Justin HeidemanUntitled (Blog): An open-ended look at contemporary art – both inside the Walker and out – as framed by our Visual Arts curators.
Sad Lemon
In reference to Claes Oldenburg’s The Garden, this humorous image was passed along to me and needs to be shared. The sad lemon was drawn by Todd Balthazor, a student at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul and a guard at the Walker.
In reference to Claes Oldenburg’s The Garden, this humorous image was passed along to me and needs to be shared.
Sad Lemon, by Todd Balthazor
The sad lemon was drawn by Todd Balthazor, a student at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul and a guard at the Walker.
Photos: Installing Tomás Saraceno’s Iridescent Planet
Yesterday morning a group of staff looked on as Tomás Saraceno and and gallery crew installed Saraceno’s Iridescent Planet. Our photographer Cameron Wittig documented the install and we’ve put the images on flickr: [tylr-slidr width="500" height="400" userID="36154778@N00" groupID=""]http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkerart/sets/72157617919824515/[/tylr-slidr] The work itself is made of an iridescent foil material provided to Saraceno by 3M and is [...]
Yesterday morning a group of staff looked on as Tomás Saraceno and and gallery crew installed Saraceno’s Iridescent Planet. Our photographer Cameron Wittig documented the install and we’ve put the images on flickr:
[tylr-slidr width="500" height="400" userID="36154778@N00" groupID=""]http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkerart/sets/72157617919824515/[/tylr-slidr]
The work itself is made of an iridescent foil material provided to Saraceno by 3M and is constructed in a manner similar to Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes, allowing solar panels to be suspended inside the balloon. The balloon is anchored to the top of the Barnes tower and the ground along Hennepin Avenue. Saraceno’s work was first seen at the Walker in Brave New Worlds in 2007, and in 2008 he brought Museo aero solar to the Twin Cities.
Iridescent Planet is being installed for the opening of Tomás Saraceno: Lighter than Air, happening Thursday May 14, and will be re-installed, weather permitting, for Rock the Garden as well as the Free First Saturdays in June, July, and August.
Video Shorts: Peter Eleey discusses The Quick and the Dead, part 2
We’ve posted two additional videos about The Quick and The Dead. In this installment, Peter Eleey discusses Adrian Piper’s personal collection work, What Will Become of Me, and Lygia Clark’s folding sculpture, Bicho. The first two videos are also here. [youtube width="560" height="340"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpjei-ktZ-c[/youtube] [youtube width="560" height="340"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cq2OVD7dvA[/youtube] Both videos have been shot in high definition, and [...]
We’ve posted two additional videos about The Quick and The Dead. In this installment, Peter Eleey discusses Adrian Piper’s personal collection work, What Will Become of Me, and Lygia Clark’s folding sculpture, Bicho. The first two videos are also here.
[youtube width="560" height="340"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpjei-ktZ-c[/youtube]
[youtube width="560" height="340"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cq2OVD7dvA[/youtube]
Both videos have been shot in high definition, and you can grab the highest quality video from The Quick and the Dead page in iTunes U. Additionally, we’ve produced a number of audio tracks to help contextualize the exhibition, available in iTunes U and Art on Call.
Digging for lemons in Oldenburg’s Garden
One of the works installed in The Quick and the Dead is a piece by Claes Oldenburg called The Garden, originally concepted and proposed in 1968, but not realized until this exhibition. In general terms, the work consists of 100 objects buried in the ground and dug out and placed on display over the course [...]
One of the works installed in The Quick and the Dead is a piece by Claes Oldenburg called The Garden, originally concepted and proposed in 1968, but not realized until this exhibition. In general terms, the work consists of 100 objects buried in the ground and dug out and placed on display over the course of 100 days. For the installation at the Walker, we’ve used lemons as the object and are placing them on display in individual glass jars in the Bazinet Garden Lobby. Oldenburg’s instructions do not specify the objects to be used or the manner of display.
I caught up with Ellie McKinney who was tasked with digging up the first lemon:
Beginning to dig.
Found, about a foot down.
The object (lemon) in a jar.
The lemon on display in the Bazinet Garden Lobby.
Several days later, there are more lemons, and the first unearthed are beginning to mold:
A lemon rotting.
Lemons removed so far, with space for 95 more.
There is a lot of meaning you could assign to the various elements and acts of the work: burial and unearthing, decay and display, and the passage of time are all rich in metaphors and crossover. There is also an interesting connection between the grid on/in the ground and the grid that is being re-created on the lobby wall, re-representing time in different ways. The computer scientist in me can’t help but see a relationship between a grid of pixels, waiting to be turned on or off and a timeline, waiting to have the playhead moved along.
On a purely pragmatic level, Any work that changes over time and breathes extra life into an often static gallery space is welcome energy. Regardless, I am curious and will check in on the work as it progresses over time.
Video shorts: Peter Eleey discusses The Quick and the Dead
For The Quick and the Dead, we have put together several short video pieces, each looking at an artwork in the exhibition. The first two are available now: All your last week’s desires by Tobias Rehberger [youtube width="560" height="340"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy3-HmryKPA[/youtube] Timekeeper by Pierre Huyghe [youtube width="560" height="340"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXvpgZn8NDw[/youtube] Both videos have been shot in high definition, and [...]
For The Quick and the Dead, we have put together several short video pieces, each looking at an artwork in the exhibition. The first two are available now:
All your last week’s desires by Tobias Rehberger
[youtube width="560" height="340"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy3-HmryKPA[/youtube]
Timekeeper by Pierre Huyghe
[youtube width="560" height="340"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXvpgZn8NDw[/youtube]
Both videos have been shot in high definition, and you can grab the highest quality video from The Quick and the Dead page in iTunes U. Additionally, we’ve produced a number of audio tracks to help contextualize the exhibition, available in iTunes U and Art on Call.
Take our blog survey, win an iPod Shuffle
Every so often we like to take a survey of our readers to see what you think. Our last survey was in March of 2007, so it’s time for a new one. The questions are focused on the blogs and a little demographic information, which you can skip if you like. We’re sweetening the deal [...]
Every so often we like to take a survey of our readers to see what you think. Our last survey was in March of 2007, so it’s time for a new one. The questions are focused on the blogs and a little demographic information, which you can skip if you like.
We’re sweetening the deal this time. If you take the survey, you can enter your name into the pool and we’ll select one person to win a 1GB iPod Shuffle.
Take the survey.
Richard Prince: Spiritual America opens March 22
Nobody takes a good idea and makes it his own like Richard Prince, who has carved his place in contemporary art by recycling, reflecting, and reframing the imagery of others. His unique art of appropriation–from biker culture to car culture, comedians to cowboys, pinups to pulp fiction–redefined the creative process for a generation of artists. [...]
Nobody takes a good idea and makes it his own like Richard Prince, who has carved his place in contemporary art by recycling, reflecting, and reframing the imagery of others. His unique art of appropriation–from biker culture to car culture, comedians to cowboys, pinups to pulp fiction–redefined the creative process for a generation of artists.
Organized by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Richard Prince: Spiritual America opens next week in galleries 4, 5, and 6. Tickets for the After Hours preview party on Friday, March 21 are still available.
Installation photo by Cameron Wittig
Installing Brave New Worlds
Brave New Worlds opens tomorrow, and many of the artists have been in the Walker installing their work. Photographer Gene Pittman captured some images of the installation in process. There are a few more images on flickr, too.
Brave New Worlds opens tomorrow, and many of the artists have been in the Walker installing their work. Photographer Gene Pittman captured some images of the installation in process. There are a few more images on flickr, too.
Walker Blogs Survey
The Walker blogs are among some of the more well regarded in the museum world, and we’re always working on making them better. With that in mind, we present to you a survey. It consists of 11 quick questions that will help us understand why you read our blogs. Your identity is totally anonymous. Down [...]
The Walker blogs are among some of the more well regarded in the museum world, and we’re always working on making them better. With that in mind, we present to you a survey. It consists of 11 quick questions that will help us understand why you read our blogs. Your identity is totally anonymous. Down the road, we will be sharing some follow-up analysis on the new media blog.
The full survey is below, in this post, but if you have problems you can visit our dedicated survey page. If you’re reading this in an RSS reader or browser without javascript support, our survey should work, as it does not require javascript.