Painter Painter (2 of 3), Walker Art Center

Painter Painter

Walker Art Center

Minneapolis, Minnesota

02 Feb – 27 Oct, 2013

 

Part 2:  Context and Dialogue

 

Painter Painter has the potential of being both theoretically progressive and informative in terms of content (the works and artists displayed), and I was privileged to be attendance as Michelle Grabner, Jan Verwoert and Bruce Hainley led participating artists and the Center’s members in presentations and group discussion of the meaning behind the show.  (The following are excerpts and are incomplete and subjective, but these are the notes I was able to take and my best attempt at reconstitution.  The videos will be available at a future date from the Walker.)

 

    The context and dialogue of Painter Painter takes place in many places and in many media simultaneously.  The 02 Feb panel discussion was preluded by a revealing interview with curators Eric Crosby and Bartholomew Ryan by Cristina Travaglini in the winter issue of Kaleidoscope (www.kaleidoscope-press.com/current-issue/), on-line through individual artist blogs (http://www.walkerart.org/painter-painter-studio-sessions) and on-site via panel discussions, studio visits and personal artist interactions.

Painter Painter pt 1 of 3, Walker Art Center

Painter Painter

Walker Art Center

Minneapolis, Minnesota

02 Feb – 27 Oct, 2013

Part 1:  the process

Painter Painter has the potential of being both theoretically progressive and informative in terms of content (the works and artists displayed), and I was privileged to be attendance as Michelle Grabner, Jan Verwoert and Bruce Hainley led participating artists and the Center’s members in presentations and group discussion of the meaning behind the show. 

    For me, it was my first time in the new Walker Auditorium.  The room was cozy, intimate and perfectly theatrical – we could easily have been in any one of thousands of commercial theatre venues across America – only then we would have had sodas, popcorn and even more cushy seats.  This thought was to stay with me throughout the event – an interfering static.  The discussion resembled a business conference or trades meeting in a busy airport, complete with schedules, overhead announcements and stewardesses (my apologies to the volunteer ushers).

    The students and audience were professionally engaged and polite (and non-native), and we could leave the event with mandatory cookies and cocoa and a receipt for having attended a continuing ed seminar.  We were re-assured that our city has made its mark on the visual arts scene without forcing us to accept any major influence on our own more pedestrian life-styles.