Matthew Carter, widely considered to be “the most significant designer of type in America”, was recently named as one of theMacArthur Fellows for 2010. Here’s a little Walker history for you—what follows is an entry on Matthew Carter from our 2005 Permanent Collection catalogue: Since its inception, the Walker Art Center has embraced design not only as a programming activity but also as an important…

The General Public Library is a library/reading room project located at Art in General‘s Storefront Project Space. The project opens September 16-November 13, 2010 and will be accessible as an online resource as well. To start the library, I invited designers, publishers, curators, artists, galleries, and musicians to contribute publications to the project that reflect the donor’s practice, methodology…

When I first saw Ralph Lemon’s installation at the Walker in 2006 (as part of the exhibition Open Ended), I was immediately transfixed by a video of a strange old man smashing records and burying them in his yard. I thought “Who is this amazing person? How is this happening? Where is this?” Less than two years later I found myself standing in the exact spot I had been admiring in the video—Walter…

The New York Times recently posted an article about the “Craftivism” idea showing up in major museums: “Like the slow food, inner-city farm and indie publishing movements currently sweeping the region, the crafts-as-activism, or “craftivism,” scene is a response to consumer culture. In part, it expresses a desire among many residents to return to a simpler way of life.” There’s been some craftiness popping…

Card Catalogue is an evolving publication produced in association with the exhibition Event Horizon and a series of temporary shows that draw heavily from the Walker Art Center’s multidisciplinary holdings. Animated with installations that change over time, Event Horizon explores ways that personal, cultural, and political events shape the making of art and influence our subsequent experience and…

This is already posted on our Walker Education and Community Programs blog but I thought we should mention it here as well: We’re showing the Samuel Mockbee movie! And it’s free. Thursday, July 1, at 7 pm. Check out Ashley’s post for more information and an interview with the director.

Here’s another image dump from the archives: selected postcards and brochures for our Performing Arts programs. Every year, a season brochure is produced followed by individual marketing pieces for each performance. Through the years there have been a number of trends, but the most dominating influence on these designs is the fact that these performances are usually accompanied by fascinating…

Walker Postscript (Walker PS)—the Walker Art Center’s new print-on-demand publishing imprint—presents short and focused texts that delve more deeply, or broadly, into the rich concepts that animate the institution’s diverse artistic programs. From exhibitions, lectures, and educational initiatives to film screenings and performances, Walker PS will offer a range of titles in short, concise formats…

On May 12, 2009 Sol Sender and Scott Thomas gave a presentation at the Walker about their experiences working on the design of (and for) President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. Later that year, on September 16, Scott Thomas announced a book project surrounding that same topic through Kickstarter.com. I found out about the project in November and promptly signed up as a $50 “backer.” Since then it has…