Shawn and I will be heading up to Minneapolis this weekend. Among the things that I am most excited to see is The Walker Art Center & Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The Walker is considered one of the nation’s “big five” museums for contemporary art and has an amazing collection that encompasses Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Film/Video. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing the 1964 Exhibition that is going on right now:

“1964 focuses on works made during a period of tremendous upheaval and transformation politically, socially, and artistically in the U.S. In the year following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the country saw riots erupt in a number of cities; President Lyndon Johnson ordered the first bombings in North Vietnam, and the Beatles invaded with their first concerts and their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

In the art world, a number of impulses were gaining momentum. Claes Oldenburg and George Segal introduced elements of pop culture in their sculptures, and an explosion of consumerism reverberated in the paintings of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. The bravura gestures of 1950s Abstract Expressionism gave way to explorations of distilled forms, colors, and geometries in the work of Ellsworth Kelly, Donald Judd, Carl Andre, and others. Meanwhile, Fluxus and other artistic movements were fusing together visual art, performance, music, film and graphic design; and a profusion of prints, multiples, artist’s books, and films was creating more open and democratic channels for disseminating art. With nearly 100 works, 1964 shows how the Walker collection mirrors this remarkably fertile moment in contemporary art.”

I’m also hoping that the weather will cooperate so we can check out The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. It’s located across from The Walker and is one of the largest urban sculpture gardens in the nation. The centerpiece of the garden is the Spoonbridge and Cherry (1985–1988) water sculpture designed by husband and wife Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. It also contains several Calders, as well as works by Jenny Holzer, Frank Gehry, and Henry Moore.

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Photo courtesy Walker Art Center