, the day’s organizer, brought out her camera. Bella instantly flashed a movie-star grin, displaying missing front teeth.

Responding to an inquiry from Aiden, Kim expressed regret over the paucity of elephants in the garden.

“Can we go see a giraffe?” he asked in reply. Kim looked apologetic.

 

Help us preserve your Sculpture Garden! Visit garden.walkerart.org and sign up for the Action E-List to receive e-mail updates (only a couple, we promise) on how you can help at times when it is most needed.

Pancake art: A cherry on a spoon

Posted July 1, 2010 at 1:38 pm — Filed under:

If you haven’t spent an hour browsing Jim’s Pancakes, you aught to (just don’t do it during an otherwise boring breakfast). For the uninitiated, Jim is a guy who makes spectacular pancake creations for his daughter and blogs about them. His latest creation is near and dear to the hearts of many Minnesotans, our Spoonbridge and Cherry:

About the pancake, Jim said:

…It was tasty. For the red color of the cherry I used some strawberry preserves (the kind without chunks of fruit) and it was delicious. I think I’m going to try apricot preserves for yellow coloring next time.

The reason for Jim’s creation was an interview with KARE11 yesterday morning.

Plant as Decorative Element in a Gallery

Posted May 5, 2010 at 4:35 pm — Filed under:

One aspect of my position as a photographer here at the Walker is to document the exhibitions. This has been an ongoing process dating back to the beginning of the Walker Art Center. While reviewing images of past exhibitions, I began to notice something now absent in the galleries, potted plants.  Up until the opening of the Barnes building in 1971, potted plants were a staple in the galleries.  While there are few exhibition views containing patrons, the plants were always present.  In these images they seem to act as the stand-ins for the patrons, sometimes aloof and in the background or congregating around the radiator as if in discussion.  And then there are those that are really into the work, standing in front of a sculpture’s light, their shadows enveloping the work.

Due to a multitude of reasons, plants only reappear in the galleries if they are part of the artwork.  Many of the plants seem to have been around for many years and well taken care of by the staff.  Enjoy this look at Exhibition Photography and Plants from the Walker archives.

Bits & Pieces: art & inspiration

Posted May 4, 2010 at 4:39 pm — Filed under:

“Michael Jackson & Bubbles” by Jeff Koons, with “Jeff Koons White-Hot Chocolate” dessert by Caitlin Williams Freeman

Inspiration as taste sensation: Many a diner has been delighted by “Spoon, Cube, and Cherry,” the dessert at the Walker’s 20.21 that pays tribute to the Spoonbridge and Cherry centerpiece in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. In similar fashion, San Francisco pastry chef Caitlin Williams Freeman has gone on a bender with the art collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Along with a Mondrian cake and the slyly named Koons-inspired dessert drink above, she’s concocted “works” for SFMOMA’s coffee bar that include a plate of cookies which, before consuming, you assemble into your own mini Richard Serra sculpture; a fudgsicle shaped like an Ellsworth Kelly sculpture; a Richard Diebenkorn parfait; and more. It’s a treat just to look at the spread on Readymade magazine’s website. Should it get you dreaming of a future career in pastry, browse the ArtsConnectEd website and tell us below which Walker artworks you’d turn into delectable edibles. (Dessert image above by Charlie Villyard.)

What inspires Alec Soth? The photographer, whose first survey opens at the Walker in September, just uploaded the second video for his “Continental Picture Show,” which is part of the New York Times’ Opinionator blog. People are, accordingly, quite opinionated about it. As part of its new MN Original program, Twin Cities Public Television also recently broadcast an interview with and a segment on Soth, which includes Walker curator Siri Engberg.

One city inspires another: Minneapolitans take a lot of ribbing for supposedly being slaves to New York — but today’s Wall Street Journal has a story about how the first-ever New York Gallery Week was inspired by one art dealer’s visit to the “Minneapple” –and The Quick and the Dead exhibition at the Walker:

“The week was conceived by Casey Kaplan—owner of an eponymous art gallery on West 21st Street—after experiencing the buoyant vibe in Minneapolis, where industry types congregated to see the Walker Art Center’s exhibit “The Quick and the Dead” last year.

‘You really felt a community in Minneapolis,’ Mr. Kaplan said. ‘A lot of gallery owners had flown in. There were people from MoMA. Every one was enthusiastic and wanting to be in the moment. It was such a contrast from New York.’ “

So was it just about New Yorkers transplanting themselves, for a moment, into our idyllic Midwestern metropolis, or is something more going on? Read the full story here.

Inspired to show off: On another photographic note: a couple of weeks ago, we invited people to step into David Lamelas’ spotlight, on view in The Talent Show exhibition, for a portrait. Check out all of the results here.

Sneak preview: Spring at Walker Shop

Posted February 12, 2010 at 5:10 pm — Filed under:

We are just back from the New York International Gift Fair and eager to share some of our favorite finds (and the people who created them). Watch for them their arrival in the Walker Shop this spring! (In the meantime, you can shop our current stock online.)

Flight 001 travel products – one of our favorite shops in the Village is Flight 001. Now Walker Shop will have these exclusively in Minnesota! ($6 - $46)

“Teabag” porcelain mug (and other pieces) from Bailey Doesn’t Bark. ($38 mug)

Bailey Doesn’t Bark designer Re Jin Lee, or “RJ,” shares her drawings and designs on consciously produced home and life accessories.

Ever Bamboo charcoal purifiers – minimally and beautifully packaged bamboo charcoal deodorizers that are sustainable, reusable, and recyclable - Minnesota exclusive ($9.99 – 14.99)

Shine Labs sonic classic woodblock clock – This wood veneer alarm clock features two internally powered speakers for your connected portable device. LED clock features 6-cycle snooze and night economic power mode. And, by the way, Shine Labs' president Jim Henderson is great-grandson of Walker founder T.B. Walker! ($128)

“Y-Grinder” twin-chamber salt and pepper mill – from Joseph Joseph, with adjustable grind ($48)

“Orb” 3-piece mortar and pestle – from Joseph Joseph, made from non-absorbent vitrified porcelain. Base and lid can be used for crushing and grinding. ($48)

Tea infuser – Stainless steel extra-fine “brew-in-mug” tea infuser with silicone-rimmed lid. Flip the lid and it becomes a holder for infuser. ($19.99)

mt masking tape set – Set of 20 colors of narrow masking tape from Japan. ($40)

Hadas Shaham jewelry – Contemporary jewelry in sterling silver, gold, concrete, and lava, handcrafted by Tel Aviv jewelry artist Hadas Shaham. ($45 - $195)

Previous Next