Faking Nature

Tuesday, October 6, 7 pm
The Precious Object artists Liz Miller, Alison Hiltner, Paula McCartney, Sam Spiczka, and Karl Unnasch talk about their work in relation to the natural world.

By Hand: Craftsmanship, Labor, and the Handmade

Tuesday, October 27, 7 pm
Scott Stulen, mnartists.org project director, and Alisa Eimen, associate professor of art history at Minnesota State University, discuss their process for organizing The Precious Object and the central themes within the exhibition with artists Margaret Wall-Romana, Kristin Van Dorn, Erik Waterkotte, and Michon Weeks.

My Precious: Obsession, Collection, and the Souvenir

Tuesday, November 17, 7 pm
Artists James Cleary, Beth Barron, Andy Ducett, Joan Iron Moccasin, and Ginny Maki explore topics of appropriation, memory, and desire.

Speaking to the desire for the handmade in a world awash in technology, The Precious
Object brings together 14 artists from locales throughout Minnesota in the inaugural exhibition of mnartists.org’s ARTmn series, presented in partnership with the Hennepin County Public Library. The artists, selected from a pool of more than 300 applicants by a panel of curators, artists, and critics, explore issues related to nature, simulation, craft, collecting, and fantasy. While the work employs a broad range of materials and processes, taken together it speaks to the personal connections we forge with physical objects as a means to commemorate and sometimes replicate an experience and or place.

The Precious Object can be seen in Minneapolis Central Library’s Cargill Hall, September 18, 2009 - January 9, 2010.