Local Art Seen: A Thousand Words at the Tweed, and More

"A picture is worth a thousand words..." --English idiom

"and behind a thousand bars no world." --Rainer Maria Rilke*

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The exhibit A Thousand Words is soon to complete its run, so if you have not yet been there to see it you still have a few days left to take it in. The Tweed has filled a large section of the lower floor with photos from its permanent collection, and each time I've been there since it was hung in May I've been struck by something new. Last week it was the photo of Muhammed Ali, which I'd not seen previously, the champion boxer famous for his audacity.

The images vary in size, in substance, but not in quality. Each is striking in its own right, each telling a story, at times raising more questions than it answers. 

Last Tuesday evening museum director Ken Bloom discussed the exhibition in a Tweevening talk. Bloom himself has been a capable photographer, his aim always being to capture images that invite viewers to engage.

Meryl McMaster-- from "Between Two Worlds" series.

Here's a description of the show according to the Tweed website:

A THOUSAND WORDS
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE TWEED COLLECTION

May 5 – December 21, 2017
Alice Tweed Tuohy Gallery

Our world is awash in photographs—from silver plate Daguerreotypes of the 19th century to digital Instagrams on our cell phones. Our conception of the world has been built upon photographic seeing. Yet, photography is a latecomer to the collection of the Tweed Museum. With the support of the Marguerite Gilmore Foundation and the Sax Brothers Fund, the Tweed has grown a diverse photography collection that contains evocative story-telling images. A Thousand Words is a presentation of images that will inspire your imagination.

The newly featured Modern(ism) exhibition that was hung in October is pretty exciting, and a worthwhile destination on its own, but if you can make it in the next ten days you can see both these shows. (Recommended.)

MODERN(ISM)

October 10, 2017 – March 18, 2018

"Anorexia Girl" -- Jenny Schmid, 2002

Curated from the Tweed Museum’s permanent collection and generously supported by select loans from the Weisman Museum in Minneapolis, this exhibition of drawings and prints will offer audiences a rare look at small, intimate works by some of the most formidable Modern artists of the 20th century. Featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Käthe Kollwitz, Henri Matisse, Oskar Kokoschka, Max Weber, Salvador Dali, and Otto Dix, this exhibition will serve as a tool to explore the vast representations of the various “-ism” in art movements that blossomed at the beginning of the 20th century. Collectively, these works express the radical attitude toward art that resulted in the replacement of 19th century Realism in favor of expressionism and abstraction that more accurately reflected the zeitgeist of the Modern Era.

Jim Dine, Viennese Hearts V, 1990

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* EdNote: For reasons I can't explain, in all my recent visits to the Tweed the Rilke quote above inserted itself into my conscious mind each time I saw the panel with the title of the show, its meaning somewhat elusive yet philosophically stimulating. The line comes, of course, from his famous poem The Panther.

Local Art Seen: Sinew and A Thousand Words at the Tweed

Last weekend I made two visits to the Tweed Museum of Art on the UMD campus with the aim of taking in the two new summer exhibits, Sinew and A Thousand Words. The latter is a photography exhibit, and Sinew is a mixed media ensemble featuring works by Native women artists from the Twin Cities. Here are some images from the Sinew exhibit. As I've often noted regarding poetry, you can't just rush through it. The same applies to a good art show. In the case of this particular event I wouldn't mind talking about it in more depth, though as the Stones famously sang, "You can't always get what you want."

Disillusion/Dissolution #1 by Carolyn Anderson (Navajo, b. 1982)

Fortunately, this fall I may get a chance to participate in a discussion group consisting of writers whose focus will be on themes related to art. This is something I very much look forward to.

In the meantime, if you want to see some interesting work, check out these two shows. Admission is free and so if you are looking for something to do with someone you enjoy being with, here's a good place to begin.

Below are a few images from A Thousand Words 

(photography from the Tweed collection.)

The title says it all... or rather, you get the picture.

There are words that accompany each image so you 

have a greater understanding of what you're seeing.

Ivy Vainio's distinctive work is always rewarding to run into.

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Of Note:
PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL BEGINS NEXT WEEK

Plein Air Duluth: Paint du Nord Schedule:
 • Festival: July 9 – 14, 2017
 • Group Paint: Mon., July 10, Lincoln Park neighborhood
 • Quick Paint: Tues., July 11, 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Lake Superior Zoo
 • Group Paint: Wed., July 12, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. at Glensheen
 • Opening Reception: Fri., July 14, 5 – 7 p.m. at Blacklist Beer.
Prizes awarded by juror Matt Kania; live jazz performed by Randy Lee Trio 
 • Exhibition: July 15 – Aug. 27, 2017, Blacklist Beer

Meantime, art goes on all around you... but especially next week as 34 painters will be out and about striving to capture the magic of the Northland. I am confident the results will be amazing.