Hennepin Gallery Art

Hello again!

Here in Minneapolis it’s easy to walk by art and not even realize it. The City has commissioned and encouraged art in the most mundane settings, like the 1984 Art in Public Places manhole covers project. It’s crazy, but we even manage to walk over art without seeing it!

The Hennepin Gallery in the Government Center is another excellent example of under-publicized art. It’s in a hallway, basement level, near a cascade of water behind a clear panel. It’s below a street-level fountain that provides a popular meeting place for lunch. The gallery doesn’t show in my picture, but there’s a beautiful shot of it in the link.

I have been in this hallway a number of times over the years. At first I never stopped to look. It seemed bizarre to have art in this subterranean location. Eventually my curiosity was piqued by some photographs on display. I don’t know how many of the exhibits I’ve seen or what I’ve missed. I do know that at some point I started paying attention.

This particular exhibit, The Hennepin County Employees’ Art Show closed on July 28th. (Yep. Not quick enough.) But I did manage to get a few photo’s. Not sure how long the online images will be available. The website doesn’t seem to have a way to access them from past shows, which is very sad. (Is anyone out there affiliated with the Hennepin Gallery, who would encourage them to keep these images as a resource to the public?)

According to the display card, these are Ojibway snowshoes by Alexis McCarthy, a five-year employee of Hennepin County. They’re ash, adorned with winter vegetation motifs, wood-burned in a freehand style. Definitely heirloom quality.

I admired a purse that was quite unique, resembling a sleeping cat made out of blue beads by Tara Knutson and a panoramic photograph of a sunrise on Grand Teton by Larry Ingram (38 years of service with Hennepin County!).

The baskets are by Janet Prow who has been an employee for 29 years. My notes tell me that one of them is a German twill, cane woven of natural reeds and oak handles. They are so beautifully tactile looking, I would have loved to have held them.

Because I’m a fan of trees, I was drawn to the Tumbling Leaves applique quilt by Judy Ulrich, 28 years, but it was the Memory Quilt that captured my attention longest.

Bernie Farrell created this for Cecil “Butch” Farrell. It’s value outside the immediate family is in the short “dear dad” notes family members included in the blocks. I read one and then felt compelled to read the rest because they were so poignant. They had very little of a public sensibility to them. They were words meant to be read over and over by someone they loved and I felt honored they were shared with me.

If you find yourself in the Government Center, paying taxes or fines, getting passports or permits, or doing jury duty and find you have extra time on the meter, take an escalator or the stairs to the lower level and check out the current exhibit. You never know what you’ll see, even under your feet, once you start looking!

Enjoying the art all around us… –Chris

Art All Around Us

Welcome back!

I know you’re supposed to blog regularly, but I haven’t been able to do that, not yet anyway. My latest excuse was a lack of photo’s. I’ve known what I wanted to write about since before my last post, but no images. And I didn’t find what I wanted on the freebie pages. So yesterday I took the camera out and here we are! (I can’t wait to hear what my excuse is next time, can you? Placing any bets?)

Isn’t he cute? I was walking all over taking pictures for this piece and there he was, mirroring my actions back to me.

That’s what good art does. It surprises you. You’re walking along, minding your own business, as I was, when “wham!” you’re presented with an insight you didn’t expect (or request).

I’m constantly impressed with the amount of art all around us, especially here in Minneapolis. It’s a glorious city! I know, I know. I’m not talking about its obvious shortcomings though. I’m focusing on what it does right and it really does attract art and aesthetics.

The cartoon tourist, above, is an excellent example. It’s not “high art,” but it is thoughtful and provocative and readily accessible. It’s on the plaza of the U.S. Courthouse, along with “Rockman,” below, the largest of the pieces and the only one with its own name.

The sculptures are by Tom Otterness, installed in 1999 in land donated by the City of Minneapolis with a proviso that there be “an acre of soft green space” created for public enjoyment. The plaza was designed by Martha Schwartz with a series of Drumlins (grassy mounds) to reflect Minnesota’s glacial landscape.

I’m not sure what these uniformed figures are doing, but I was startled by them. Are they helping the potato-shaped guy or arresting him? The art is on the courtyard of a federal building after all. Like the books “Maus I” and “Maus II” by Art Spiegelman, Mr. Otterness is taking an everyday format, the cartoon, and transforming it into a powerful medium for commentary. The link above is from NPR, highlighting this brilliant subversion, and offering audio clips of Spiegelman discussing these issues.

Isn’t this sweet? They’re obviously visiting, but they’re doing it together. Wouldn’t that move you, if you were with your partner touring the city for the first time? If you were a child, wouldn’t it be fun to come upon them unexpectedly? Isn’t it interesting to realize that these sculptures were commissioned for the front of a very adult building that represents the most serious matters our nation faces?

Enjoying the Park

As someone who forgot to grow up, I take personal delight in finds like these. Sure, it’s not great art, but it is important. It’s a statement by the City to all of us who see it. We are a little conservative here. We are a little boring at times, but if you give us a chance, we can surprise you. These sculptures continue to catch me off guard after many years of walking by them. What more can we ask of art?

Hope you’re having a great summer! –Chris