Walker Channel Archives

Opening-Day Talk: Dan Graham in conversation with Bennett Simpson and Chrissie Iles : Dan Graham : Artist Talk

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:00:00 GMT

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Dan Graham has been a central figure in contemporary art since the 1960s, and is widely considered one of the most significant artists of his generation. Over the past four decades, he has created a body of work that is as uncategorizable as it is influential--from early experiments with video and performance to explorations of architecture and the public sphere to collaborations with musicians such as Glen Branca and Sonic Youth. Join Graham in conversation with Bennett Simpson and Chrissie Iles, curators of Dan Graham: Beyond.

Astra Taylor on the Unschooled Life : Astra Taylor : Lecture

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Raised by independent-thinking bohemian parents, Taylor was unschooled until age 13. Join the filmmaker as she shares her personal experiences of growing up home-schooled without a curriculum or schedule, and how it has shaped her educational philosophy and development as an artist.

There's Just Something About Clay : Ann Agee, Kathy Butterly, and Beverly Semmes : Panel Discussion

Fri, 9 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Three Dirt on Delight artists discuss the process of working with clay in conversation with Walker coordinating exhibition curator Andria Hickey. Copresented by the University of Minnesota and Northern Clay Center.

Opening-Day Artist Talk: Haegue Yang : Haegue Yang : Artist Talk

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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In a conversation with curator Doryun Chong, the artist discusses her process, which incorporates intensive research in philosophy and history, and examines ways in which these subjects and her own highly personal narratives become a part of her work.

Performing Arts Season Preview : Philip Bither : Performing Arts

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Join McGuire Senior Curator of Performing Arts Philip Bither for a quick spin through the coming season's events. From experimental and traditional dance to an explosion of intriguing new rock and pop music to adventurous theater that includes a copresentation with the Guthrie Theater to Out There, he'll tell you why "this year's programming offers a window on some of the most arresting and influential live performance work being made around the world."

Home Is Where You Make It: Lauri Lyons : Lauri Lyons : Lecture

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:30:00 GMT

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Working through the Kulture Klub Collaborative, photographer Lauri Lyons and local teenagers are creating Home Is Where You Make It, a mobile exhibition of large-scale portraits of homeless youth. Join Lyons for a conversation about her art and her collaborations with young people. Her photographs and essays have appeared in Vibe, the London Observer, and Fortune, and she has shown her work at the International Center of Photography, Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Civil Rights Museum.

Performing Arts 2009-2010 Season Trailer : Various : Season Trailer

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:00:00 GMT

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Welcome,

Each year, the Walker's performing arts program seeks out and presents the freshest and most significant developments in contemporary dance, theater, and new music from around the world. With four world premieres, seven major commissions, nine artists on their U.S. debut tours, and companies coming from 17 countries spanning five continents, our 2009-2010 season continues this tradition with gusto, offering an outstanding spectrum of new work.

Our dance program is perhaps our most globally minded ever, offering movement innovators from Japan, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, India, China, England, Brazil, New Zealand, Germany, and the United States who combine traditional and experimental influences to dramatically move the art form forward in myriad intriguing ways. In music, we embrace the continuing explosion of new sounds coming from the edges of the rock and pop arenas, along with our ongoing commitment to contemporary jazz, world, and alternative classical forms. In both dance and music, we have commissioned pairs of artists, such as Bill Frisell (U.S.) and Rahim AlHaj (Iraq/U.S.), Ranee Ramaswamy (India/U.S.) and I Dewa Putu Berata (Bali), and Reggie Wilson (U.S.) and Andreya Ouamba (Senegal/Congo), to cross cultural/ national boundaries to make new works together.

Adventurous theater and performance works range from the large-scale, internationally acclaimed tour de force by provocateur/playwright Enda Walsh (realized by Ireland's acclaimed Druid Theatre and copresented with the Guthrie Theater) to the intensely intimate and interactive one-on-one conceptual work of Germany's Rimini Protokoll, part of our annual Out There festival of alternative theater.

We pride ourselves on shaping experiences that are unexpected (in both content and style of presentation), affordable, highly produced, and often great fun, with a range of supplemental informative, social, and interactive activities that we hope will make your experience that much more meaningful. This year, for instance, we launch our "Balcony Bar," a new bar/lounge on the balcony level of the McGuire Theater that will be open after each performance (and sometimes before)--a place where you can meet the artists, grab a cheap drink, and just hang out.

We kick things off on September 10 when I'll present a free preview of our season, showing clips, playing music, and telling you why I think each of these projects is amazing. I'll also feature some surprise guests, live and digital, to help me celebrate the beginning of this remarkable season. I hope to see you at the preview and many times throughout the year.

Philip Bither
William and Nadine McGuire Senior Curator, Performing Arts

The Institute For Figuring : Margaret and Christine Wertheim : Artist Talk

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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The physics of snowflakes, the hyperbolic geometry of sea slugs, and the mathematics of paper-folding are all fodder for Margaret and Christine Wertheim of the Institute For Figuring, whose crocheted models of hyperbolic space are included in the exhibition The Quick and the Dead. From their base in Los Angeles the duo conducts projects aimed at illuminating the poetic and aesthetic dimensions of science and mathematics.

Wind Chime (After Dream) by Pierre Huyghe : Peter Eleey : Commentary

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

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Walker Art Center curator Peter Eleey discusses Pierre Huyghe's Wind Chime (After Dream) and the Walker's exhibition The Quick and the Dead.

Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight post-screening Q&A : Wendy Keys : Talk

Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Among America's most celebrated graphic designers, Milton Glaser is best known for co-founding New York Magazine and the enduring I♥NY campaign. Wendy Keys' affectionate portrait surveys the breadth of Glaser's work, which includes newspaper and magazine designs, logos and brand identities, interior spaces, and prints, drawings, posters, and paintings. The documentary offers a glimpse into everyday moments of Glaser's life and captures his warmth and vitality as well as the boundless depth of his creativity.

This post-screening discussion with filmmaker Wendy Keys discusses the process of making the film and Keys' thoughts on Glaser and the desgin world.

Artist Talk: Behind the Scenes with Ty Evans : Ty Evans : Talk

Thu, 21 May 2009 05:00:00 GMT

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From the benches of Barcelona to the streets of Shanghai, videographer Ty Evans (Fully Flared, Yeah Right!) travels the world with good friends filming skateboarding. Evans set the standard for the genre by combining the D.I.Y. spirit of skate culture with the precision of a Hollywood shoot. What appears to be a dream job at times is in reality a cumbersome tangle of irate security guards, difficult locations, looming deadlines, stolen equipment, and temperamental talent. Join Evans for a discussion about cinematography and skateboarding spiked with clips. Copresented by the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council and Familia Skateshop.

Opening-Day Artist Talk: TomA!s Saraceno : TomA!s Saraceno : Artist Talk

Thu, 14 May 2009 23:00:00 GMT

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Tomas Saraceno talks with curator Yasmil Raymond about the ideas behind his work on view in the gallery as well as other projects, including his recent Walker residency involving the solar-powered balloon Museo aero solar.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Tomas Saraceno: Lighter than Air.

Designing Obama : Sol Sender and Scott Thomas : Lecture

Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Dubbed a "strategic and smart campaign" by Fast Company, the Obama "brand" has received much recognition not only within the design community, but also throughout the nation and abroad. Sol Sender and Scott Thomas, creators of the official Obama logo and Web site, will describe their experiences developing this historic political brand. The event features a special exhibition of posters from Threadless Loves Democracy, a challenge to design the most unique and conceptual call to vote, sponsored by Sappi Fine Paper, Threadless, Rock the Vote, and Jones Soda. The conversation will be moderated by Paul Schmelzer, editor of the Minnesota Independent news site, author of the blog Eyeteeth, and contributor to Adbusters, Cabinet, Ode, Utne Reader, and other journals focusing on the intersection of art, media, and politics.

Sol Sender
As founder and principal of Sender LLC, Sol Sender spearheaded the logo development for Barack Obama's historic 2008 campaign. Now a strategist with VSA Partners, he works across disciplines to impact the communications of some of the world's most valuable businesses and brands. Over the course of his career, Sender's work as a designer and a strategist has been recognized by the AR100, the Webby Awards, The International Web Awards, Communication Arts, How Magazine and as a nominee for The Brit Insurance Design of the Year. A faculty member at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago since 1999, his articles on design history and design education have been published and distributed by Allworth Press.

Scott Thomas
Scott Thomas (a.k.a SimpleScott) is constantly seeking the simplest answer to complex problems. His design pursuits began by studying architecture before bouncing to graphic design and web development. He started practicing design in London's Shoreditch, before moving to Chicago where he started focusing on user experience design informed through immersive user research. From products to websites, Scott works to simplify the experience of use. In 2006, he and 5 others began a design collective, lovingly titled, The Post Family. The group is devoted to supporting each others design habits, from silk screen to letterpress, from illustration to blogging, in an effort to "get back to the hand." In 2007, his career took a dramatic leap when Thomas was invited to join the New Media team at Obama for America. The chance encounter led Scott to becoming the Design Director of the historic Obama Presidential campaign.

Making Music Series: Jason Moran : Jason Moran : Interview

Fri, 8 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Jason Moran takes the McGuire stage for a special evening with the University of Minnesota's Whole Music Club. Local musician James Everest (Vicious Vicious, Roma di Luna) interviews Moran about his career in a program that includes live demonstrations, video, and questions from the audience. An evening not to miss!

Copresented with mnartists.org and the Whole Music Club at the University of Minnesota.

Bicho by Lygia Clark : Peter Eleey : Commentary

Wed, 6 May 2009 05:00:00 GMT

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Walker Art Center curator Peter Eleey discusses Lygia Clark's Bicho and the Walker's exhibition The Quick and the Dead.

All your last week's desires by Tobias Rehberger : Peter Eleey : Commentary

Wed, 6 May 2009 05:00:00 GMT

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Walker Art Center curator Peter Eleey discusses Tobias Rehberger's All your last week's desires and the Walker's exhibition The Quick and the Dead.

What Will Become of Me by Adrian Piper : Peter Eleey : Commentary

Wed, 6 May 2009 05:00:00 GMT

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Walker Art Center curator Peter Eleey discusses Adrian Piper's What Will Become of Me and the Walker's exhibition The Quick and the Dead.

Timekeeper by Pierre Huyghe : Peter Eleey : Commentary

Wed, 6 May 2009 05:00:00 GMT

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Walker Art Center curator Peter Eleey discusses Pierre Huyghe's Timekeeper and the Walker's exhibition The Quick and the Dead.

Design at the Walker Art Center : Andrew Blauvelt : Talk

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

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Design Director and Curator Andrew Blauvelt discusses the history of design at the Walker Art Center, which dates back to the 1940s, when "design" was referred to as "everyday art," a concept used to bridge the gap between people's daily lives and the heady world of modern art. Since then, the Walker has hosted numerous exhibitions displaying the best of product design, graphic design, interior design, and architecture; published the influential magazine Design Quarterly; commissioned world famous designers to create everything from our building expansion to our custom typeface; maintained an in-house design studio and fellowship program; and integrated design into the fabric of the institution.

Objectified post-screening Q&A : Gary Hustwit : Discussion

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

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Join Director Gary Hustwit and Design Curator Andrew Blauvelt as they discuss Objectified, the new feature-length independent documentary about industrial design from the director of Helvetica.

Opening-Day Artist Talk: Sturtevant : Sturtevant : Artist Talk

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:00:00 GMT

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It's been said that Sturtevant is the only artist who can't be copied--but she is best known for making repetitions of works by artists such as Joseph Beuys, Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, and Jasper Johns. She began this practice in the 1960s--some 20 years before strategies of appropriation marked the American art world of the 1980s. "The brutal truth is they are not copies; the push and shove is interior movement; the dynamics are the jetting of representation," says Sturtevant of her work. Her intentions are to "create space for new thinking, to trigger thinking."

During this rare appearance, the artist will discuss the philosophical base of this radical and influential work and the discourse on "the imposition of our cybernetic world and the zip zap of our digital world with its dangerous potent power." Sturtevant's Beuys Fat Chair is prominently featured in The Quick and the Dead, an experimental exhibition that considers the romantic legacy of conceptual art through works by an international roster of 53 artists.

Artist Talk: Mark Bradford : Mark Bradford : Artist Talk

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:00:00 GMT

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Using scavenged materials to create wall-sized collages and installations, Mark Bradford responds to the impromptu networks--underground economies, migrant communities, or popular appropriation of abandoned public spaces--that emerge within a city. Most recently seen at the Walker in the 2007 exhibition Brave New Worlds, Bradford's works draw heavily on his native Los Angeles, referencing events ranging from civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s to contemporary protests concerning immigration issues. For this talk, Bradford discusses his work, including a project for the recent Prospect.1 New Orleans exhibition: a 22-foot-high wooden ark built from the shell of a destroyed house and discarded material from the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Copresented with Art:21 in conjunction with the National Art Educators' Association national conference, April 16-21 in Minneapolis.

Free Verse: The Collaborative Artists' Book : Bill Berkson, Vincent Katz, and Lewis Warsh : Reading

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Many artworks in the exhibition Text/Messages: Books by Artists are the result of a creative alliance between an artist and a writer. Join us for an evening of verse and image with three noteworthy poets who have collaborated with visual artists on limited-edition books--Bill Berkson worked with artist Alex Katz; Vincent Katz joined forces with painter Francesco Clemente; and Lewis Warsh worked with video artist Julie Harrison. Each offers a brief, illustrated reading followed by a roundtable Q&A at which they'll discuss the dynamics of feeding the written word into a collaborative, visual work.

Copresented by Rain Taxi Review of Books.

Goodbye Solo post-screening Q&A : Ramin Bahrani : Discussion

Fri, 3 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

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Q&A with director Ramin Bahrani.

About Goodbye Solo
The differences in age and family culture create an interesting conflict in Bahrani's latest film. While Senegalese taxi driver Solo's winning joie de vivre is embraced by everyone he meets, he can't charm 70-year-old William, a mysterious fare he picks up late one night in Winston-Salem. When he asks to be taken to a location where many suicides have taken place, Solo attempts to discover why the man is so troubled. 2008, 35mm, 91 minutes.

Ellen Lupton, Baltimore : Ellen Lupton : Lecture

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Ellen Lupton's prolific career spans the realms of design practice, education, criticism, and curating, and is specifically aimed at bringing design awareness to a broader audience. She directs the Graphic Design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, where she also serves as director of the Center for Design Thinking. As curator of contemporary design at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum since 1992, Lupton has organized numerous exhibitions, including the National Design Triennial (2000, 2003, 2006), Mechanical Brides: Women and Machines from Home to Office (1993), Mixing Messages: Graphic Design and Contemporary Culture (1996), Letters from the Avant-Garde (1996), Graphic Design in the Mechanical Age (1999), and Skin: Surface, Substance + Design (2002). In addition to the robust catalogues that accompany these shows, she has written and co-authored the best-selling books Thinking with Type (2004), D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself (2006), D.I.Y. Kids (2007), and most recently Graphic Design: The New Basics (2008). With J. Abbott Miller, Lupton's essays on design and culture were published in Design Writing Research (1996). Her writing has been featured in magazines such as Print, Eye, I.D., and Metropolis. She has a regular column, "The El Word," in Readymade magazine and her editorial illustrations have been published in the New York Times. Lupton is a 2007 recipient of the AIGA Gold Medal, the profession's highest honor.

Part of Avant la lettre: Insights 2009 Design Lecture Series.

13 Most Beautiful Young Artists : Various Artists : Teen Art Showcase

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:30:00 GMT

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Inspired by Andy Warhol's Screen Tests and Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips' 13 Most Beautiful . . ., the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) created 13 original films and commissioned young musicians to compose accompanying soundtracks. Join us for the resulting collaboration--a raucous night of live performance and film. Musical performances by Nakami Green, Daudi Long, MMMs, Henry Misa, Dylan Perese, Jon Mitchell and Denis Terzic, and Shallow Creek.

Experimental Jetset, Amsterdam : Marieke Stolk and Danny van den Dungen : Lecture

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Based in Amsterdam and founded in 1997 by Marieke Stolk, Erwin Brinkers, and Danny van den Dungen, Experimental Jetset has been consistently reinterpreting the implications of modernism, often from the perspective of a youth-based counterculture. The studio is perhaps best known to U.S. audiences from their appearance in the documentary Helvetica (2007), and their dogmatic use of that typeface has become a defining aspect of their work and has influenced new generations of graphic designers. Experimental Jetset's iconic print work explores ways in which we are both shaped by and help shape our material environment. Projects for cultural clients include collaborations with the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum, Purple Institute, Centre Pompidou, Colette, Dutch Post Group, Reunion des Musees Nationaux, Le Cent Quatre, De Theatercompagnie, and 2K/Gingham, which released their iconic John&Paul&Ringo&George T-shirt design. The studio's work has been exhibited in galleries across the world, and in 2007 New York's Museum of Modern Art acquired a large selection of their projects for inclusion in its permanent collection. Since 2000, members of Experimental Jetset have been teaching at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.

Part of Avant la lettre: Insights 2009 Design Lecture Series.

David Reinfurt, New York : O-R-G and Dexter Sinister : Lecture

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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At the vanguard of a recent wave of young designers whose practices blur the lines between the worlds of client-driven projects and critical investigation, David Reinfurt melds highly conceptual ideas with technological experimentation. After receiving his MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University in 1999 and working as an interaction designer at IDEO in San Francisco, he founded the studio O-R-G in New York, where his clients included the New York Times, AIGA NY, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Brill's Content, and Dean Sakamoto Architects, among others. In 2006, with graphic designer Stuart Bailey, Reinfurt established Dexter Sinister, a small workshop/bookstore on the Lower East Side. Counter to the assembly-line realities of today's large-scale publishing, the studio's process involves working on-demand, using inexpensive local machinery, considering alternate distribution strategies, and collapsing distinctions of editing, design, production, and distribution into one efficient activity. Dexter Sinister was featured at the Centre d'Art Contemporain Geneve in Switzerland and the 2008 Whitney Biennial. Reinfurt has written for magazines such as the New York Times Magazine, Dot Dot Dot, Social Text, Visual Communications (UK), Modern Painter, Metropolis M, Idea Magazine (Japan), and Nozone Empire. He previously held a yearlong research affiliate position at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT and currently teaches at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and the Rhode Island School of Design.

Part of Avant la lettre: Insights 2009 Design Lecture Series.

Documenting Culture : Jim Walsh, Xavier Tavera, Melba Price, and Chuck Olsen : Panel Discussion

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Elizabeth Peyton aims to capture people at "that particular moment when they're about to become what they'll become" Is she giving us a glimpse of a world rarely seen by outsiders? Writer and longtime music critic Jim Walsh, photographer Xavier Tavera, artist Melba Price, and documentary filmmaker/journalist Chuck Olsen talk about their work, the people and cultures they cover, and why the public is so interested in these subjects. Look for the online discussion which will take place throughout the exhibition at mnartists.org/peyton.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton.

Process Type Foundry, Minneapolis : Eric Olson and Nicole Dotin : Lecture

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

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Process Type Foundry has quickly become one of the most sought-after type foundries in the United States. Created in 2002 by Eric Olson, the company is known for its unique contemporary typefaces, extensive extended character sets, and custom commissioned work. Its early font releases included the rounded sans serif Bryant, the quirky modular FIG Script, and Locator & Locator Display, a type family designed to represent the Twin Cities. Klavika, released in 2004, has become the foundry's most popular typeface to date, appearing in everything from the Facebook logo to NBC's on-air graphics and magazines such as Blender and Architecture MN. Process Type Foundry has worked with clients such as the New York Times Magazine, Thomson-Reuters, and Chevrolet to strengthen their identities with custom type work, and in 2005 Olson engineered the Walker Art Center's new graphic identity. The studio's work has been featured in the book Metro Letters and in numerous magazines, including Eye, Nylon, PRINT, etapes, HOW, STEP, Metropolis, Task Newsletter, and CAP&Design. Prior to forming Process, Olson taught at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and was a design fellow at the University of Minnesota Design Institute and a graphic designer at the Walker. A principal in the company, Nicole Dotin received her MA in Typeface Design from the University of Reading, England, and previously taught at MCAD. In 2006 she joined Olson as the foundry's second designer.

Part of Avant la lettre: Insights 2009 Design Lecture Series.

Treeless Mountain post-screening Q&A : Discussion

Fri, 6 Mar 2009 06:00:00 GMT

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Q&A with director So Yong Kim.

About Treeless Mountain
Shot in South Korea and inspired by early childhood memories, Treeless Mountain is a dreamlike tale of a six-year-old girl and her younger sister coping with loss when their single mother leaves them with an uncaring aunt. This lovely, humanistic film is presented through the eyes of these remarkable children--to whom everything is magnified and oversized--while still providing "a quiet, poignant drama of abandonment and resilience" (New York Times). 2008, 35mm, in Korean with English subtitles, 89 minutes.

So Yong Kim was born in Pusan, South Korea, but immigrated to the Unites States when she was 12. Her first feature, In Between Days (2006), inspired by her experience of growing up in Los Angeles, won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, Best Film at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema, the Independent/Experimental Film and Video Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and a Special Jury Prize for Independent Vision at the Sundance Film Festival. Also nominated for two Gotham awards and the "Someone to Watch" Independent Spirit Award, it was screened at the 2006 Women with Vision Film Festival.

Making Music Series: David Longstreth : David Longstreth : Artist Talk

Fri, 6 Mar 2009 01:00:00 GMT

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The leader of Dirty Projectors takes the McGuire stage for a special evening with the University of Minnesota's Whole Music Club. Local musician James Everest (Vicious Vicious, Roma di Luna) interviews David Longstreth about his career in a program that includes live demonstrations, video, and questions from the audience.

A History of Chapbooks : Eric Lorberer : Lecture

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:00:00 GMT

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From xylography to xerography, chapbooks tell the history of literacy and disseminate the expression of thought, from musings to manifestos. To enlighten us on this subject Rain Taxi Review of Books editor Eric Lorberer will give an overview of the chapbook, paying special attention to its fascinating history, its variable design elements and formats, and its vibrant role in contemporary literature and publishing. Rain Taxi, a nationally acclaimed journal, includes regular critical commentary on chapbooks and will be launching a Chapbook Finder feature on its website soon. The chapbook is generally a pocket-sized, paper-covered publication, noteworthy for being accessible to create and circulate. Its pages may contain edicts issued by the establishment or criticisms articulated by a counter-culture voice.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Text/Messages: Books by Artists and Multiples Mall: A Bookish Fair.

End of the Century : Laura Hoptman : Lecture

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:00:00 GMT

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Spend an afternoon in the world of Elizabeth Peyton. For the past 15 years, this artist has created intimate paintings, prints, watercolors, and drawings that make up a snapshot of contemporary popular culture. Join exhibition curator Laura Hoptman for an illustrated, inside perspective of the art world of the 1990s that gave rise to her career.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton.

The Art of the Book : Various : Panel Discussion

Fri, 6 Feb 2009 01:00:00 GMT

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Artists' books have always held an important place in the Walker's collection, yet they are rarely exhibited in the gallery. David Platzker, book dealer/scholar and former director of Printed Matter, Inc., moderates a discussion on the current state of artist's book production. Panelists include artist Buzz Spector and Harriet Bart, Sally Alatalo of Sara Ranchouse Publishing, and James Hoff of Primary Information.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Text/Messages: Books by Artists.

Young Jean Lee and Philip Bither in Conversation : Young Jean Lee : Interview

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:00:00 GMT

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Join theater innovator Young Jean Lee for a candid discussion about her upbringing, her perspective on theater today, the process of writing/producing her work, and the creation of both CHURCH and her newest work, The Shipment. Walker Performing Arts curator Philip Bither engaged Lee in this wide-ranging discussion during her recent tour to Minneapolis to present the Walker-commissioned performance piece CHURCH.

Samuel R. Delany : Samuel R. Delany : Lecture

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:00:00 GMT

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Spend an afternoon in another world with author Samuel R. Delany, who visits the Walker in conjunction with the exhibition Tetsumi Kudo: Garden of Metamorphosis. Just as Kudo proposed a "new ecology" of humanity and technology, so has Delany's groundbreaking science fiction--including awardwinning titles such as Babel-17, Dhalgren, and The Einstein Intersection--offered captivating glimpses of hypothetical and shifting realities. In addition to science fiction and fantasy, Delany's highly acclaimed works include autobiography, literary criticism, and eroticism. His latest novel, Dark Reflections (Running Press), presents a devastating "portrait of the artist" for the 21st century. Copresented by Rain Taxi Review of Books.

Olga Viso on Ana Mendieta : Olga Viso : Lecture

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:00:00 GMT

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Join Walker Art Center director Olga Viso for an illustrated lecture on her extensive research into the little-seen work of this celebrated artist. Viso's newly released book, Unseen Mendieta: The Unpublished Works of Ana Mendieta (Prestel), presents a selection of photographs and drawings from the archives of the pioneering Cuban-born American artist, many of which have never been seen before, including early studies and public art projects in development at the time of her tragic death in 1985. Viso, who served as director of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., before coming to the Walker, is the author of several books on contemporary Latin American art.

Mike Leigh Regis Dialogue with Scott Foundas : Mike Leigh and Scott Foundas : Interview

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:30:00 GMT

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Meet iconoclastic British director Mike Leigh in conversation with LA Weekly film critic Scott Foundas.

Presented in conjunction with the film retrospective Mike Leigh: Moments

Eero Saarinen Symposium: Donald Albrecht : Donald Albrecht : Lecture

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:30:00 GMT

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Donald Albrecht, Curator of Architecture & Design, Museum of the City of New York, curator of Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future, with an overview of this groundbreaking exhibition.

Part of the symposium Eero Saarinen: Beyond the Measly ABC presented in conjunction with the exhibition Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future.

Eero Saarinen Symposium: Jennifer Komar Olivarez : Jennifer Komar Olivarez : Lecture

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:15:00 GMT

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Jennifer Komar Olivarez, essay contributor to the catalogue Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future, discusses Saarinen's architecture of sacred spaces.

Part of the symposium Eero Saarinen: Beyond the Measly ABC presented in conjunction with the exhibition Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future.

Eero Saarinen Symposium: Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen : Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen : Lecture

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:00:00 GMT

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Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen, Assistant Professor, Yale School of Architecture, and coeditor of the catalogue Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future, on Saarinen's search for form.

Part of the symposium Eero Saarinen: Beyond the Measly ABC presented in conjunction with the exhibition Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future.

Eero Saarinen Symposium: Nancy Miller : Nancy Miller : Lecture

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:30:00 GMT

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Nancy Miller, Associate Director, Center for World Heritage Studies, and Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota College of Design, on Saarinen's corporate campuses.

Part of the symposium Eero Saarinen: Beyond the Measly ABC presented in conjunction with the exhibition Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future.

Eero Saarinen Symposium: Beatriz Colomina : Beatriz Colomina : Lecture

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:00:00 GMT

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Beatriz Colomina, Professor of Architecture and Founding Director of the Program in Media and Modernity, Princeton University, on Saarinen's use of the media.

Part of the symposium Eero Saarinen: Beyond the Measly ABC presented in conjunction with the exhibition Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future.

Eero Saarinen Symposium: Christopher Monkhouse : Christopher Monkhouse : Lecture

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:00:00 GMT

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Christopher Monkhouse, Eloise W. Martin Curator and Chairman, Department of European Decorative Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, and essay contributor to the catalogue Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future, on the design of the Miller House.

Part of the symposium Eero Saarinen: Beyond the Measly ABC presented in conjunction with the exhibition Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future.

Eero Saarinen Symposium: Tom Fisher : Tom Fisher : Lecture

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:30:00 GMT

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Tom Fisher, Professor and Dean of the University of Minnesota College of Design, on Saarinen's legacy in contemporary architecture.

Part of the symposium Eero Saarinen: Beyond the Measly ABC presented in conjunction with the exhibition Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future.

Eero Saarinen: Beyond the Measly ABC Q&A : Christopher Monkhouse, Tom Fisher, Nancy Miller, Jennifer Komar Olivarez, and Andrew Blauvelt : Panel Discussion

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:45:00 GMT

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Q&A with Christopher Monkhouse, Tom Fisher, Nancy Miller, and Jennifer Komar Olivarez, moderated by Andrew Blauvelt.

Part of the symposium Eero Saarinen: Beyond the Measly ABC presented in conjunction with the exhibition Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future.

Free Verse: The Flarf Collective : Nada Gordon, Sharon Mesmer, K. Silem Mohammed, and Gary Sullivan : Reading

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:30:00 GMT

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The controversial poetry movement Flarf began in 2001 as a small e-mail list composed of writers dedicated to the creation of poems using un-poetic language, often with the aid of Internet search engines (a practice sometimes called "Google-sculpting"). The Flarf Collective is now 30 members strong, with participants scattered across the United States and Europe. Join us for a special Free Verse Evening of Flarf as four of these poetry provocateurs--Nada Gordon, Sharon Mesmer, K. Silem Mohammed, and Gary Sullivan--share their unique writing procedures.

Free Verse is copresented by Rain Taxi Review of Books.

Performing Arts 2008-2009 Season Preview : Philip Bither : Lecture

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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Senior performing arts curator Philip Bither illuminates the entire 2008-2009 season with personal stories and accounts; music and video highlights, including samples from Eiko & Koma and the Builders Association; highlights from Out There 21, the popular January performance festival; and the fourpart series UK Performance Now! (winter/spring 2009) that introduces new performance innovators from across the pond.

Merce Cunningham: Talking Dance : Merce Cunningham : Artist Talk

Sun, 7 Sep 2008 19:00:00 GMT

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Legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham joins friend and patron/dancer Sage Cowles for a conversation on his relationship to the Walker during his 50-year career as a dance maker. Stories about innovative artistic collaborations for which Cunningham is known set the stage for a discussion about one his most ambitious works, just days before it is performed. This talk is an exciting opportunity to hear about the upcoming performance of Ocean directly from its creator.

Artist Talk: Sharon Hayes : Sharon Hayes : Artist Talk

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 05:00:00 GMT

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New York artist Sharon Hayes is mounting large-scale public performances titled Revolutionary Love 1: I Am Your Worst Fear and Revolutionary Love 2: I Am Your Best Fantasy at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions. Hayes will lead a postproduction conversation about this project and her work in video, performance, and installation. Copresented by the Walker Art Center and Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

The Listening Project post-screening Q&A : Dominic Howes and Joel Weber : Discussion

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

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Q&A with the directors Dominic Howes and Joel Weber.

About The Listening Project
The Listening Project is a cinematic journey in search of an answer to the question "What does the world think of America?" Surprisingly nuanced--even contradictory--responses are unearthed from the far reaches of the globe as we see how Americans are citizens of the world, not just their own country. 2007, video, 76 minutes.

Performing Arts 2008-2009 Season Trailer : Season Trailer

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

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Welcome to our 2008/2009 season,

It is hard to imagine a more spectacular and fitting way to open a Walker performing arts season than by restaging, on the floor of a breathtaking granite quarry, the monumental Ocean. The most ambitious project ever conceived by Merce Cunningham and John Cage, two of the 20th century's towering artistic figures, this work embodies key hallmarks of our program-- high-level artistry, interdisciplinary innovation, audacious risk-taking, partnership, site-specific production, and a sustained commitment to artists--but pushes them to new, previously unimagined levels.

Ocean is, however, only the opening chapter of this diverse season's story. The 27 events reflect our world through the eyes of artists--what it means to be human and where our culture may be heading. The Walker's decision to commission seven new works for the season, one of the largest numbers in our history, helps fill a critical gap in the American cultural landscape, a place where many of our most essential innovators don't have standard support structures to sustain their work.

This year, the genre of music-theater is radically rethought by artists of distinctly different generations and backgrounds: David Gordon, Cynthia Hopkins, and Jay Scheib. The UK Performance Now! series surveys the rich and diverse "live art" scene in England and Wales, introducing four artistic voices new to the Walker and the United States. Some of the season highlights reflect on the social whiplash of our times (The Builders Association, Toshiki Okada /Chelfitsch, Young Jean Lee, Tim Crouch), while others look back to 20th-century history/artworks to rethink the age we live in now (National Theater of the USA, David Gordon, Jay Scheib).

The creative ferment bubbling up in the outer reaches of the rock and pop universe is reflected through rare concerts or special projects by such mavericks as Stephin Merritt / The Magnetic Fields, Will Oldham (Bonnie "Prince" Billy), Dean and Britta, and Dave Longstreth /Dirty Projectors, who join a mix of global music innovators, modern classical composers, and new jazz heroes to round out one of the most fertile music lineups in recent years.

Extreme intimacy and expansive spectacle; increasingly blurred lines between disciplines; surprising, sometimes disturbing visions; new performance art forms offered in new kinds of ways--I look forward to sharing these adventures with you over the coming year.

Philip Bither
William and Nadine McGuire Senior Curator, Performing Arts

Secrecy post-screening Q&A : Peter Galison : Discussion

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

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Q&A with a director Peter Galison.

About Secrecy
A compelling documentary peering into the invisible world of government secrecy and its tug-of-war with civil liberties, Secrecy delves into the 1940s origins of the national security policy and its unexpected consequences for contemporary democracy. Filmmakers Peter Galison and Robb Moss (The Same River Twice) utilize animation, installations, a mesmerizing score, and riveting interviews. 2008, video, 85 minutes.

Solutions for the Other 90% : Various : Lecture

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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Good design shouldn't just be for the world's richest 10% anymore, and the Twin Cities is at the forefront of a new movement toward humanitarian design. In conjunction with the outdoor exhibition Design for the Other 90%, the Walker hosts an evening of short, rapid-fire, media-rich presentations featuring a cross section of designers working to bring sustainable solutions to the water, energy, education, health care, and transportation shortages affecting the 90 percent of the world's population that has little or no access to these products and services. Featuring presentations from Emily Pilloton of Project H; Tom Fisher, Dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota; Marc Swackhamer of HouMinn Practice; Stephanie and Kelly Kinnunnen of NEED Magazine; Jeffrey Swainhart and Cassie Neu of Architecture for Humanity; Gabriel Cheifetz of 612 Authentic; Peter Rich of Microfinance Alliance; and Anne-Marie Hendrickson of Compatible Technology International. Curated by Solutions Twin Cities founders Troy Gallas and Colin Kloecker.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Design for the Other 90%.

The Judge and the General post-screening Q&A : Elizabeth Farnsworth and Blair Gershkow : Discussion

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:00:00 GMT

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Post-screening Q&A with director/producer Elizabeth Farnsworth and editor Blair Gershkow.

About The Judge and the General
On September 11, 1973, a coup d'etat against democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende placed the government of Chile in the hands of General Augusto Pinochet. During his brutal 17-year dictatorship, thousands of Chileans were killed, tortured, and went "missing." Years after the coup, criminal complaints filed by the families of victims landed on the desk of former Pinochet supporter Judge Juan Guzman, whose investigations, he says, "opened the eyes of my soul." The filmmakers followed Guzman for three years in order to make this cautionary tale about the violation of human rights. 2008, video, 87 minutes.

Man Walking Down the Side of a Building : Trisha Brown Dance Company : Dance

Sat, 5 Jul 2008 05:00:00 GMT

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The Trisha Brown Dance Company, as part of Year of Trisha, presented free outdoor performances of rarely staged early works. This day of dance reflected the Walker's long relationship with Brown and included the Walker-premiered Group Primary Accumulation on Rafts, first unveiled in Loring Park in 1974; her popular Spanish Dance from Line Up (1979); Spiral (1974); and the seminal Man Walking Down the Side of a Building (1970), which hadn't been seen in the United States since its New York debut nearly 40 years ago.

Museum Sculpture Gardens: Whose Idea Was That? : John Walsh : Lecture

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:00:00 GMT

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John Walsh, Director Emeritus of the J. Paul Getty Museum, looks at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and the post-World War II explosion of sculpture gardens and parks built as annexes to museums and as independent outdoor museums. Where did the idea come from in the first place? Which, in addition to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, have been particularly successful? What might come next?

20 Under 20 Final : Various Artists : Teen Art Showcase

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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Highlighting some of the best young talent under the age of 20, the 20 Under 20 Final featured a visual art exhibition in the Walker's Star Tribune Art Lab and a performance showcasing bands, rap, spoken word, and film in the Walker's Cinema. Participants competed in two preliminaries in May, at which a panel of judges and the audience selected the top artists featured in 20 Under 20 Final at the Walker Art Center on June 12.

Featured artists: Vaski, The Velveteens, Loud+2, Phonetic ONE, MG, Evan Gabriel, Jess Nelson, Tyler O'Neill, Abraham Pineda-Fischer, Moira Pirsch, and Sarah Beth Ryther

Chris Johanson and Jo Jackson : Chris Johanson and Jo Jackson : Artist Talk

Fri, 2 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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Artists Chris Johanson and Jo Jackson emerged from the late '90s San Francisco-based skater/surf/graffiti scene, known to many as the Mission School, with portfolios of charged, figurative drawings and immersive three-dimensional environments. As a husband and wife team, the two collaborate often on projects, including an installation that runs from May 3 through June 1 at the Art of This Gallery in South Minneapolis. Join the artists for a talk about their processes, sources of inspiration and influence, and future projects. Presented by the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTA C).

Next Exit: The Shifting Landscape of Suburbia : Various : Panel Discussion

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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In today's expanding metropolitan areas, the lines between urban and suburban are rapidly blurring. Population growth, immigration, and transportation are among the many factors that city planners, designers, and developers confront as they prepare for the next million people to move into Minnesota's suburbs. Join panelists Lance Nekar of the Metropolitan Design Center, Dan Bergin of Twin Cities Public Television, Michael Lander of Lander Group, and others for a discussion about the challenges and successes of new suburban design, how suburbs are becoming destination environments, and the cultural implications of these shifts. Moderated by Todd Melby.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes.

Trisha Brown: Talking Art and Dance : Trisha Brown : Artist Talk

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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Join modern dance legend Trisha Brown for a candid discussion about her remarkable career as both a dance innovator and a visual artist. Performing arts curator Philip Bither and visual arts curator Peter Eleey add their insights on Brown's contributions to contemporary art and moderate audience questions.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Trisha Brown: So That the Audience Does Not Know Whether I Have Stopped Dancing.

Trisha Brown Drawing/Performance : Trisha Brown : Performance

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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In conjunction with an exhibition of her drawings, modern dance legend Trisha Brown improvises movements across a large piece of paper placed on the Medtronic Gallery floor.

Part of Trisha Brown: So That the Audience Does Not Know Whether I Have Stopped Dancing.

Standard Operating Procedure post-screening Q&A : Nubar Alexanian, Errol Morris : Discussion

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:00:00 GMT

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Groundbreaking Academy Award-winning documentarian Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War) investigates what he calls "the mystery" behind the images that shocked the world; the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Utilizing more than 200 hours of interviews with Americans who served at the prison, Morris' latest film Standard Operating Procedure calls into question the blurred lines between followers and leaders, humiliation and torture, and "standard operating procedure" and creative license.

Morris participated in a Q&A when the film was screened at the Walker in April 2008.

Miloš Forman Regis Dialogue with Scott Foundas : Miloš Forman and Scott Foundas : Interview

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:00:00 GMT

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Miloš Forman and LA Weekly film critic Scott Foundas discuss the director's celebrated career, punctuated by clips from his films.

Part of Miloš Forman: Cinema of Resistance.

Free Verse: Kent Johnson : Kent Johnson : Reading

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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Kent Johnson achieved notoriety when it was discovered that he had authored poems attributed to a Japanese Hiroshima survivor named Araki Yasusada. Far more than a hoax, his work was intended to provoke questions of authorship, translation, artistic sincerity, and cultural desire. In the wake of the controversy, Johnson has continued to needle readers' notions about art and politics. In addition to Doubled Flowering, the supposed Yasusada poems, his books include A Nation of Poets: Writing from the Workshops of Nicaragua; Beneath a Single Moon: Buddhism in Contemporary American Poetry, edited with Craig Paulenich; Third Wave: The New Russian Poetry, edited with Stephen M. Ashby; and Lyric Poetry After Auschwitz: Nine Submissions to the War. Join us as Johnson reads from his work and discusses the intriguing issues related to authorship and originality that compel so much of contemporary art.

Free Verse is copresented by Rain Taxi Review of Books.

Youth Showcase : Various Artists : Performance

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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Local young spoken-word and video artists present works they created during the residencies of poet/theater artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph and hip-hop filmmaker Eli Jacobs Fantauzzi, demonstrating how spoken word and media can serve as vehicles for personal expression and positive civic and social dialogue.

Ed Fella : Ed Fella : Lecture

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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When he was in his forties, Ed Fella returned to school to complete his undergraduate and graduate degrees in graphic design, after three decades as a successful designer practicing in the Detroit area where he grew up. Fella received his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1987 and then headed to California to teach at the California Institute of the Arts. His innovative hand-rendered and manipulated typographic compositions, masterful collages, and prolific sketchbooks prefigured the resurgence of the art form and inspired countless other designers to find their hand again in the age of computer-assisted design and desktop publishing. Fella's work has been shown worldwide and has been the subject of several books, including Edward Fella: Letters on America (2000). In 1997 he received the Chrysler Award for Design Innovation and in 2007 the AIGA Medal, its highest honor.

Part of Reinventions: Insights 2008 Design Lecture Series.

Nancy Spector on Richard Prince : Nancy Spector : Lecture

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:00:00 GMT

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Join exhibition curator Nancy Spector for an afternoon of ideas on the work of Richard Prince. Images of the artist's major series illustrate this discussion of the ways that his focus on ordinary elements of American culture alters our sense of reality. Spector is chief curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, where she has organized exhibitions on conceptual photography, the work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and Matthew Barney's Cremaster cycle.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Richard Prince: Spiritual America.

Project Projects, New York : Prem Krishnamurthy and Adam Michaels : Lecture

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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Before joining forces to form Project Projects in 2004, Adam Michaels, a Minneapolis College of Art and Design graduate, was associate art director of Architecture magazine; and Prem Krishnamurthy, a Yale University graduate, had completed a Fulbright Fellowship and worked as a designer in Berlin and New York. The two forged a cool, calm, and collected aesthetic that resonates with their nonprofit and cultural sector clientele. Project Projects has emerged as a leading design studio working for such organizations as Artists Space, Creative Time, Bard Center for Curatorial Studies, Metropolis magazine, The New York Times Magazine, Princeton Architectural Press, the Van Alen Institute, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Their work has been featured in Japan's most progressive graphic design magazine, IDEA, as one of 100 of the world's most interesting studio practices, and identified by the Art Directors Club of New York and Print magazine as an emerging new design firm to watch.

Part of Reinventions: Insights 2008 Design Lecture Series.

Moving the Moving Image : Steina Vasulka, Amy Youngs, and Christiane Robbins : Panel Discussion

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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In the late 1960s, when artists began to use emerging media technology to push the boundaries of contemporary art, film, and video, women were on the forefront of that movement, pioneering the connections. Musician/new media artist Steina Vasulka, media artist Amy Youngs, Christiane Robbins, a cross-disciplinary director and scholar working in media arts, and others talk about the use of moving images in their work and the ways they leverage ever-changing technologies to serve their creative processes. Moderated by art historian Jane Blocker. Presented as part of the University of Minnesota's symposium Wonder Women: Art and Technology, 1968 to 2008, and the Walker's Women with Vision Festival.

Work Worth Doing, Toronto : Lorraine Gauthier and Alejandro Quinto : Lecture

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

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Inspired by their shared experience as part of the inaugural team of designers at Bruce Mau's Institute without Boundaries program and its Massive Change project, Lorraine Gauthier and Alejandro Quinto formed their interdisciplinary studio, Work Worth Doing, in 2004 with the simple yet complicated goal of creating positive social and environmental actions for corporations, governments, and communities. Recent projects include: Now House, a demonstration project for green housing, which will turn a post-World War II house into a near-zero energy home; an installation and research project that asks the question "What if Greenland was Africa's water fountain?"; a proposal for civic participation in discussing democratic solutions to terrorism in Madrid involving text messaging and public projection; and Hyperborder, a research and book project about the U.S.-Mexico border in collaboration with architect Fernando Romero. Prior to Work Worth Doing, Gauthier operated her own successful communications design studio for more than 10 years, and Quinto studied new media and design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and at the University of Brighton, England, and recently served as designer-in-residence at North Carolina State University.

Part of Reinventions: Insights 2008 Design Lecture Series.

Drawn Here: Sean Griffiths of FAT : Sean Griffiths : Lecture

Fri, 7 Mar 2008 01:00:00 GMT

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FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste), as its name implies, pushes for a more inclusive architecture that is responsive to contemporary culture. Its quirky, allusive work challenges the profession's notions of acceptable taste and operates from the premise that architecture is a form of communication and should speak the language of its users. The London-based group, established in 1995, has developed a reputation for making buildings, installations, and interiors that embrace a more populist sensibility found in easily recognizable forms, the use of decoration and ornament, and a vibrant palette of color. FAT's projects range from the creation of a new "summer village and hobby park" in a suburb of Rotterdam to the transformation of a former Gothic church into the offices for advertising firm Kassels Kramer in Amsterdam to designs for trailer homes for artists in northern Scotland.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes.

Marian Bantjes : Marian Bantjes : Lecture

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 01:00:00 GMT

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After a decade working as a book designer and typesetter in Vancouver, British Columbia, Marian Bantjes decided to chuck it all and reinvent her practice. Widely hailed in the recent resurgence of ornamentation in graphic design, her connection to that tradition draws on her 20 years of work in painting and printmaking. Now a self-proclaimed "graphic artist," Bantjes produces designs of intricate craft, elaborate patterning, and complex ornamentation. Her work has been widely acclaimed and her projects include commissions for a limited-edition cover for Wallpaper magazine, catalogues and bags for Saks Fifth Avenue, illustrations for such publications as Yale Alumni Magazine, Wired, and Print.

Part of Reinventions: Insights 2008 Design Lecture Series.

Drawn Here: Teddy Cruz, Estudio Teddy Cruz : Teddy Cruz : Lecture

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:00:00 GMT

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In a society increasingly obsessed with policing borders and erecting boundaries, architect Teddy Cruz operates in the zone between countries, disciplines, and cultures. "We should be turning our attention away from the wall and toward the landscape, the ecology, and the communities," says Cruz, whose work is featured in the Walker exhibition Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes. He has followed that admonition with projects of passion, gaining critical acclaim for engaging issues of community, sociability, and immigration, and for collaborating with community-based nonprofit organizations on affordable, sustainable housing and its potential to transform urban policy. A native of Guatemala, Cruz has won the prestigious Rome Prize in Architecture, has his own longtime architecture practice (Estudio Teddy Cruz), and is a professor in the visual arts department of the University of California, San Diego.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes.

Contemporary Art in Conversation: JoAnn Verburg : JoAnn Verburg, Siri Engberg, Susan Kismaric : Discussion

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 01:30:00 GMT

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JoAnn Verburg's portraits, landscapes, and still lifes engage the viewer in a push and pull of time. Her images feature bodies floating in and out of space, newspaper headlines that recall past events, and olive trees that belong to no era in particular. In this conversation with Walker consulting curator Siri Engberg and Museum of Modern Art photography curator Susan Kismaric, Verburg discusses her 30-year career and muses on the ways artists performing on the Walker stage in the early 1980s altered her view of photography.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Present Tense: Photographs by JoAnn Verburg.

Performing Gender: Identity, Ethnicity, and Sexuality in Frida Kahlo and Onstage : EsmA(C) RodrA$guez : Lecture

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 01:00:00 GMT

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Frida Kahlo's primary form of artistic expression--the self-portrait--allowed her to use images of her body to comment on her daily experiences as a Mexican of mixed ethnicities, a woman, and an artist. This self-representation became an important act of performance that defined her life. At this performative discussion, Eden Torres, professor of Chicana feminist studies and chair of the Chicano Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, interviews drag queen/University instructor Esme Rodriguez (a.k.a. T. Kupin) on the staging of gender and identity in her work and in the art and life of Kahlo.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Frida Kahlo.

Drawn Here: Vince James and Jennifer Yoos, VJAA : Vince James and Jennifer Yoos : Lecture

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:00:00 GMT

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Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos, principals of VJAA, declare in their recently published monograph, "We believe that if the profession of architecture is to remain relevant, then the practice of architecture needs to become more plastic, not simply in terms of the appearance of buildings but in terms of how they are conceived, how they function, and how they respond to particular conditions." It is the degree and type of response that ultimately shapes the range of projects undertaken by VJAA since its inception a decade ago.

Rejecting the expectation of a signature style, VJAA adopts instead a self-described "polyvalent" approach in which architectural form is not the incidental by-product of various constraints but rather the careful result of responding to particular contexts--whether cultural, geographic, or social--and challenging programmatic assumptions as well as the performance of conventional building types. In this way, architectural form may be a response to a specific impetus, perhaps found in the client's proclivities, borne out of prevailing climatic conditions, or the desire to reframe social interactions.

This approach can be seen in such early works as the Type/Variant House (1996). Paralleling the owners' interests in serial collecting, the carefully modulated structures that comprise the house, which is located in the woods of northern Wisconsin, constitute a collection of similar yet different wood-lined, copper-clad volumes. Sometimes architectural form is a response to the subject at hand. For instance, the dynamic nature of rowing is reflected in the wavelike roofline and wood and steel trusses of the Minneapolis Rowing Club Boathouse (2001), which echo the rhythmic pattern of the oarsmen's motion. For a proposed museum of natural history in Cable, Wisconsin (2000), VJAA designed the structure as a symbiotic unit within its woodlands setting. A series of hourglass-shaped columns have been transformed beyond their traditional role of structural support and function also as light wells and water collectors, and in essence become chambers that can both sustain and display natural growth processes. Additionally, the building collects and processes rain water and wastewater through remediation ponds. In this instance, the conventional modernist strategy of blurring inside and outside takes on new meaning. The firm's design for a student union building at Tulane University in New Orleans (2006) examines issues of climatic regulation with a desire for enhanced social activity. At Tulane, VJAA employs a variety of innovative building systems and technologies that enhance both the social and thermal permeability of the building envelope, allowing greater fluidity of circulation between inside and outside and among dining, studying, and socializing zones when conditions permit, while providing protection during climatic extremes.

Although based in Minneapolis and known locally for its elegantly refined Dayton House (1997) and the aforementioned rowing boathouse, the firm's work is geographically diverse and includes projects such as the recently opened Hostler Student Center at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon (2007); residential loft projects in New York and Chicago; and an upcoming gatehouse for the University of Cincinnati campus. VJAA is the recipient of 10 national design awards within the past eight years, including six Progressive Architecture awards and two National American Institute of Architects Honor Awards. The firm's work has been published in Architecture, A+U, Architectural Record, the New York Times, Praxis, Architecture Review, and Perspecta, and most recently in VJAA, a monograph published by Princeton Architectural Press.

Janine di Giovanni : Janine di Giovanni : Lecture

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:00:00 GMT

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Janine di Giovanni is one of the world's top foreign correspondents specializing in human rights. Committed to working in conflict zones, she has reported from war-torn regions such as Rwanda, Nicaragua, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans for numerous major publications, including The Times of London, Vanity Fair, the New York Times Magazine, the New Republic, and National Geographic. Her many books include Madness Visible, a memoir of the Balkan conflicts. Join di Giovanni for a talk about her life as an international reporter and the responsibilities journalists hold to bear witness to the atrocities of war.

Joe Sacco : Joe Sacco : Artist Talk

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:00:00 GMT

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Joe Sacco combines the techniques of eyewitness reportage with graphic storytelling to explore complex, emotionally weighted situations in some of the most volatile regions of the globe. His series Palestine set new standards for the use of the comic book as a documentary medium, and his 240-page exploration of a Muslim enclave in Serbia titled Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995 received widespread critical acclaim. Sacco is praised for the depth of his research and his sensitive handling of delicate political topics as well as his dynamic layouts and sophisticated narratives. Join him for a visual tour of his celebrated approach to comics journalism. Copresented by Rain Taxi Review of Books.

Drawn Here: David Adjaye, Adjaye/Associates : David Adjaye : Lecture

Fri, 9 Nov 2007 01:00:00 GMT

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David Adjaye formed Adjaye/Associates in 2000, a London-based architectural practice that has quickly garnered international acclaim for its inventive approaches to the design of a variety of private residences and public buildings. Exploring the dualities of "private retreat and public engagement" and responding to the urban complexities of diverse sites and cultures has been central to his growing body of work. His projects in the United States include a new five-star hotel and residences planned for downtown St. Paul.

Although Adjaye has gained acclaim with residential and studio designs for notable clients such as actor Ewan McGregor and artists Jake Chapman, Chris Ofili, and Lorna Simpson, his work occupies a more grounded realm. Rejecting a signature style, his designs are elegant and occasionally enigmatic objects that choreograph inventive spatial experiences, stage the interplay of light and shadow, and explore an innovative material palette. Elektra House (2000) juxtaposes its sober, windowless front facade with a glass-walled rear, thereby transforming the structure into a kind of giant light box. The exterior of Dirty House (2002) has been coated in dark anti-graffiti paint, a gesture that signals a material connection to its urban circumstance while providing its owners a retreat from the city. Lost House (2004) occupies a "sliver lot"--a former delivery yard--between two existing buildings and uses a series of skylights, light wells, and courtyards to activate its chamberlike spaces.

The architect's civic buildings--which range from libraries to a performing arts center and multiresidential housing developments to marketplaces and community centers--actively explore the conditions of their public nature, providing answers to the architect's own query, "What is a public building in the twenty-first century?" His designs for two neighborhood libraries in London (2004/2005), dubbed Idea Stores, acknowledge their immediate context as multipurpose spaces for diverse communities. While their name suggests a specific retail experience, the libraries in fact evoke the sociability of a local marketplace: their distinctive, alternating green and blue panes of glass are reminiscent of the striped awnings of vendors' stalls that line the streets. The gray, etched-glass-clad Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, which opens in October, contains a series of distinct spaces whose arrangement Adjaye describes as "a mini city in itself, with galleries like houses entered from a street."

Adjaye frequently collaborates with artists such as Olafur Eliasson, with whom he created a pavilion to house the light installation Your Black Horizon, which debuted in conjunction with the 2005 Venice Biennale, and Chris Ofili, who created a dazzling wall mural in different tones of green for a cafe located in the Adjaye-designed Nobel Peace Center (2005) in Oslo, Norway. Adjaye's work has been included in numerous exhibitions, including Gritty Brits: New London Architecture at the Carnegie Museum of Art and David Adjaye: Making Public Buildings, which opened at the Whitechapel Gallery in London and travels to the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, among other venues. Another exhibition, African Cities, at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, where he is a visiting professor, offers a complementary insight into his philosophy. Over the last several years, the Tanzanian-born Adjaye has been photographing Africa's capitals, documenting both the "tropical modernism" of its colonial architectural legacies as well as the affinities of its more informal structures and inhabited spaces. What drives the project is a desire for architecture to perform its public engagement. Adjaye says, "What I am interested in is how they have a very strong public life: the markets, the way people use the spaces in front of their homes, the way life is lived as networks. The house is just a unit you sleep in. Even in Muslim countries that are very extreme, it still plays out. That is something we have lost in the West."

Frida Kahlo: Opening-day Talk with Hayden Herrera : Hayden Herrera : Lecture

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:00:00 GMT

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Art historian Hayden Herrera presents an opening-day talk about Kahlo's life and art. Herrera discusses ways that the artist's self-portraits chronicle the ups and downs of her marriage to muralist Diego Rivera as well as how they also helped her to cope with physical suffering. Kahlo's artistic sources, her relationship to Mexican culture in general, and her effect on a number of artists who came of age in the 1980s is also touched upon.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Frida Kahlo.

Artist Talk: Walid Raad : Walid Raad : Artist Talk

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Join artist Walid Raad for a performative lecture on his writing and visual art, which grapples with the representation of traumatic events of collective historical dimensions and the ways that film, video, and photography function as documents of physical and psychological violence. His recent work includes The Atlas Group (1989-2004), a project composed of audio, visual, and literary elements dealing with the contemporary history of Lebanon, particularly the Lebanese wars from 1975 to 1991. Raad teaches at Cooper Union in New York, and his pieces have been shown at documenta 11 in Kassel, Germany, the Venice Biennale, and the Whitney Biennial, among many others. Copresented by Mizna.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Brave New Worlds.

Brave New Art: Artists and Political Consciousness : Various : Panel Discussion

Fri, 5 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Join artists Jorge Macchi, Dan Perjovschi, Runa Islam, and Haegue Yang as well as exhibition curators Doryun Chong and Yasmil Raymond for a lively panel discussion focusing on, among other topics, the responsibility of artists in times of political fallout, globalization, and unstoppable technological process.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Brave New Worlds.

Brave New Worlds: An Introduction to the Exhibition : Various Artists : Introductory Video

Mon, 1 Oct 2007 05:00:00 GMT

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Produced by the Walker Art Center. The exhibition Brave New Worlds was on view at the Walker October 4, 2007-February 18, 2008.

Friends with You : Friends with You : Artist Talk

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Join Friends with You (FWY) Miami-based artists Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, known for their popular designer toy line, public art installations, new-form playgrounds, live performances, and multimedia projects.

Part of Student Open House: The Big Dance.

BA(C)la Tarr Regis Dialogue with Howard Feinstein : BA(C)la Tarr and Howard Feinstein : Interview

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 01:00:00 GMT

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Bela Tarr and film critic Howard Feinstein discuss his innovative filmography, punctuated by clips from his films.

Presented in conjunction with the film retrospective Bela Tarr: Mysterious Harmonies.

Catherine Sullivan, Dylan Skybrook, and Sean Griffin : Catherine Sullivan, Dylan Skybrook, and Sean Griffin : Artist Talk

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Catherine Sullivan is best known for her video work that explores multiple themes with historic and cultural references. Her newest project, Triangle of Need, continues this practice in a multichannel, multilayered video installation that combines elements as seemingly disparate as figure-skating, prehistoric communication, and e-mail scams into a work that investigates evolution, wealth, poverty and our global economy. For this talk, Sullivan and her collaborators, Minneapolis-based dancer/choreographer Dylan Skybrook and Los Angeles-based composer Sean Griffin strike up a conversation on their working process and how they turned a multitude of concepts into a successfully integrated piece.

Part of Catherine Sullivan: Triangle of Need.

Free Verse: Jerome Rothenberg and the Poetry of Picasso : Jerome Rothenberg : Lecture

Fri, 7 Sep 2007 00:30:00 GMT

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Few people realize that in addition to being one of the 20th century's most influential painters, Pablo Picasso wrote a body of poetry that Andre Breton described as "an intimate journal of the feelings and the senses such as never was kept before." Collected in The Burial of the Count of Orgaz and Other Poems, this writing is indeed Picasso at his erotic and experimental finest. Hear Burial coeditor Jerome Rothenberg present these riveting translations of Picasso's poetry as well as his own acclaimed verse, which is deeply obsessed with modernism in all its manifestations.

Poet/editor/translator Rothenberg's many acclaimed anthologies include Technicians of the Sacred, Shaking the Pumpkin, and the two-volume Poems for the Millennium. His most recent volume of poetry is Triptych, which assembles three long serial poems into one multilayered sacred text.

Copresented by Rain Taxi Review of Books.

Presented in conjunction with Picasso and American Art.

Performing Arts 2007-2008 Season Preview : Season Preview

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 05:00:00 GMT

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Dear Friends,

We count on artists to investigate the currents of our time and give us a glimpse of the future. Contemporary performing artists not only reflect the world we inhabit in unimagined, inspired ways, but they are increasingly pushing art forms in new, hybrid configurations, transforming traditional notions of live performing art and blurring the lines between visual, media, theatrical, literary, musical, and movement disciplines with abandon.

In 2007-2008, the Walker's performing arts season is filled with events that layer the social with the observational, the live with the digital, the conversational with the performative. Our five-event In: Site/Out series features artists who are expanding and redefining the nature of theatrical space and the lines between audience and performer. The New World Jazz thread explores the pairing of chamber and experimental music with centuries-old folk and classical traditions from Tunisia, India, and Norway. And the Walker's monthlong festival Out There celebrates its 20th anniversary by looking ahead to the next generation of trailblazers who are new to the Walker and to Minnesota.

Of course, established masters continue to teach and inspire us. In 2008, we commission interdisciplinary wizard Meredith Monk to create a new music-movement-theater work with visual artist Ann Hamilton, and we celebrate the pioneering dance, visual art, conceptual, and site-specific work of choreographer Trisha Brown. We are also thrilled to offer major productions by two of Europe's most important innovators--Belgium's Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker remounting one of her early dance masterpieces (in an exclusive U.S. engagement), and Italy's radical theater visionary Romeo Castellucci presenting his stunning large-scale work to Minnesota for the first time.

We hope you can join us on many of these adventures. I look forward to seeing you at the Walker this season.

Philip Bither
McGuire Senior Curator for Performing Arts

Why is Picasso Famous? Art Celebrity and Becoming a Fan : Joli Jensen : Lecture

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Was Picasso a genius, a self-promoter, a media icon, a product of the museum system, or all of the above? Each role brings to light different assumptions about ways that art, celebrity, and fandom connect, including the relationships between the "master" artist and the painters he inspired. Joli Jensen, scholar of American cultural and social thought at the University of Tulsa, explores evidence for each of these options.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Picasso and American Art.

Picasso and American Art: Opening-day Talk with Michael FitzGerald : Michael FitzGerald : Lecture

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 19:00:00 GMT

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Young painters should take up our researches in order to react clearly against us--the whole world is open before us, everything waiting to be done, not just redone." --Pablo Picasso, 1935

Picasso's influence on American artistic production is one of the fundamental stories of art in the 20th century. He stimulated generations of practitioners to create innovative new work, under the sometimes anxious influence of an artist they perceived as a "master." These contributions also include the development of institutions that supported new thinking about contemporary art. Michael FitzGerald, curator of Picasso and American Art and professor of art history at Trinity College, speaks about his extensive research on this topic and the process of selecting works for the show.

Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop : Cey Adams, Jeff Chang, Roger Cummings, and Rachel Ramist : Panel Discussion

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Since its beginning, hip-hop has left its mark on theater, poetry, performance art, dance, visual arts, film, and video. Though it is one of the big ideas of this generation, hip-hop is often subcategorized into such themes as "spoken word poetry," "street literature," "post-black art," or "urban art." This panel discussion focuses on how hip-hop is expanding in ways that cannot be so easily defined.

Cey Adams' graphics can be seen on countless album covers (Jay-Z, Method Man, DMX) and have been featured in clothing lines (Sean John), movies, and TV shows (Belly, Next Friday, Chapelle's Show). Jeff Chang, author of the books Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop and Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, has written extensively on race, culture, politics, and the arts for numerous publications. Roger Cummings is the cofounder and artistic director of Juxtaposition Arts, a North Minneapolis urban art center whose mission is to empower youth and community to use the arts to actualize their full potential. Rachel Ramist is a Twin Cities-based filmmaker and director of Nobody Knows My Name, which chronicles the stories of five women in hip-hop.

Presented by the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC).

Free Verse: Kevin Young : Kevin Young : Lecture

Fri, 4 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Join poet Kevin Young for a reading of his own work and a discussion in conjunction with the exhibition Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love. Although Walker is known best for her visually arresting silhouettes, her use of language in her artwork is just as striking and conceptually integrated. As Young says in the exhibition catalogue, the artist's writing serves to both connect and contrast elements in her work, such as history, race, and form. The editor of several anthologies, Young is the author of five poetry collections, including the recent For the Confederate Dead. Copresented by Rain Taxi Review of Books.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love.

Becoming an Internet Phenomenon : Panel Discussion

Wed, 2 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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You can become an Internet phenomenon! Using MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, mnartists.org, blogs, social networking, viral marketing and more. Hear from artists and organizations that have had success getting their work seen and heard on the Internet. This panel discussion, moderated by Chris Roberts and Carolyn Petrie, will be useful to individual artists of all disciplines and arts organizations who want to utilize the web as part of their career or marketing strategy.

Moderators: Carolyn Petrie, freelance theatre critic and writer and Chris Roberts, host of "The Local Show" on Minnesota Public Radio

Panelists: Kathleen Kvern (mnartists.org), Hans Eisenbeis (The Current), David DeYoung (Howwastheshow.com), Emma Berg (mplsart.com), Nate Schroeder (Walker Art Center), Brian Beatty (MySpace Comedy) and Chuck Olson (filmmaker, mnstories and Blogumentary).

Becoming an Internet Phenomenon is a coproduction of Springboard for the Arts and mnartists.org.

Humor Noir : Simon Critchley : Lecture

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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I have a funny problem with humor, I guess, because I don't consider it fun."--Kara Walker, 1996

Humor is a complicated human response, prompting us to laugh at things both absurd and tragic. Kara Walker constantly tests these boundaries by employing her sense of humor within violent imagery. To address these issues, Simon Critchley, professor of philosophy at the New School for Social Research and the Getty Research Institute, speaks about the definition and possibilities of the comic as well as humor's ethical limits and function in culture and visual art.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love.

Violating Black Womens Bodies: The Legacies of Slavery in Contemporary U.S. Society : Dorothy Roberts : Lecture

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Kara Walker's portrayal of the antebellum South pays particular attention to the plight of women in slavery. Northwestern University law professor Dorothy Roberts approaches this subject through her sociopolitical work on the interplay of gender, race, and class in legal issues concerning reproduction, bioethics, and child welfare. Join her for a lecture linking the historical and contemporary use of black women's bodies as sites of control and experimentation as well as a discussion about the connections between the artist's work and her own.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love.

Confronting History, Race, and Stereotypes : Kevin Gaines : Lecture

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:30:00 GMT

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Historical fact and fiction blend in Kara Walker's work, as history is filled with stories that twist truths and carry the biases of their time. Kevin Gaines, professor of history and director of the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan, addresses America's past and its relationship to anti-black racial stereotypes. Join him for a conversation about these complicated and unsettling issues and the connections between his work and the histories the artist presents.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love.

Jop van Bennekom : Jop van Bennekom : Lecture

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Based in Amsterdam, Jop van Bennekom embodies the often-sought but seldom realized roles of designer, editor, and publisher for three different magazines: RE-, Butt, and Fantastic Man. Established in 1997, RE- quickly gained recognition for its inversion of typical publishing formulas by focusing on ordinary people and everyday activities; it has since evolved to devote each issue on one person's life. In 2001, with Gert Jonkers, he created Butt, a new kind of magazine for gay men, which through its simple, disciplined, black-and-pink aesthetic and unvarnished sexuality exploded the genre's glossy, full-color pinup expectations. It combines photo essays with interviews with many high-profile subjects, including Michael Stipe, Gus van Sant, Rufus Wainwright, Marc Jacobs, Victor & Rolf, and John Waters. The first five years of the magazine have been compiled as Butt Book (Taschen). His latest venture is Fantastic Man, a self-described "gentlemen's style journal" that surveys the worlds in and around fashion and style, focusing attention on the people (photographers, models), the personalities (Malcolm McLaren, Helmut Lang, Rupert Everett), and the signifiers (tweed, the moustache, smoking). His earlier work included stints as art director for the popular Dutch cultural magazine Blvd. and, with Eric Wong, for Forum, a publication about contemporary architecture for which he won the Rotterdam Design Prize in 2001. Van Bennekom will discuss his work with Walker design director and curator Andrew Blauvelt.

Part of Dis-Contents: Insights 2007.

Stuart Bailey, Michael Bierut & Debbie Millman : Stuart Bailey, Michael Bierut, Debbie Millman : Lecture

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Stuart Bailey is one of the founding designers and editors of Dot Dot Dot, a graphic design journal whose content spans such diverse areas as music, art, literature, and architecture. Since its conception in 2000, Dot Dot Dot variously described itself as "a jocuserious fanzine-journal-orphanage based on true stories," "not interested in re-promoting established material or creating another 'portfolio' magazine," and "design pieces about aspects of visual culture that occupy their thoughts." Michael Bierut has been a consistent presence on the Design Observer blog, where his frequent and polemical articles usually generate the most impassioned responses. Founded in October 2003 by Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Bill Drenttel, and Rick Poynor, Design Observer has since become an indispensable online forum for graphic designers. Debbie Millman serves as host of Design Matters, a weekly Internet talk show on the Voice America Business network. In that capacity she has produced numerous interview podcasts with many leading designers and critics, including Stefan Sagmeister, Milton Glaser, John Maeda, and Ellen Lupton. The panelists will contend with, among other topics, the creation and dissemination of new and alternative forms of design writing and publishing.

Part of Dis-Contents: Insights 2007.

Daniel Eatock : Daniel Eatock : Lecture

Wed, 7 Mar 2007 01:00:00 GMT

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Daniel Eatock is a London-based designer known for his conceptual approach to solving traditional client problems as well as those of his own choosing. Eatock graduated from the Royal College of Art and worked as a designer at the Walker Art Center before returning to England to create Foundation 33 and most recently Eatock Ltd. His work has consistently employed a systematic but not necessarily dogmatic rigor that privileges the elemental over the extraneous--a philosophy neatly embodied in his motto: "Say YES to fun & function & NO to seductive imagery & colour!" His work for entertainment and cultural clients ranges from such projects as the graphic identity and promotion for the British television hit Big Brother to a street exhibition of Warhol billboards for Channel 4 to a collaboration with artists Oliver Payne and Nick Relph for an exhibition catalogue with sound chips, a flip book, handwritten notes, and a cover wrapped in the upholstery fabric used on London transit seating. Eatock's idea of "entrepreneurial authorship" has led to the creation of numerous self-published limited-edition works such as Untitled Beatles Poster, which includes the lyrics from every Beatles song, and the 10.2 Multi-Ply Coffee Table, fabricated from an entire single sheet of plywood.

Part of Dis-Contents: Insights 2007.

Jason Moran and Performing Arts Curator, Philip Bither : Jason Moran : Artist Talk

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 01:00:00 GMT

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Jazz composer/pianist Jason Moran returns to the Walker stage for a conversation about Artist-in-Residence (Blue Note), a new release inspired by his 2004 residency at the Walker. Including the recorded voice of performance/visual artist Adrian Piper and percussion by performance/video artist Joan Jonas, this work follows Moran's trajectory of expanding the territories claimed by jazz. Join Moran and performing arts senior curator Philip Bither for a talk about the process of writing music inspired by visual art, accompanied by some solo pieces from the new recording played live by Moran.

Drawn Here: Sharon Werner and Brian Collins : Sharon Werner and Brian Collins : Artist Talk

Fri, 9 Feb 2007 01:00:00 GMT

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Sharon Werner defies expectations: her two-person graphic design studio in St. Paul produces outsized projects for clients such as Target, VH1, Comedy Central, Chronicle Books, Minnesota Public Radio, the University of Minnesota, and Moet Hennessey. She is the principal of Werner Design Werks, which has been the recipient of numerous design awards for a diverse range of products, including Blu Dot 2D:3D packaging, Levi's Orange Tab, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, and 10 Cane premium rum. The firm's work is in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Montreal; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York.

Werner will converse with Brian Collins, chief creative officer at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, the firm behind projects such as Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty; a 15-story Hershey chocolate factory in Times Square; and new design programs for Coca-Cola, Yahoo!, Rainforest Alliance, Mattel, and others.

Drawn Here: Piotr Szyhalski and Steve Dietz : Piotr Szyhalski and Steve Dietz : Artist Talk

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 01:00:00 GMT

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If you've visited the Walker recently, you've likely encountered the captivating animated dolphin, a creature that engages in a dialogue with visitors about subjects ranging from the philosophic to the prosaic. Created in collaboration with Rich Shelton, the Walker-commissioned Dolphin Oracle II is the work of Minneapolis-based artist/designer Piotr Szyhalski. A professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Szyhalski works in a variety of media -- illustration, photography, typography, drawing, painting, sound -- which are often combined in installations, interactive media, and live performance. What remains central to his production is the insistence on the viewer as a "co-creator" of the artwork. Szyhalski will converse with Steve Dietz, director of ZeroOne: The Art and Technology Network and organizer of the recent exhibition Global Festival of Art on the Edge in San Jose, California. Founding director of the Walker's New Media Initiatives, Dietz has curated digital media exhibitions worldwide and has contributed to numerous publications and the recently published book Else/Where: Mapping -- New Cartographies of Networks and Territories.

Free Verse: Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean : Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean : Artist Talk

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 01:00:00 GMT

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Separately and together, writer Neil Gaiman and visual artist Dave McKean are two of the fantasy field's most extraordinary innovators. Gaiman's writings occupy nearly every storytelling medium, including the epic comic-book series The Sandman, the BBC series Neverwhere, and the bestselling novels American Gods, Anansi Boys, and Coraline. McKean's stylistically unconventional work in photography, collage, sculpture, painting, drawing, and film, along with his mammoth graphic novel Cages prove him to be a vivid storyteller in his own right. Their intensive collaborations range from graphic novels to children's books; their most recent feat is the visually magical feature-length film Mirrormask, directed by McKean with screenplay by Gaiman. The artists will present work both verbal and visual, followed by an onstage conversation.

Free Verse is copresented by Rain Taxi Review of Books.

Drawing as Primary Medium : Catherine de Zegher : Lecture

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 01:00:00 GMT

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The exhibition Eva Hesse Drawing offers an intimate look at the drawings, working notes, and sculptures of one of the most important artists of the 1960s, Eva Hesse, whose extraordinary oeuvre helped redefine the art of her time. Exhibition co-curator Catherine de Zegher speaks about the development of Hesse's artistic process, the relevance of her extended vision of contemporary art practice, and the importance of drawing as a primary medium for contemporary artists.

Isabella Rossellini Regis Dialogue with John Anderson : Isabella Rossellini and John Anderson : Interview

Sun, 5 Nov 2006 02:00:00 GMT

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Isabella Rossellini and film critic/author John Anderson discuss her bold and distinctive career in the cinema, illuminated by clips from her films.

Presented in conjunction with the film retrospective Isabella Rossellini: Illuminated.

Drawn Here: Thomas Oslund in conversation with Deborah Karasov : Thomas Oslund and Deborah Karasov : Discussion

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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Thomas Oslund, founding principal of oslund.and.assoc. of Minneapolis, is known for his sculptural approach to transforming landscapes, turning open space into unique places for personal contemplation and social interaction. His critically acclaimed projects include the recent expansion of the General Mills campus in Golden Valley and the newly proposed park along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Oslund will be in conversation with Deborah Karasov, executive director of Great River Greening, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ecological design and environmental restoration.

Ric GrefA(C), Executive Director of AIGA National : Ric GrefA(C) : Lecture

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:15:00 GMT

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Ric Grefe, the Executive Director of American Institute of Graphic Arts will discuss the national direction of AIGA and how members and designers can support its efforts at the chapter level.

Thomas Hirschhorn : Thomas Hirschhorn : Artist Talk

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn says he is interested in the idea of "doing too much, giving too much, putting too much of an effort into something." His cluttered and chaotic large-scale installations, including Cavemanman (2002), one of three works featured in the exhibition Heart of Darkness, communicate this attraction to excess. A sprawling network of caves constructed from cardboard, plywood, duct tape, and objects and images from everyday life, Cavemanman immerses viewers in an overwhelming physical space that sparks questions about consumerism and modern civilization. Join the artist for a lecture about this piece and other projects, plus a discussion about utopian ideals, interactivity, and politics in art.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Heart of Darkness: Kai Althoff, Ellen Gallagher and Edgar Cleijne, Thomas Hirschhorn.

Giant Robot : Eric Nakamura and Martin Wong : Artist Talk

Fri, 6 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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From movie stars, musicians, and skateboarders to toys, technology, and history, Giant Robot magazine covers cool aspects of Asian and Asian American pop culture. In 1994, Eric Nakamura and Martin Wong launched the publication with no budget, no bureaucratic meetings, and no excuses to anyone. Demonstrating know-how and attitude from the coeditors' punk-rock zine background, the first Giant Robot was a stapled and photocopied digest in an edition of 240. Since then, it has grown more than 100 times larger, gaining accolades as one of the best zines from the L.A. Weekly, L.A. New Times, Wired, and Zine Guide as it tackles magazine racks around the world.

Drawn Here: Tim Alt, Shane Coen, and David Salmela in conversation with Thomas Fisher : Tim Alt, Shane Coen, David Salmela, and Thomas Fisher : Discussion

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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Located near the historic town of Marine on St. Croix is a collection of pristine white houses nestled among high prairie grasses, open meadows, and trees. This unique community has garnered critical acclaim for its progressive approach to conservation development and numerous accolades for its embrace of modern design principles. Mayo Woodlands in Rochester, situated along the Zumbrota River, also attempts to rethink the traditional residential development scheme. Hear about the creative opportunities and challenges from the architects and landscape architects of these remarkable projects.

Sneak Peek: The WalkerA's 2006-2007 Performing Arts Season : Philip Bither : Lecture

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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Every year Philip Bither, William and Nadine McGuire Senior Curator of Performing Arts travels the world seeking performers to bring over to the Walker. This is your chance to preview the 20+ dance, music, and theater events he's planned for the new season, including the AfricaNOW: Currents of a Continent series, a once-in-a-lifetime marathon performance event around The Great Gatsby, and a Walker-exclusive evening of chamber ballet by master William Forsythe. Out There and Choreographers' Evening return, bigger and better than ever, as well as return visits by old friends such as Improbable Theatre and Sankai Juku. Come meet the man behind the Walker's performing arts program and learn why every show he presents is his favorite.

Gallery Talk with the Artists : Jay Heikes, Adam Helms, and Rodney McMillian : Discussion

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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Join artists Jay Heikes, Adam Helms, Rodney McMillian for an informal gallery walk-through and a discussion of the cultures they investigate and critique in their work. Moderated by exhibition curator Doryun Chong.

Making Good Film and Television with No Money : Sean Covel, Chris Wyatt, Ari Fishman, and Bill Rude : Discussion

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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Join Sean Covel and Chris Wyatt, producers of Napoleon Dynamite, former The Daily Show with Jon Stewart producer Ari Fishman and filmmaker Bill Rude for an honest and lively discussion about making successful independent film and television on a small budget. Delve into the nuts and bolts of producing comedy and independent media through a look into the filmmakers' past, current, and future projects. All four filmmakers are in Minneapolis this month to teach a summer music and media program for teens at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Sharon Lockhart and James Benning : Sharon Lockhart and James Benning : Artist Talk

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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Although a generation apart, filmmakers Sharon Lockhart and James Benning have cited each other's work as an important influence on their own practice. Join them for a conversation about the process of creating a picture of America--California in particular--that focuses on Lockhart's Pine Flat (2005) and films from Benning's California Trilogy (2000-2001). Pine Flat is Lockhart's first project to examine American culture. Benning's 30-year filmmaking career includes more than 36 films. He teaches film/video at the California Institute of the Arts.

Moderated by Walker director Kathy Halbreich.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Sharon Lockhart: Pine Flat.

Drawn Here: Thomas Meyer of MS&R in Conversation with Thomas Fisher : Thomas Meyer : Lecture

Fri, 2 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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Founded with partners Jeffrey Scherer and Garth Rockcastle in 1981, Minneapolis-based MS&R is celebrating its 25th anniversary of creating renewable designs for a variety of local and national clients. Among MS&R's adaptive reuse and historically situated projects are: the Mill City Museum developed from landmark industrial ruins along the Minneapolis riverfront; a former grocery store transformed into the elegant Denton North Branch Library in Texas; the new corporate headquarters of Urban Outfitters situated in Philadelphia's historic Navy Yard; and the renovation of the United States Senate Library at the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Meyer will be talking with Thomas Fisher, dean of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota.

Drawn Here: Joan Soranno of HGA in Conversation with RenA(C)e Cheng : Joan Soranno : Lecture

Fri, 19 May 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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Specializing in the design of cultural institutions, Joan Soranno, a vice president at Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. (HGA), has garnered critical acclaim for projects both near her base in Minneapolis and those farther afield. Her designs range from the elegantly proportioned, light-filled sanctuary of the Bigelow Chapel in New Brighton, Minnesota, to the dynamically poised forms that comprise the Barbara Barker Center for Dance at the University of Minnesota and the new University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks. Soranno will converse with Renee Cheng, head of the department of architecture at the University of Minnesota.

Free Verse: An Evening with Richard Hell : Richard Hell : Reading

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 00:30:00 GMT

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Poet/novelist Richard Hell became one of the founding fathers of punk rock with the release of his seminal 1977 album with the Voidoids, Blank Generation. His reputation has been building ever since, through major works that include Go Now (1996), a novel about a junkie on the road in an ever-decaying America, and Hot and Cold (2001), a compendium of poems, essays, artwork, and song lyrics. His recent projects include the novel Godlike; Rabbit Duck, a new collection of collaborative poems by Hell and David Shapiro; and a CD retrospective of his music called Spurts: The Richard Hell Story (all 2005). Join him for a reading of both poetry and prose and a discussion of his work.

Rap Sessions: Race and Hip-Hop : Various Artists : Panel Discussion

Fri, 7 Apr 2006 00:30:00 GMT

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Since its inception, hip-hop has been the gathering point for MCs, DJs, graffiti artists, and B-boys and B-girls of all races and ethnicities. This mixing of cultures has formed a major movement that affects individual communities and neighborhoods as well as our society at large. Join five leading writers, thinkers, and artists in a discussion of radically new ways that the hip-hop generation is processing race in America.

Copresented by Macalester College, this forum features Bakari Kitwana, cofounder of the National Hip-Hop Political Convention, author of The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African-American Culture (2005), and former executive editor of The Source; Adam Mansbach, author of Angry Black White Boy or, The Miscegenation of Macon Detornay (2005) and Shackling Water (2002); Ernie Paniccioli, photographer and author of Who Shot Ya?: Three Decades of Hiphop Photography (2002); Oliver Wang, editor of Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide (2003); and DeAnna Cummings, curator of B-Girl Be: A Celebration of Women in Hip-Hop and executive director of Juxtaposition Arts.

Chrissie Iles and Philippe Vergne on the Whitney Biennial : Chrissie Iles and Philippe Vergne : Lecture

Tue, 4 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

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Whether you've traveled to see the current Whitney Biennial or merely read the reviews, there is much to discuss about this survey of "American" art. Join biennial curators Chrissie Iles of the Whitney Museum of American Art and Philippe Vergne, Walker deputy director and chief curator, for a conversation on the process of curating and installing one of the most talked about exhibitions of the year.

the 51st (dream) state : Sekou Sundiata : Performance

Sat, 1 Apr 2006 02:00:00 GMT

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"Living in the aftermath of 9/11, I feel an urgent and renewed engagement with what it means to be an American. But that engagement is a troubling one because of a longstanding estrangement between American civic ideals and American civic practice. This project is my response to this reality. I take it as a civic responsibility to think about these things out loud, in the ritualized forum of theater and public dialogue." --Sekou Sundiata

Poet/theater artist and musician Sekou Sundiata (blessing the boats, Udu) along with a dozen musicians, singers, and spoken-word artists returns to the Walker to develop his latest work--a candid contemplation of America's national identity and its guiding mythologies. Uniting art and civic dialogue through song cycles, poems, monologues, and moving images, the 51st (dream) state ponders America's definition of itself in an era of unprecedented global power and asks what it means to be both a citizen and an individual in our complex society. The work features next-generation jazz artists--led by guitarist Marvin Sewell (Jason Moran)--and new music composed by Ani DiFranco, Graham Haynes, and others.

Chip Kidd : Chip Kidd : Lecture

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 01:00:00 GMT

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Chip Kidd is a writer and graphic designer who lives and works in New York City. Since 1986 his book jacket designs for Alfred A. Knopf have helped spawn a revolution in the art of American book packaging. His work has been profiled in such publications as Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, The New Republic, Time, The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Out, and New York magazine. Kidd has written about graphic design and popular culture for McSweeney's, Vogue, Details, Arena, 2WICE, the New York Post, ID, and Print magazines. His books include Batman Collected (Bulfinch, 1996), Batman Animated (HarperCollins, fall 1998), The Cheese Monkeys (Scribner, 2001)--perhaps the first successful novel employing graphic design as an integral part of its subject--and Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz (Pantheon, 2001). As an editor of books of comics for Pantheon, Kidd has worked extensively with some of the most brilliant talents practicing today, including Chris Ware, Art Spiegelman, Dan Clowes, Kim Deitch, Charles Burns, Mark Beyer, Ben Katchor, and Alex Ross. His designs have been described as "monstrously ugly" (John Updike), "apparently obvious" (William Boyd), "faithful flat-earth rendering" (Don DeLillo), "surprisingly elegant" (A.S. Mehta), "a distinguished parochial comic balding Episcopal priest" (Allan Gurganus), "two colors plus a sash" (Martin Amis), and "not a piece of hype. My book was lucky." (Robert Hughes). The monograph CHIP KIDD: BOOK ONE was published by Rizzoli International in 2005.

Part of Insights 2006: Design Lecture Series.

OPEN-ENDED Video Jukebox : Visitor-contributed video

Sat, 25 Mar 2006 06:00:00 GMT

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For the exhibition OPEN-ENDED (the art of engagement), Spencer Nakasako expands on his popular video booth project by presenting a digital media station, an updated booth linked to a "video jukebox." Armed with the questions "What does freedom mean to you?" and "Are you free?", which are open-ended and universal as well as specifically cogent to our times, Nakasako and a group of students at the Vietnamese Youth Development Center in San Francisco, the Bronx Museum Teen Council, and the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council hit the streets, gathering and recording spontaneous responses. Gallery visitors can also respond on tape to the same questions. These preproduced videos and the video-booth recordings are fed into the jukebox and played in random order. The works are also available here on the Walker Channel. Nakasako's project thus creates a connectivity that renders the solid walls of the exhibition gallery porous and extends even into cyberspace, the not-so-virtual and increasingly democratic platform of global communication and engagement.

Rirkrit Tiravanija and Bruce Sterling : Rirkrit Tiravanija and Bruce Sterling : Artist Talk

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 02:00:00 GMT

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If you're in the right place at the right time, artist Rirkrit Tiravanija might cook you dinner--you and anyone else who wanders into one of his infamous installations in which he prepares Thai food as art. One of the most influential artists to emerge in the 1990s, Tiravanija builds on the idea put forth by Joseph Beuys of "social sculpture," which seeks to diminish boundaries between art and life. The Land (1998-present), which he cofounded, is an environmental reclamation project near Chiang Mai, Thailand, that brings together art, architecture, and agriculture. Joining the artist in conversation is Bruce Sterling, science-fiction writer, Wired magazine blogger, environmentalist, and noted critic of technology and culture. His fiction includes Mirrorshades: A Cyberpunk Anthology (1986) and Heavy Weather (1994). Sterling's ideas on ecologically sound design can be found at viridiandesign.org.

Mevis & van Deursen : Armand Mevis, Linda van Deursen : Lecture

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 01:00:00 GMT

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Graphic designers Linda van Deursen and Armand Mevis live and work in Amsterdam, where they began their collaboration after graduating from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 1986. Mevis & van Deursen have been influential in the development of contemporary Dutch design and are known for their intelligent and innovative work for cultural clients, producing the new identity of the Stedlijk Museum, publications for fashion duo Victor & Rolf, and numerous books on architecture and design. They also have worked on several Dutch cultural publications, including Metropolis M, and won the competition for the graphic identity for the City of Rotterdam as a designated Cultural Capital of Europe. Their work has been shown in museums and educational institutions throughout the United States. Van Deursen serves as head of the Graphic Design Department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, while Mevis is a design critic at the Werkplaats Typografie, Arnhem; both are critics at Yale University's School of Art, New Haven, Connecticut. Their long and prolific collaboration has been documented in the book Recollected Work: Mevis & van Deursen (Artimo: 2005).

Part of Insights 2006: Design Lecture Series.

Radio mnartists: Live at the McGuire : Various Artists : Performance

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 02:00:00 GMT

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Hosted by KFAI's Marya Morstad and the McKnight Foundation's Neal Cuthbert, this evening in the McGuire Theater features interviews, performances, and lively conversation with Minnesota artists Black-Eyed Snakes, Jake Keeler, Live Action Set with Spaghetti Western String Company, Truth Maze, and many more. Help us celebrate Minnesota's vibrant arts culture and the radical democracy that is mnartists.org.

Radio mnartists began as a series of 20 conversations with a varied group of artists from around Minnesota. Produced by Marya Morstad, an award-winning producer and host of Art Matters on KFAI Fresh Air Community radio, the ongoing series reflects the diversity of artists working throughout the state and gives arts enthusiasts a compelling entry point into the broader Minnesota arts culture reflected on mnartists.org.

Richard Boynton & Scott Thares, Wink : Richard Boynton, Scott Thares : Lecture

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 01:00:00 GMT

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Richard Boynton and Scott Thares founded the Minneapolis-based design firm Wink in 2000, after first crossing paths while working at Design Guys. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, Wink aspires to impact commerce as well as culture. The firm's clients include Target, Marshall Fields, Nike, American Eagle Outfitters, Turner Classic Movies, the New York Times, the AIGA, Chronicle Books, and MTV. Their work has received recognition in such publications as Communication Arts, Print, Graphis, ID, HOW, and STEP and from the AIGA, the New York Art Directors Club, the Type Directors Club, and others.

Part of Insights 2006: Design Lecture Series.

Bill Grant, Grant Design Collaborative : Bill Grant : Lecture

Wed, 8 Mar 2006 01:00:00 GMT

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Bill Grant founded his studio in Canton, Georgia, in 1996 and has since developed a roster of Fortune 500 clients and a reputation for successfully integrating design into business planning and brand development. Grant Design Collaborative specializes in developing comprehensive design strategies, advocating a "product to market" approach for companies such as Adobe Systems, Herman Miller, Steelcase, and Smart Papers. Their award-winning designs span all media and dimensions, from Web sites to advertising and from the printed page to the showroom floor. In addition to his practice, Grant has been a committed AIGA member, serving on the board of directors for both the Atlanta and national chapters, and was recently elected president of the latter. Author of the AIGA's Business and Ethical Expectations for Professional Designers, he chaired GAIN, the 2002 AIGA Business and Design Conference. Grant also assisted in curriculum development for and attended the inaugural AIGA Harvard Business School program entitled "Business Perspectives for Design Leaders."

Part of Insights 2006: Design Lecture Series.

Kiki Smith and Peter Schjeldahl in Conversation : Kiki Smith and Peter Schjeldahl : Artist Talk

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 20:00:00 GMT

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Over the past 25 years, Kiki Smith has established herself as one of the most engaging and original artists of our time. To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, join the artist and critic Peter Schjeldahl for a conversation about Smith's work and career. Schjeldahl is an art critic for the New Yorker and has written regularly for Art in America, the New York Sunday Times, and Vanity Fair.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980-2005.

Free Verse: Kenneth Goldsmith : Kenneth Goldsmith : Lecture

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 06:00:00 GMT

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With the simple act of transcription, Kenneth Goldsmith critiques the cherished values of creativity and originality in writing. Following the traditions of Marcel Duchamp's readymades, Andy Warhol's borrowed images, and sampling in contemporary music, Goldsmith investigates appropriation as a valid literary practice via this proposition: "If Cage claimed that any sound can be music, then properly framed, any language can be poetry." The author of eight volumes of poetry, founding editor of the online archive UbuWeb (ubu.com), and editor of the book I'll Be Your Mirror: The Selected Andy Warhol Interviews, Goldsmith also hosts a weekly radio show on New York's WFMU.

Free Verse is cosponsored by Rain Taxi Review of Books.

Minnesota Modern: Prefab in Process : Charlie Lazor and Geoffrey Warner : Discussion

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 01:00:00 GMT

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Drawn Here: Contemporary Design in Conversation.is a series that explores the depth and breadth of the state's acclaimed and vibrant design community. Join Walker design director Andrew Blauvelt for a discussion with Charlie Lazor, founder of Minneapolis-based Lazor Office and designer of Lazor FlatPak, and Geoffrey Warner, founder of St. Paul-based Alchemy Architects, creators of the weeHouse, about the potential and pitfalls of making prefab a buildable reality.

The Spectacle of Death: The Role of Disaster and Tragedy in Shaping Community : Timothy Mennel : Community Forum

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 06:00:00 GMT

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What does a 1963 silkscreen covered with repeated images of a gruesome car wreck have to tell us during times when we see enough suffering and tragedy--from prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib to the victims of tsunamis, hurricanes, and terrorist attacks--to fill a 24-hour news cycle? Using Andy Warhol's work as a springboard, this forum explore ways that man-made and natural disasters shape culture. Addressing the ethical questions related to the use of images of calamity and death, panelists will ask: Are endlessly multiplied pictures of tragedy robbed of their power to haunt, or do they remain potent enough to generate empathy and moral outrage despite their ubiquity? Moderated by Timothy Mennel, former managing editor of Artforum magazine and an urban studies instructor at the University of Minnesota.

This program, part of the Walker Art Center's Civic Engagement Initiative to encourage dialogue around topics of importance to the community, is made possible in part by generous support from the Bush Foundation.

Divination and Personal Destiny : Paul OA'Brien and Rick Levine : Lecture

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 01:30:00 GMT

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In 1400 BC, citizens of Greece consulted the Oracle at Delphi regarding their destiny. As early as the 8th century BC, the Chinese used the I-Ching (Book of Changes) to understand and predict changing conditions. How do we engage in divination today? The Internet? Fortune cookies? Google? Jumpstart your new year with an in-depth look at the meeting of new media technology and the ancient arts of divination: computer-assisted astrology, numerology, I-Ching, and tarot. Join Paul O'Brien, I-Ching scholar and founder of Tarot.com/I-Ching.com, and Rick Levine, master astrologer and co-founder of StarIQ.com, for a discussion of the relationship between culture, technology, destiny, and free will.

Mack Lecture: Dan Graham and Collaborating Artists : Dan Graham : Discussion

Sat, 7 Jan 2006 21:00:00 GMT

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Collaboration is a common practice among contemporary artists, yet opera featuring puppets, video, and punk rock is not the ordinary result. Join the artists for a discussion about the process of creating this major theatrical work as well as their individual artistic interests and obsessions. With Walker chief curator Philippe Vergne.

Ang Lee Regis Dialogue with James Schamus : Ang Lee and James Schamus : Interview

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 06:00:00 GMT

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Lee and Schamus discuss their collaborative process as director, producer, and cowriters of a wide-ranging body of work and reflect on their creative history, illustrated with clips from their films.

Presented in conjunction with the film retrospective Ang Lee with James Schamus: East Meets Western.

Opening-day Panel Discussion : Various : Panel Discussion

Fri, 9 Dec 2005 00:30:00 GMT

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Meet the architects and designers featured in the exhibition and join Michael Sylvester, founder of the website fabprefab.com and one of the leading proponents of modern modular architecture, for a discussion about contemporary prefab.

Part of Some Assembly Required: Contemporary Prefabricated Houses
.

An Evening with Todd Haynes : Todd Haynes : Discussion

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 01:00:00 GMT

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Director Todd Haynes discusses his film Far From Heaven following a screening in the Walker Cinema.

Part of Jerome Hill Centennial: A Filmmaker and His Legacy.

Howard French on China and the West : Howard French : Lecture

Fri, 4 Nov 2005 01:00:00 GMT

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In his recent book A Continent for the Taking, Howard French provides an account of the disastrous consequences of the fateful, centuries-old encounter between Africa and the West. Raised in Washington, DC, French first traveled to Africa after college, before joining the press to report on the continent in the 1980s. Now a senior writer for the New York Times living in Shanghai, he reports on the ever-shifting politics of the world's fastest-growing economy. Join French for a lecture on the key issues facing China at a time of great economic, social, and cultural transition, and a discussion about the connections between the West, the "lost" continent of Africa, and the rising superpower of the East.

Since 1986, French has reported for the Times from Central America, the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan, Korea, and now China. His Web site, howardwfrench.com, features writings, photographs from his travels, music reviews, and recommended reading lists.

Presented in conjunction with House of Oracles: A Huang Yong Ping Retrospective.

Sponsored by Target.

Merce Cunningham In Conversation with Sage Cowles : Merce Cunningham : Artist Talk

Thu, 3 Nov 2005 01:00:00 GMT

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Merce Cunningham, in a convivial conversation with Minneapolis' own patron/dancer Sage Cowles, reflects on his company's distinguished 50-year history, what inspires him now, new directions in dance, and much more. Widely credited as the catalyst for a number of major revolutions not only in choreography but in a variety of artistic disciplines, this engagement is rare chance to share the evening with a living legend.

The Gertrude Lippincott Talking Dance Series is made possible with generous support from Judith Brin Ingber.

Elizabeth Alexander and Kerry James Marshall : Kerry James Marshall : Artist Talk

Fri, 14 Oct 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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In her recent book of essays, The Black Interior, poet/scholar Elizabeth Alexander writes about African American figurative painting: "Regardless of the artist's intent, he or she is painting against a history of deformation and annihilation of the black body." Artist Kerry James Marshall actively engages with this challenge through his vivid canvases that depict African American life and history while resisting stereotypes and teasing with traditional folktales, African and Haitian parable, and American iconography. Join Alexander and Marshall for an illustrated conversation on the notion of the "black interior" and the expansive landscape of contemporary African American cultural thought.

Alexander is the author of four collections of poetry, including American Sublime, available in October from Graywolf Press. Marshall is a painter, printmaker, photographer, and installation artist. His work can be seen in the exhibition Urban Cocktail in the Medtronic Gallery.

Part of Contemporary Art in Conversation.

Good Night. And, Good Luck. : David Strathairn, Jane Kirtley, and Chuck Samuelson : Post-screening discussion

Fri, 7 Oct 2005 05:00:00 GMT

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This post-screening discussion was hosted by the Walker Art Center as part of its Civic Engagement Initiative to encourage dialogue around topics of importance to the Twin Cities Community. For more information on the Walker's Civic Engagement Initiative, visit learn.walkerart.org.

David Strathairn
David Strathairn was born on January 26, 1949 in San Francisco, California. His father was a physician and he has one sibling, a brother Tom. He attended Williams College, where he demonstrated great interest in the theater, and first befriended John Sayles, with whom he would later frequently collaborate. Strathairn graduated college and traveled to Florida to visit with a grandfather, but the grandfather passed away while Strathairn was en route. Strathairn, finding himself freshly--arrived and without friends in Florida, decided instead to join the Ringling Brothers Clown College and subsequently worked as a clown for six months in a traveling circus.

Relocating to New York State, he spent several years hitchhiking across America to work in local theaters during the summers. During one of these summers Strathairn reunited with Sayles, and this eventually resulted in his role in the highly regarded Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980), Sayle's directorial debut.

Thereafter Strathairn developed an extensive resume of supporting roles, which have become increasingly substantial as his stature in the industry has grown. Only a few examples of his work include an off-beat patient of the psychiatrist played by Dudley Moore in the romantic comedy Lovesick (1983), in Silkwood (1983) as Welsey, in L.A. Confidential (1997) as the enigmatic millionaire Pierce Patchett, and in A Map of the World (1999) as Howard, the husband of Sigourney Weaver's character. Sayles frequently casts Strathairn, whose performances can be seen in Sayles' The Brother from Another Planet (1984), Matewan (1987), Eight Men Out (1988), City of Hope (1991), and Passion Fish (1992). Perhaps most notable of his collaborations with Sayles is his superb performance co-starring with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in Limbo (1999).

He works in television occasionally and may be familiar to television viewers as Molly's boss in the series "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd." (1987).

Strathairn continues to be one of the most active male supporting actors in American film today, his work is highly regarded, and he can be counted on to deliver an understated yet powerful performance. His craggy, unorthodox good looks are perhaps attributable to his mixed Scottish and Hawaiian ancestry. Strathairn lives with his wife Logan and two children in Upstate New York.
-http://www.imdb.com

Jane Kirtley
Jane Kirtley has been the Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota since August 1999. She was named Director of the Silha Center in May 2000. Prior to that, she was Executive Director of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Arlington, Virginia, for 14 years. Before joining the Reporters Committee staff, Kirtley was an attorney for five years with the law firm of Nixon, Hargrave, Devans and Doyle in Rochester, New York and Washington D.C. She is a member of the New York, District of Columbia, and Virginia bars. Kirtley also worked as a reporter for the Evansville (Indiana) Press and The Oak Ridger and Nashville Banner (Tennessee).

Kirtley speaks frequently on First Amendment and freedom of information issues, both in the United States and abroad, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Mongolia, Hong Kong, and Chile, and writes the "First Amendment Watch" column each month for American Journalism Review.

She has received many awards and honors, including induction into the Medill School of Journalism's Hall of Achievement in 1999; the FOI Hall of Fame in 1996, and the John Peter Zenger Award for Freedom of the Press and the People's Right to Know from the University of Arizona in 1993.

Kirtley received her J.D. degree from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1979. She holds bachelor's and master's of journalism degrees from Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism.
-http://www.silha.umn.edu/jane.htm

Chuck Samuelson
Charles Samuelson was born near Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Syracuse University with a BA in Medieval History and a minor in political science. He began his political career at age 12 in his father's school board race. In college he was active in campus politics and worked on the 1972 McGovern campaign.

He has lived in the Twin Cities since the late 1970's and has worked on dozens of local and regional campaigns. He has been the executive director of the ACLU of Minnesota since 1996. Prior to working for the ACLU-MN he worked for a number of Twin Cities non-profit groups.

James Dayton in Conversation with Thomas Fisher : James Dayton : Discussion

Fri, 7 Oct 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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As a recipient of a 2005 Young Architects Award from the AIA Minnesota, James Dayton has earned a reputation for innovative architecture that combines an inventive palette of industrial materials in a collage of complex forms. Returning to Minneapolis after five years working in the office of Frank Gehry, Dayton received important commissions such as the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, a competition-winning project for the St. Paul waterfront, and the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. Join Dayton and Thomas Fisher, dean of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota, for a stimulating discussion about the way that this design office is reshaping the architectural language of the Twin Cities.

Part of Drawn Here: Contemporary Design in Conversation.

Paradise Now (Al-Jenna-An) : Hany Abu-Assad : Post-screening Discussion

Sun, 2 Oct 2005 05:00:00 GMT

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This controversial drama tracks the last day of two childhood friends recruited for suicide bombings in Tel Aviv. While offering personal insight into the motivations behind such a heinous crime, the film's producers claim a neutral position, siding neither with the Israelis nor the Palestinians. "We tried simply to make a story that deflates the myth of both extremes and brings it down to a human factor," says coproducer Bero Beyer. Developed at the Sundance Screenwriting Lab, Paradise Now won the 2005 Berlin Film Festival Blue Angel Award for best European film. 2005.

Due to technical difficulties, we are unable to provide the complete question and answer session with director Hany Abu-Assad. This audio file begins with the Q and A already in progress, approximately five minutes into the discussion.

Daylight (for Minneapolis) : Sarah Michelson : Dance/Performance

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 05:00:00 GMT

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Michelson transforms performance spaces in the most extraordinary way. . . . It is as if Fassbinder could dance." --Artforum

Based in New York by way of Manchester, UK, Sarah Michelson has designed a work that responds directly to the Walker's ability to house and present both live performance and art objects within one institution, and the ways they are empowered when viewed and categorized by an audience. Daylight (for Minneapolis), commissioned by the Walker and developed in conversation with expansion architects Herzog & de Meuron, is the second of a three-part work (Part 1 was made for P.S. 122, Part 3 for Brooklyn Academy of Music, both in New York). Each segment lifts conceptual and architectural elements into the other, thereby foregrounding the theatrical sites themselves and forcing the dance to become a miniature study of the American touring circuit. Daylight (for Minneapolis) is driven by the romance, rigor, and futility of modern dance and the generosity of its cast and the house that presents it.

Celebrating architecture through choreography, Michelson premieres a dance/installation experience inspired by the design of the Walker's new building and the McGuire Theater. Called "fearless, witty, and completely individual . . . one of the most riveting dancers in New York" (Time Out New York), Michelson brings with her a cast of highly skilled dancers and collaborators. Co-commissioned by P.S.122 and the National Performance Network Creation Fund.

Julie Snow in Conversation with Andrew Blauvelt : Julie Snow : Discussion

Fri, 9 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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Julie Snow discusses the work of her Minneapolis-based firm. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Snow is known for her refined sense of materials, elegant detailing, and multidisciplinary curiosity. Her work ranges from industrial facilities and cultural institutions to private residences and even a dog collar. Fresh from the critical acclaim of the new Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis, which involved an adaptive reuse of a former church on Diamond Lake Road, the firm is at work on several other projects, including a new entry commons for Breck School, a U.S. border station in Warroad, Minnesota, and a renovation strategy for the Soap Factory, an artists' space in Southeast Minneapolis. Past projects include designs for light-rail stations in Minneapolis, the Humboldt Lofts and Park Avenue Lofts along the Mississippi riverfront, and the Koehler Residence, a double-glass box dwelling in New Brunswick, Canada. Julie Snow Architects recently named Connie Lindor and Linda Morrissey as partners in the firm and saw the publication of its eponymous monograph by Princeton Architectural Press.

Part of Drawn Here: Contemporary Design in Conversation.

Opening-day Artist Talk: Chuck Close : Chuck Close : Artist Talk

Sun, 24 Jul 2005 19:00:00 GMT

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For an intimate afternoon of images and conversation, join Chuck Close as he talks with exhibition curators Siri Engberg and Madeleine Grynsztejn about working with photographs, painting from the grid, and collaborating with master printers and papermakers.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Chuck Close: Self-Portraits 1967-2005.

Alec Soth with Andrei Codrescu : Alec Soth and Andrei Codrescu : Artist Talk

Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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Photographer Alec Soth's lyric documentation of life along the Mississippi leaves his audience feeling as though they have just paged through a strange yet beautiful dream. Of the book Sleeping by the Mississippi, writer/NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu says, "[He has] the decency (or affection) to disturb none of his subjects, through he disturbed me, a viewer, plenty." From their respective posts at either end of the waterway, Minneapolis-based Soth and New Orleans-based Codrescu come together for an illustrated conversation on the narratives found along the banks of the Mississippi and other stories of America's Great River Road. The evening concludes with a presentation of Soth's current pictorial investigation of Niagara Falls.

Part of Contemporary Art in Conversation.

Paul Auster with Eric Lorberer : Paul Auster and Eric Lorberer : Artist Talk

Fri, 24 Jun 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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Paul Auster is internationally renowned as a writer of luminous and penetrating prose, yet he began his writing career as a poet, publishing several volumes of haunting, densely lyrical verse. In the 1970s, when Auster's poetry was published in small press collections, he gave a reading at the Walker to literally a handful of listeners. In collaboration with Rain Taxi Review of Books, we are delighted to bring him back to the Walker stage to share his verse, which poet John Ashbery describes as "magnificent poetry: dark, severe, even harsh--yet pulsating with life." The reading is followed by an onstage discussion with Eric Lorberer, editor of Rain Taxi, about the poetic roots of Auster's fiction.

Auster is the author of 11 acclaimed novels and several works of nonfiction. His volume Collected Poems was published in 2004. Poet and editor Lorberer co-curates the Walker's Free Verse readings.

Part of Contemporary Art in Conversation.

Kara Walker with Philippe Vergne : Kara Walker and Philippe Vergne : Artist Talk

Fri, 17 Jun 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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In the sketches, paper murals, and projections of Kara Walker, precisely drawn figures interact in highly animated dramas that call into question the viewer's relationship to the heavy-hitting issues of contemporary American social politics: race, gender, sexuality, and our national history of slavery. Join Walker and Philippe Vergne for a conversation on Walker's work and the contemporary portrayal of "the Negress."

An installation of Walker's drawings, paper murals, and animation is on view in the exhibition Quartet: Barney, Gober, Levine, Walker in the Friedman Gallery.

Part of Contemporary Art in Conversation.

Mike Kelley with John Welchman : Mike Kelley and John Welchman : Artist Talk

Fri, 3 Jun 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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On the influence of Mike Kelley's work, art historian and critic John Welchman writes "much contemporary art that trades in abjection and the pathetic, scatter art, neo-junk, bad-girl provocations, a thousand reformulations of 'the body', have all passed, here and there, through the viscerally abstruse filtration system of Kelley's imagination." For this conversation, the two discuss Kelley's remarkable career, focusing on his large-scale video work the Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction series, started in 2000. An ambitious project, the series is a group of 365 videotapes and video installations related to his 1995 sculptural work, Educational Complex. Through restaged photographs of activities found in high school yearbooks and newspapers, the videos address issues of repressed memory, abuse, and the culture of victimization.

Kelley's work encompasses sculpture, performance, video, and installation. His piece Four Part Butter-Scene N'Ganga (1997) is on view in the exhibition Urban Cocktail in the Medtronic Gallery. Welchman is a professor of modern and contemporary art history at the University of California, San Diego.

Part of Contemporary Art in Conversation.

Blu Dot Design, Minneapolis : John Christakos and Maurice Blanks : Lecture

Wed, 25 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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Blu Dot designs and manufactures modern furniture and furnishings. Its founding partners, John Christakos, Maurice Blanks, and Charlie Lazor--whose backgrounds range from architecture and art to marketing--created the company in Minneapolis with the desire to make quality modern design available to everyday people. Their humanist and populist approach to modern furnishings dovetailed with the democratization of design begun in the 1990s and seen in the success of mass-market retailing, design-oriented publishing, domestic-enrichment programs, and home-improvement schemes. Blu Dot has produced several lines of furniture, such as its Chicago line of shelving, the Modulicous collection of bedroom furnishings, or the more recent Buttercup lounge chairs, which are sold in small retail shops and by major retailers nationwide. It also creates furnishings for special projects such as the dormitories of a new student housing complex at MIT designed by Steven Holl, or a recent commission for retail fixtures for Gap Kids stores. They have created and cultivated a brand--including a series of film shorts for nontraditional marketing--that has merged humor and wit with products that balance form and function--without sacrificing one of the basic tenants of modernism: good design.

Part of Insights 2005: Design and . . ..

The Office of Paul Sahre, New York : Paul Sahre : Lecture

Wed, 18 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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After a few unsatisfying stints designing for others, Paul Sahre established his own design studio, first in Baltimore and then in New York, where he has been since 1995. Consciously maintaining a small office, he has nevertheless established a large presence in American graphic design. The balance he strikes, whether between commercial and personal projects or in his own design process, is evident in such things as the physical layout of his office--part design studio, part silkscreen lab where he prints projects for himself--or in his desire "for equal parts logic and intuition" in the work. His silkscreened posters for the Fells Point Corner Theatre in Baltimore provided him a much-needed creative outlet and garnered him early professional visibility with their rough-edged, expressive typography. His more recent work, such as book covers for author Rick Moody's novels Demonology and The Ice Storm or his design of the book American Photography 19, exhibit a crisper, more refined typographic and photographic approach, and point to a more editorial or authorial direction. In fact, in 2003, he coauthored with Danny Gregory Hello World: A Life in Ham Radio, a book based on a collection of QSL cards, which amateur radio enthusiasts exchange after communication with other operators around the world.

Part of Insights 2005: Design and . . ..

MM&DVDD, Amsterdam : Maureen Mooren and Daniel van der Velden : Lecture

Wed, 11 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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Daniel van der Velden is a graphic designer and writer based in Amsterdam who, since 1998, has been collaborating with Maureen Mooren on a variety of design and editorial projects. Among a new generation of influential Dutch graphic designers, they have developed a reputation for work that engages and challenges its readers by making aspects of writing, editing, and authorship commensurate with designing. This approach can be seen in their design of Archis, a magazine about architecture, culture, and urbanism, which appropriates and thus recontextualizes the stylistic conventions and typographic formats of various other magazines. They are particularly interested in the relationship and possibilities of fiction within the realm of information and in the reconsideration of preexisting graphic forms, whether a newspaper, advertisement, letter, diary, and so on. For instance, their series of invitations for exhibitions at the art gallery Room recycles the formats and contents of letters, conveying practical information within a more compelling story. As van der Velden notes, "The instability that occurs with this strategy is one that is, I think, always happening when something 'boring' like some dates and names is uploaded with something thrilling, or playful." Since 2003 he has directed the Meta Haven project, a comprehensive national identity system for the Principality of Sealand, the world's smallest "micronation." Founded in the late 1960s and located on a formerly abandoned World War II anti-aircraft platform in the North Sea, Sealand garnered recent worldwide publicity with the establishment of HavenCo, a data-hosting services company. It's a kind of data haven, or safe harbor for information, that claims to be the world's first and only true market environment for Web business free from security and regulatory issues of conventional nation-states.

Part of Insights 2005: Design and . . ..

Antenna Design, New York : Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger : Lecture

Wed, 4 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT

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Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger founded Antenna Design with the goal of making people's engagement with technological objects and environments more exciting. They are achieving this ambitious objective through a combination of commercial and public projects that range from the redesign of the New York City subway cars and ticketing machines and the creation of custom monitors, screen displays, and information kiosks for Bloomberg to a series of interactive installations such as Power Flower, a window display for Bloomingdale's that is activated by passersby, and their recent winning entry in the Civic Exchange competition, an interactive information installation for visitors and inhabitants of Lower Manhattan. With backgrounds in industrial design and digital technology, their projects represent a successful merger of elegant product form, informational clarity, and sophisticated interactivity. Their work has won numerous awards, including recognition from I.D., Business Week, and Wired magazines. In 2003 they were finalists for the National Design Award in Product Design from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

Part of Insights 2005: Design and . . ..

Guy Maddin Regis Dialogue with Elvis Mitchell : Guy Maddin and Elvis Mitchell : Interview

Sat, 7 Feb 2004 02:00:00 GMT

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Guy Maddin talks onstage with Elvis Mitchell, film critic for the New York Times. Their dialogue explores Maddin's life work, his sense of humor, and his love for the history of cinema.

Presented in conjunction with Pages from a Filmmaker's Diary: A Film Retrospective and Regis Dialogue with Guy Maddin.

2003 British Television Advertising Awards : Peter Bigg : Introduction

Sat, 6 Dec 2003 03:30:00 GMT

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Introduction to the opening night of the 2003 British Television Advertising Awards by Awards Administrator Peter Bigg.

Artist Talk: John Baldessari : John Baldessari : Lecture

Wed, 19 Nov 2003 01:00:00 GMT

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Although he began his career as a painter, John Baldessari turned to photography in the 1960s in order to challenge the conventions of traditional artistic media. As an early entrant into the field of appropriation, he began to construct a series of photo-based works taken from stills of Hollywood films. His work has since expanded to include projects in film, video, and installation. Join Baldessari as he discusses his artistic practice.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Last Picture Show: Artists Using Photography, 1960-1982.

This lecture is made possible by generous support from Aaron and Carol Mack.

Two or Three Things I Don't Know About Jasper Johns : David Shapiro : Lecture

Sun, 9 Nov 2003 20:00:00 GMT

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The work of Jasper Johns is the subject of numerous art-historical investigations, none of which will be addressed during this one-of-a-kind event. Join us for a slide-illustrated afternoon of poetry, anecdotes, and personal explorations of Johns' work by one of his friends and collaborators, art historian/poet David Shapiro. Inspired by Johns' work since the age of 15, Shapiro has written numerous poems based on the artist's oeuvre as well as the first critical book on Johns' drawings, Jasper Johns Drawings, 1954-1984. His poetry volumes include Lateness, To an Idea, House (Blown Apart), After a Lost Original, and A Burning Interior. He has authored books on artists Jim Dine and Piet Mondrian, and edited Uncontrollable Beauty, a book on aesthetics. Shapiro's poetry, translations, and art and literary criticism have appeared in The New Yorker, The Partisan Review, and The Paris Review. He is a tenured faculty member in the art history department of William Patterson University.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Past Things and Present: Jasper Johns since 1983.

THIS LECTURE WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM AARON AND CAROL MACK.

The History of Hip Hop Dance : Various : Artist Talk

Sat, 25 Oct 2003 18:00:00 GMT

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Hip-hop/funk dance originators/pioneers Don Campbell, Boogaloo Sam, and Rennie Harris engage in a lively discussion about the social history of this vibrant and still-evolving form.

Hip Hop Moves: Heroes and Innovators : Various : Dance

Sat, 25 Oct 2003 01:00:00 GMT

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The Twin Cities is home to a vast array of its own hip-hop cognoscenti, from movement creators to musicians. This spectacular evening showcasing hip-hop dance innovators illustrates the connection between the local scene and the national legends who have shaped it. Inventors of groundbreaking moves now danced all over the world will be featured, including the Electric Boogaloos, originators of Boogaloo (funk style); Don Campbell, creator of "locking" as we know it today; and the Untouchables, a crew of audacious upstarts from Philadelphia. A host of local dancers, DJs, MCs, spoken word, and graf artists (including beat boxers 3 Kings, poppers Uneeq and Darwin, Damian "DayLight" Day, Hip-Hop Coop, Truth Maze, DJ K Salaam, Stephanie "B-Girl Seoul" Aasen, Desdemona, Kenna Camara-Cottman, MNSWA spoken word artists, and many others) pays tribute to these heroes while mapping our own history.

Undisputed Champions: Celebrating Minnesota Boxing History : Various : Forum

Sun, 28 Sep 2003 20:00:00 GMT

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Minnesota's boxing history reflects a rich tradition of cultural diversity, competition, courage, and community. Celebrate the contributions of the trainers and contenders who, from different corners of the ring, inspired generations of amateur and professional champions. The "main event" honors Minnesota boxing legends as well as up-and-coming golden gloves contenders through storytelling, spoken word, and video.

Below the Belt: Battle of the Underage : Various : Competition

Fri, 25 Jul 2003 00:00:00 GMT

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Co-hosted by Fancy Ray ("The Best Looking Man in Comedy") and Truth Maze (IRM, Mixed Breed, Micranots, Dijionettes).

It all comes down to this, the best of the best. All-city champions will duke it out to be crowned champ in 11 different battles--MC, DJ, Graffiti, Beatbox, B-Boy, Poetry on the Page, Slam Poetry, Bands, Spoken Word, Film/Video, and Poppers. The Finals showcases 35 performers who beat out over 150 other competitors over 2 months, 30 competitions in 10 different venues.

Judges for the finals include Chaka Mkali (Micranots), Wes Winship (Life Sucks Die Magazine and OX-OP Gallery), Damian "Daylight" Day (Battlecats and Junkwartz B-Boy Crews), Sarah White (Traditional Methods), and EG Bailey (Minnesota Spoken Word Association).

BELOW THE BELT IS CO-PRODUCED BY THE MINNESOTA SPOKEN WORD ASSOCIATION AND WALKER TEEN PROGRAMS. CO-PRESENTERS INCLUDE DINKYTOWNER CAFE, JUXTAPOSITION ARTS, LOFT LITERARY CENTER, NUBIA, OAK STREET CINEMA, RADIO K, RHYMESAYERS COLLECTIVE, SEVEN BRIDGES WORLD MARKET, AND SASE: THE WRITE PLACE.

Matthew Barney Regis Dialogue with Richard Flood : Matthew Barney and Richard Flood : Interview

Wed, 7 May 2003 01:00:00 GMT

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Matthew Barney and Walker Chief Curator Richard Flood discuss Barney's Cremaster Cycle. Presented in conjunction with the film retrospective Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle.

The Virtues and Pitfalls of Globalization : Neil Smith : Debate

Wed, 23 Apr 2003 00:00:00 GMT

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Marxist geographer Neil Smith, author of Uneven Development and The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist City, will debate Arthur J. Rolnick from the Federal Reserve Board on the virtues and pitfalls of globalization.

Part of the lecture series New Ideas on Globalization. Copresented by the Walker Art Center, the University of Minnesota Humanities Institute, the Institute for Global Studies, and the European Studies Consortium. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age.

On a Journey to My Lai: Social Memory and the Making of Art : Carol Becker : Lecture

Wed, 16 Apr 2003 00:00:00 GMT

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Critic and dean of Faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Carol Becker critiques romantic notions of nomadism by recounting her experiences leading a group of student artists to Vietnam.

Part of the lecture series New Ideas on Globalization. Copresented by the Walker Art Center, the University of Minnesota Humanities Institute, the Institute for Global Studies, and the European Studies Consortium. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age.

The Anarchist in the Library : Siva Vaidhyanathan : Lecture

Wed, 9 Apr 2003 00:00:00 GMT

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Cultural historian and media scholar Siva Vaidhyanathan discusses the battle for control over information in the age of electronic communication. Vaidhyanathan is the author of The Anarchist in the Library: How Peer-to-Peer Networks are Transforming Politics, Culture and the Control of Information.

Part of the lecture series New Ideas on Globalization. Copresented by the Walker Art Center, the University of Minnesota Humanities Institute, the Institute for Global Studies, and the European Studies Consortium. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age.

Free Verse: Bei Dao and Eliot Weinberger : Bei Dao : Reading

Fri, 4 Apr 2003 01:00:00 GMT

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Bei Dao, the foremost of China's Misty Poets, will visit for a reading of his work on April 3 with translator-writer Eliot Weinberger. Exiled since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, Bei Dao, is internationally acclaimed for poetry and fiction offering a lyricism that blends loss and hope to become a voice of conscience for the world. Weinberger, who will read Bei Dao's wrok as well as his own, is the author of Karmic Traces (2000), an acerbically witty and politically engaged volume of essays. His translation credits include Dao's work as well as The Collected Poems of Octavio Paz and Jorge Luis Borges' Selected Non-Fiction.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age.

Contemporary Art Practices : Salah Hassan : Lecture

Wed, 2 Apr 2003 01:00:00 GMT

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Scholar-curator Salah Hassan discusses democracy, modernity, and contemporary art practices. Dr. Hassan is chair of the department of History of Art at Cornell University; editor of NKA: Journal of Contemporary African Art, and consulting editor for African Arts and Atlantica.

Part of the lecture series New Ideas on Globalization. Copresented by the Walker Art Center, the University of Minnesota Humanities Institute, the Institute for Global Studies, and the European Studies Consortium. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age.

Freeware: Distributive Justice : Andreja Kuluncic : Artist Talk

Fri, 14 Mar 2003 01:00:00 GMT

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For this talk, Croatian artist Andreja Kuluncic presents Distributive Justice, a multidisciplinary Web-based work involving artists, writers, and philosophers. Most recently exhibited at documenta XI (2002), the project is a continually developing exploration of social values.

Kuluncic was featured in the online exhibtion Translocations, presented as part of How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and her work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=233.

War and Empire : Tariq Ali : Lecture

Wed, 26 Feb 2003 01:00:00 GMT

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What differs between old and new empires? Why has war been such a regular feature of human history? Tariq Ali addresses these questions and ponders the effects of current military technology on the physical world as well as changing attitudes toward global politics. Ali is the longstanding editor of the New Left Review, the author of more than a dozen books on history and politics, a novelist, and a playwright. Copresented by the Walker, the University of Minnesota Humanities Institute, the Institute for Global Studies, and the European Studies Consortium.

Part of the lecture series New Ideas on Globalization. Copresented by the Walker Art Center, the University of Minnesota Humanities Institute, the Institute for Global Studies, and the European Studies Consortium. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age.

Global Curating in the 21st Century : Various : Panel Discussion

Sun, 9 Feb 2003 20:30:00 GMT

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Five visual arts curators discuss art in a global context. Participants are: Kathy Halbreich, Director, Walker Art Center; Vishakha Desai, Senior Vice President/Director, Galleries and Cultural Programs, The Asia Society; Hou Hanru, Paris-based, independent curator-critic; Paulo Herkenhoff, independent curator and critic (Sao Paulo); and Latitudes exhibition curator Philippe Vergne.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age.

Artist Interview: Sheela Gowda : Sheela Gowda : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Sheela Gowda's work occupies the spaces between painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation. Initially trained as a painter, Gowda underwent a profound transformation in the wake of fundamentalist Hindu violence and the Bombay riots of 1992. It was at this time that she abandoned conventional forms of painting and turned to sculpture and installation.

Gowda was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and her work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=85.

Artist Interview: Tabaimo : Tabaimo : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Tabaimo mines familiar stereotypes of Japanese life--commuter trains, sushi, suicidal students, and overworked businessmen--to create poignant, surreal, and hilarious animated installations. Like other talented satiric commentators in the art world, including William Kentridge and Yoko Ono, Tabaimo possesses an insightful eye, a quick wit, and a facility with the truth.

Tabaimo was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and her work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=81.

Artist Interview: HA1/4seyin Bahri Alptekin : HA1/4seyin Bahri Alptekin : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Trained in art and philosophy, Huseyin Bahri Alptekin explores the narrow gap between the real and its reproduction, local realities and global fantasies, signifiers and signified, ideas and language, history and mythologies. He develops critical works that borrow the structure of language in order to analyze the phenomena of perception and the diffusion of knowledge.

Alptekin was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=93.

Artist Interview: GA1/4lsA1/4n Karamustafa : GA1/4lsA1/4n Karamustafa : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Gulsun Karamustafa reflects on the sociopolitical and economic shifts of the past ten years and the accompanying move toward a global economy. As an artist she addresses cultural displacement and economic nomadism in a universal aesthetic language that allows for a multivalent reading of her work.

Karamustafa was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and her work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=86.

Artist Interview: Zon Ito : Zon Ito : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Zon Ito privileges mediums that were peripheral to contemporary art practices during the twentieth century because they were considered too low, too domestic, too precious, too narrative, or too crafty. His embroideries on fabric use the pictorial model to display strange playlets, hallucinated landscapes, and twisted wildlife scenes.

Ito was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=88.

Artist Interview: Cameron Jamie : Cameron Jamie : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Cameron Jamie's work--a blend of video, performance, sculpture, and drawing--deals with American history and culture, in particular their dysfunctional manifestations. Jamie's sharp critical gaze often focuses on popular culture and its impact on everyday life and the psyche. His work exposes the failings of the "American Way" and his methodology is informed by scientific and forensic anthropology.

Jamie was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=144.

Artist Interview: Esra Ersen : Esra Ersen : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Esra Ersen explores social behavior--the way identities are shaped and transformed across national, cultural, linguistic, and intimate borders. Whether working in photography, video, or installation, she often reacts to or uses the specific location of her activity in order to formalize her investigations.

Ersen was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and her work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=143.

Artist Interview: Ranjani Shettar : Ranjani Shettar : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Having trained in sculpture at Chitrakala Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore, Ranjani Shettar creates three-dimensional works that explore the confrontation of the urban and the organic, the metaphysical and the mundane.

Shettar was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and her work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=150.

Artist Interview: Cabelo : Cabelo : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Cabelo is a cultural seismographer, creating public performances and sculptural environments that chart the fault lines and energy flows of the physical, psychic, and geographic spaces of his life in Brazil. After studying, and abandoning, engineering and then vermiculture (earthworm farming), Cabelo undertook the study of poetry and performance at the Parque Lage in Rio de Janeiro. It is the merging of these two very different backgrounds--the scientific and the aesthetic--that gives Cabelo's work its particular power.

Cabelo was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=112.

Artist Interview: Moshekwa Langa : Moshekwa Langa : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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An artist not afraid to draw from a life lived in-between places--physical, mental, and otherwise-- Moshekwa Langa creates drawings, photographs, videos, and installations that are poetic, personal, and deeply engaged with the larger world of art, politics, and popular culture. He often uses materials at his immediate disposal, including plastic bags, colorful yarns, masking tape, cement bags, and paint.

Langa was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=145.

Artist Interview: Santiago Cucullu : Santiago Cucullu : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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In recent years, Santiago Cucullu has adopted the wall as the primary support for his paintings, working almost exclusively on large, site-specific wall paintings that occupy a space between autobiographical reminiscence, fiction, and collective memories. Drawing from a wide field of references ranging from the novels of Dostoyevsky to the rock band Led Zeppelin (Brothers Karamazov, The Led Zeppelin Saga, both 1998), Cucullu questions the possibility of painting history objectively and examines how specific historical figures have been represented and digested by Western culture.

Cucullu was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=141.

Artist Interview: Robin Rhode : Robin Rhode : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Robin Rhode approaches his multidisciplinary and unconventional art practice through the high energy of street inventiveness and youth culture, often drawing on the subcultural codes of hip hop, popular sports, film, and fashion to render the everyday as art.

Rhode was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=64.

Artist Interview: Can Altay : Can Altay : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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An architect, artist, designer, and scholar, Can Altay is interested in unorthodox appropriations of the built environment. Influenced by Georges Bataille's ideas on transgression, Michel Foucault's ideas on power and non-nor-mativity, and Henri Lefebvre's conceptions of social space as well as by art history, Altay approaches his subject matter from a number of discursive directions.

Altay was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=82.

Artist Interview: Marepe : Marepe : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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The work of Marepe (Marcos Reis Peixoto) resides in a conceptual border zone between the utilitarian and the poetic, where everyday objects from his environment in Bahia are transformed through artistic intervention. Living and working in this northeastern region of Brazil, an area economically less robust than the metropolitan centers of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Marepe infuses his work with the area's culturally specific hybrid of African and European traditions.

Marepe was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=146.

Artist Interview: Tsuyoshi Ozaka : Tsuyoshi Ozaka : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Tsuyoshi Ozawa is an artist with a knack for combining the real and the virtual and for turning lighthearted critiques into real alternatives. His Museum of Soy Sauce Art (1998-2000), a parodic look at Japanese art history, features many familiar Japanese masterworks re-created in soy sauce.

Ozawa was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=148.

Artist Interview: Hiroyuki Oki : Hiroyuki Oki : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Hiroyuki Oki trained as an architect before deciding to study film at the Image Forum Institute of the Moving Image in Tokyo, and his interest in architecture provided a complement to his work as an "experimental docu-mentarist." In the artist's eyes, architecture and film are but two different ways to articulate social spaces and experiences: films generating space, architecture generating images.

Oki was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=147.

Artist Interview: Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla : Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla have been working in collaboration since 1995, frequently mining the spaces between sculpture, performance, architecture, and social or public intervention. In their work they try to provide avenues for reflecting on the complex intersection of global politics and personal identity.

Allora and Calzadilla were featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artists and their work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=269.

Artist Interview: Song Dong : Song Dong : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Song Dong's work embraces performance, video installation, calligraphy, sculpture, and site-specific projects. His strength lies in a capacity to summon or convene opposites. He attempts to relocate our experience of art to some place between modernity and tradition; past and present; Taoist philosophy and conceptual art traditions, first manifested in the 1960s, that privilege the process of construction or attainment over the finished product.

Song was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=151.

Artist Interview: Kaoru Arima : Kaoru Arima : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Since 1997, Kaoru Arima has produced drawings on a daily basis, following the disciplined methodology of a diary. His supports vary from notebooks to plain paper to the pages of newspapers. His drawings are figurative and borrow from a wide range of sources, unfolding a complex and intricate sense of iconography.

Arima was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and his work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=79.

Artist Interview: Usha Seejarim : Usha Seejarim : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Usha Seejarim recasts the ordinary as something worthy of attention. In her videos and installations, she slows down our looking and injects a sense of wonder into subjects as seemingly pedestrian as bus tickets, rice sacks, car lights, and morning shadows. Her work is a unique combination of aesthetic transformation, urban concerns, and her own Indian heritage.

Seejarim was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and her work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=149.

Artist Interview: Anita Dube : Anita Dube : Interview

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 06:00:00 GMT

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Initially trained as an art historian and critic, Anita Dube creates works with a conceptual language that valorizes the sculptural fragment as a bearer of personal and social memory, history, mythology, and phenomenological experience. Employing a variety of found objects drawn from the realms of the industrial (foam, plastic, wire), craft (thread, beads, velvet), the body (dentures, bone), and the readymade (ceramic eyes), Dube investigates a very human concern with both personal and societal loss and regeneration.

Dube was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artist and her work, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=142.

Artists in Action : Various : Panel Discussion

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 01:00:00 GMT

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Join prominent artists and curators who are creating their work in South Africa or who actively work with African artists. As they explore their perspectives on the contemporary aesthetics in performing arts and performance art, they discuss how their practice has been influenced by their experience in Africa. Participants include Baraka Sele, Director, New Jersey Performing Arts Center World Festival; Walker Chakela, Director, Windybrow Theater, Johannesburg, South Africa; and Walker artists-in-residence Robin Rhode, South African visual artist, and Ralph Lemon, American choreographer. Moderated by Philip Bither, Walker Performing Arts Curator. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age.

Yoshiharu Tsukamoto of Atelier Bow-Wow, Interview with Philippe Vergne : Atelier Bow-Wow : Interview

Fri, 20 Sep 2002 05:00:00 GMT

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An architectural studio formed in 1992 by Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kaijima, Atelier Bow-Wow champions a site- and use-specific approach to design for the new millennium. Leaders of a new generation of Tokyo architects, Tsukamoto and Kaijima are proponents of what they have named da-me, or no-good, architecture. Multilayered structures with varied uses (underpass + cinema + bar + barbershop + store, for example), these buildings epitomize a new creative, adaptive aesthetic that is the quintessence of Tokyo.

Atelier Bow-Wow was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artists, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=87.

Raqs Media Collective, Interview with Steve Dietz : Raqs Media Collective : Interview

Mon, 2 Sep 2002 05:00:00 GMT

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Raqs Media Collective was formed in 1991 by Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta as a way to pursue their interests in documentary filmmaking after completing graduate school in New Delhi. Over the ensuing decade, their practice has become increasingly hybridized, incorporating aspects of media history and research, criticism and curation, archives and databases, the building of open and public spaces for cultural practice, new media and digital art, still photography and graphic design, the Internet and cyberculture.

Raqs Media Collective was featured in the Walker Art Center's exhibition How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age. For more information about the artists, visit http://latitudes.walkerart.org/artists/index.wac?id=80.

Talking Dance with Merce Cunningham : Merce Cunningham : Interview

Thu, 10 Sep 1998 05:00:00 GMT

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Legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham joins Walker curators Philippe Vergne and Philip Bither, along with archivist David Vaughn, for an informal conversation about his career.

Chance Conversations: An Interview with Merce Cunningham and John Cage : Merce Cunningham and John Cage : Interview

Mon, 6 Apr 1981 06:00:00 GMT

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In the spring of 1981, during a residency at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, choreographer Merce Cunningham and composer John Cage sat down to discuss their work and artistic process. As frequent collaborators, Cage and Cunningham pioneered a new framework of performance. Their novel approach allowed for mediums to exist independently, or rather cohabitate, within a performance, thus abandoning the co-dependent model of dance and music. Cage and Cunningham go on to discuss the methodology and motivations behind "chance operations," a term used to describe artistic decisions based on unpredictability. Wanting to free himself of his "likes and dislikes," Cage describes how Zen Buddhism influenced his work, leading him to use tools of chance. These new methods, adopted by both Cunningham and Cage, overturned a whole foundation of thought around music, movement, and the process of creating art.

Merce Cunningham's Working Process : Merce Cunningham : Interview

Wed, 1 Apr 1981 06:00:00 GMT

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Acclaimed choreographer Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) was a leading figure in dance for more than half a century. His work embraced critical avant-garde principles and challenged expectations around dance. By emphasizing form over content, Cunningham sought to reduce dance to its essential element: movement. Cunningham also invited chance into his creative process, accepting uncertainty over considered choices. Produced by Twin Cities Public Television in 1981, Cunningham sits down in this segment to discuss his methodology and how a vocabulary of movement fuels his way of thinking.

Works for New Spaces : Narrated by Martin Friedman : Commentary

Sat, 15 May 1971 05:00:00 GMT

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Works for New Spaces (1971) was a critical exhibition in the history of the Walker Art Center. The show not only marked a complete commitment to contemporary art and the living artist, but also ushered in a new building, designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes. Constructed with the needs of artists in mind, the Walker's new galleries were expansive and open, yet intimate and flowing. With the new building came new works of art. Donald Judd, Robert Irwin, Lynda Benglis, Dan Flavin, and many other artists were invited to create large-scale installations, showcasing the building's new public spaces. Narrated by former director Martin Friedman, this film documents both the exhibition and the history of the Walker Art Center, noting the unique characteristics that define a multidisciplinary institution.