Archive Articles
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VA
Articles
Abstract Resistance
Yasmil Raymond
Feb 2010
With a new commission and works dating back to the 1950s, the exhibition Abstract Resistance brings together now-legendary figures as well as younger artists who have revolted against the aesthetic orthodoxies of their times. While these pieces do not conform to a single theme, they are united in challenging what is expected of art, from the way it looks to the role it plays in society at large…
PA
Articles
Baghdad/Seattle Suite
Articles
Jan 2010
Unquestionably one of the most revered musicians in the jazz world, Bill Frisell comes together with current Grammy nominee and Iraqi oud master Rahim AlHaj and acclaimed violist and erhu player Eyvind Kang for a residency at the Walker that will culminate in an adventurous evening of East-meets-West compositions. While Kang and AlHaj are relative newcomers to the McGuire stage, the Walker has a…
PA
Articles
Rimini Protokoll
Articles
Dec 2009
A phone is ringing in an empty office at the IDS Tower in Minneapolis … it’s for you. Answer it and embark on a journey that crosses continents, dissolves borders between audience and performer, and challenges cultural expectations. During the hourlong conversation with a call-center agent in India, everyday life is turned into theater, surprises are revealed, and our highly networked world is made…
PA
Articles
The Good Dance: Dakar/Brooklyn
Articles
Oct 2009
Two continents, two great rivers, and two of contemporary dance’s biggest talents: The Good Dance: Dakar/Brooklyn is the culmination of a landmark three-year collaboration between American dance/theater-maker Reggie Wilson and Congolese contemporary dance creator Andréya Ouamba. As a new commission receiving its world premiere at the Walker, the piece will be polished during a two-week residency…
VA
Articles
Shared Discovery of What We Have and Know Already
Articles
Oct 2009
Over the years, the Walker has invited more than 200 artists from different disciplines to spend time at the institution working on various projects. This fall, in conjunction with her solo exhibition, Haegue Yang arrived with several new twists on the artist-in-residence concept, which, as she says, “normally implies an artist visiting to provide the institution with something—a commissioned work, a…
VA
Articles
Dan Graham: Beyond
Articles
Oct 2009
Dan Graham’s Two-way Mirror Punched Steel Hedge Labyrinth has been on permanent display in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden since 1996. Visiting the Walker on a sunny morning last August, the artist and a few curators strolled down to look at the work. They were delighted to find a couple with their two toddlers running around the “pavilion,” captivated by the effect of the mirrors and glass through…
VA
Articles
Benches & Binoculars: A Closer Look at Old Favorites and New Acquisitions
Darsie Alexander
Oct 2009
The way that exhibitions originate often plays a determining role in their final execution, and the kernels of inspiration are frequently the most enduring. The idea for Benches & Binoculars began about a year ago with a photograph from an early moment in Walker history. It shows a domestic interior with objects—including a dense array of paintings—stacked floor to ceiling in a salon display style…
VA
Articles
Event Horizon: Postwar Art from the Walker’s Holdings
Darsie Alexander
Oct 2009
Event Horizon. Bringing to mind deep space and gravitational pulls, this suggestive phrase, repurposed from the world of science, here serves the more creative aim of framing the Walker’s newly installed permanent collection exhibition—a cross-disciplinary blend of film, video, performance, painting, sculpture, and photography. In fact, the title is intended to be taken rather literally: Event Horizon…
PA
Articles
Memories of Merce
Philip Bither
Aug 2009
By now, many have recounted the profound impact that Merce Cunningham, who passed away in July at the age of 90, had on dance as well as the broader worlds of performing and visual arts. Fewer, perhaps, have noted how deeply he was also admired, in fact beloved, by so many in those worlds he inhabited—so much so that everyone forever just referred to him as “Merce,” as if he were a shared old friend of…