Walker Art Center After Hours – On Ice: A Report
Untitled #30; Lari Pittman, 1994
Ok, so let me start by stating that I am not a journalist. I also forgot my camera so all of these pictures were taken with a crappy Blackberry. I am also not knowledgable about art. I enjoy art but I am clueless about significance, art history and the creation of art. This report is entirely amateur…
I can, however, provide you with some details and my thoughts regarding my evening at the opening of The Spectacular of the Vernacular at the Walker Art Center this past Friday.
Hot coco & cider
Our first stop was to get some snacks to eat. The theme of this event revolved around cliche Minnesota so Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant attempted to cater in accordance with that theme. The food offerings included a typical house salad, green bean casserole and a pea/noodle hot dish. They also had a platter of cookies, rice krispie treats and brownies that were nothing special. I found the food selection lacking cohesiveness and uninspired. It wasn’t bad food, however, when Wolfgang Puck is vouching for it, your expectations are high. I did thoroughly enjoy the hot chocolate and cider bar stationed outside at the ice bar. The hot chocolate stand was well though-out and included a ton of fixings to make the perfect cup.
Hot coco fixings
After chugging a cocktail because drinks were not allowed near the art, we headed around the Walker to see what new art was displayed. It had probably been about 2 years since I had visited the Walker and there was plenty of new stuff to see. I consider the Walker a place for “weird” art and that is still my overall impression. I don’t have a problem with weird art but I do find myself constantly asking myself “what does it mean??” and seriously wondering kind of personality the artist has. The main event is the The Spectacular of the Vernacular exhibit. For the layman, this is just more weird art but I did enjoy the exhibit (minus the video of the super weird lady squeezing the heck out of her naked breasts).
I was happy to see on the program that there was a craft activity for guests of this event. I stink at crafts (as is evidenced below) but love to at least play around with paper, scissors, glitter and the like. The project of the evening was to take magazine pictures of people’s faces and modify them. I had great fun playing with a hot glue gun and creating the deep and insightful masterpiece shown below.
My fab art
I was floored by how packed this event was. Every part of the museum and at the outdoor ice bar was full of people. It was fantastic crowd watching and this event attracted everyone from hipsters to old rich people. This after-hours party was the place to be and I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend!
DEAL ALERT: The Walker is free the first Saturday of each month and every Thursday from 5-9pm. Go check it out!
My art amongst more inspired creations