Like her fellow 2013 Insights Design Lecture Series speakers–Geoff McFetridge, Eike König, and Job Wouters–Moniker’s Luna Maurer had an action-packed trip to the Twin Cities. Here’s what she did:

Ate dinner at Moto-I (she ate ALL of the chicken wings and sake and sashimi)
Visited with local designers during a reception (aka Design Sundays) at a historic Frank Lloyd Wright house on Cedar Lake
Gave a video interview on Conditional Design in an eastbound minivan on Interstate 94
Addressed designers during the concluding lecture of Insights 2013
Grabbed a copy of Felix Gonzales Torres’ poster “Untitled” (1991) in the Walker galleries
Engaged in a Walker Design Studio ritual, the obligatory trip to the Mall of America, which included a ride down the Log Chute and lunch at Kokomo’s Island Cafe

In addition to speaking at Insights 2013 and creating a hand-painted mural in the Bazinet lobby (seen here in time-lapse), here’s what Dutch artist Job Wouters did in the Twin Cities this week:

Attended a reception with local designers at the home of Brent Stickels and Jane Johnson
Visited the Mall of America (not pictured: lunch at the Rainforest Cafe) to buy a gift for son Midas
Rode the Spongebob Squarepants roller coaster at Nickelodeon Universe
Ate dinner at Barbette
Enjoyed beers with fellow designers at the CC Club and The Local
Tried out Famous Dave’s barbecue
Gave a lettering demonstration for visiting MCAD students

In addition to speaking at Insights 2013 and coming up with new gif versions of the Walker website masthead, here’s what Berlin-based designer Eike König did in the Twin Cities this week:

Visited the Guthrie Theater
Pointed at things with Walker web designer Eric Price
Was made over using the Walking Dead iPhone app
Bought Girl Scout cookies
Attended a reception with local designers at Andrew Blauvelt and Scott Winter’s home
Dined beneath a large nude at Barbette
Got a portrait taken in the Walker photography studio
Stocked up at the Uptown Apple Store
Paid homage to Bryant Lake Bowl
Spoke at MCAD (not pictured)
Ate sushi at Origami with the CSA Design crew
Witnessed the Mall of America (not pictured: beer at Hooter’s; pictured: Spongebob Squarepants roller coaster)
Hung out at the Walker Design Studio
Drank beer with Non-Format
Documented it all on Instagram

Andy Messerschmidt. All photos by Olga A Ivanova

Andy Messerschmidt has been at the Walker all week installing Friend Me/Follow Me: Graze Anatomy (2012), a mixed-media installation inside the main entrance. The work uses the Ely, Minn.–based artist’s trademark layering technique in which imagery from various religious traditions, pop cultural references, and ornamentation styles are overlaid in often symmetrical patterns. The piece is the second–following Elizabeth Simonson’s bead-based Instar, installed in late 2011–commissioned for “the oculus,” the notch in the ceiling between the Walker Shop and Gather, the Walker’s second-floor restaurant. Overseen by curator Elizabeth Carpenter and commissioned with support from the McKnight Foundation, the installation took four days, during which Messerschmidt wrangled 63 plastic Nativity scene sheep lamps, a projected animation, Christmas wrapping paper, plastic shepherd’s crooks, and an audio piece (featuring equally layered samples, with sources ranging from Indonesian bird calls and audio of an exorcism to music from the 11th Century). Look for more on the project in coming weeks on the Walker homepage, or view the just-completed project during regular Walker hours.

Artist, animator, and graphic designer Geoff McFetridge visited Minneapolis early this week to kick off the Insights Design Lecture Series 2013, but we kept him busy with an array of other projects, the most visible of which was overseeing the installation of his filmstrip-inspired mural commissioned for the construction fence encircling the Walker. He also checked out the galleries, discussed the site fencing for an upcoming video, and gave a presentation on his work to the Walker Collector’s Council. A few snapshots from his visit.

Site fence design as seen from Hennepin Avenue

Selected figures from site fence design (more…)

Dianna Molzan passes Zak Prekop’s Untitled Transparency (2012)

In advance of Saturday’s opening of Painter Painter, many of the 15 participating artists have been at the Walker helping install the show. Staff photographer Gene Pittman has been in the galleries with them all week, documenting their progress. (more…)

Performing Arts curator Philip Bither, David Breskin, Nels Cline, associate curator Doug Benidt, and Ed Ruscha pose in front of Ruscha’s Heaven and Hell (both 1988). Photo: Gene Pittman

Last week’s performance of DIRTY BABY–the second and possibly last time the work will be performed–was so momentous, artist Ed Ruscha flew out from Los Angeles to be part of it. Dubbed a “synaesthetic fantasia” by its mastermind, poet David Breskin, the work combined 66 of Ruscha’s censor-strip paintings, music by a nine-member ensemble led by guitarist Nels Cline (Wilco, Quartet Music), and 66 ghazals written and read by Breskin.

The performance–hailed as “a monumental, unique creative endeavor“–was capped off with a Q&A with the artists and a reception in the Skyline Room with contributing members.

In front of one of Ruscha’s censor-strip paintings, a large ensemble led by Cline performed DIRTY BABY. Photo: Gene Pittman

Thanksgiving weekend marked the 40th anniversary of the Walker’s celebrated program Choreographers’ Evening. To mark this milestone, curators Aparna Ramaswamy and Patrick Scully put together an evening that spanned the decades. Choreographers remounted previous works and debuted new works that reflected on the past. Their vision brought together a diverse mix of various genres, music, and inspirations that highlighted the richness within the Twin Cities dance community.

Ranee Ramaswamy of Ragamala Music and Dance Theater with co-curator Patrick Scully

Ten years after her lauded 1988 film Chocolat debuted, French director Claire Denis’ films were showcased in a 1998 Regis Retrospective at the Walker. But it wasn’t until this month that Denis visited the Walker to introduce her films. The nine-film retrospective concluded last weekend with a Regis Dialogue with critic Eric Hynes on Saturday and a Sunday screening of Nénette et Boni (1996), which she introduced. Afterwards, film curator Sheryl Mousley grabbed a camera to chronicle the occasion, capturing Denis petting the digital version of the bunny from Nénette on the Cinema’s new digital signage. (more…)