We recently invited a few friends to pick a favorite photo from the Walker People’s Archive and tell us what they love about it. This is the latest report of what our correspondents say they see in this project, a crowd-sourced, online collection of photos and stories that celebrates the Walker’s 75 years as a public art center by capturing your most vivid Walker memories.
This favorite comes from Alec Soth, Photographer, himself a Walker favorite.
Alec tells us this tale: “When I was in high school, I had a recurring dream about meeting John Cage. While I never did meet him and no longer dream about him, he is still present in my life. A couple of years ago I even published a book of his writings. Looking at this picture of John Cage in Loring Park for his 70th birthday, I almost feel like I was there. Wait, is that me on that bike?”
See Alec’s newest work, Songbook, and visit his publishing house.
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Madelynn Furlong, Fashion Blogger and Art Director, loves this photo, another of the great ones submitted by Margy Ligon, Director of Education, Walker Art Center (1975-1994).
Madelynn says: “Really, who doesn’t love cake? Actually, I don’t love cake, but I do love a cake that is an edible publicity stunt replicating a Calder-decorated plane that was essentially a publicity stunt in itself. I’ve always been drawn to the whimsey and graphic quality of Calder’s work and this photo takes that to a whole other level. Betty’s CAKE! shirt and the framing of her head inside the painting behind her are perfect.
This photo illustrates exactly what the Walker does so well, which is building events for a community of participants that are excited to play with stuff. Isn’t that essentially what artists do? Sometimes I think The Art World takes itself too seriously. There is always need for education, debate and philosophy–but there is also a need for artist-designed mini golf and hilarious British commercials. When you see Spoonbridge and Cherry in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Erwin Wurm’s Truck in the gallery, or the selfie station at the opening party for Cindy Sherman’s retrospective, you know that the Walker has a sense humor that’s worth paying attention to.”
See Madelynn’s work.
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Mary Ann Nord, WPA Contributor and Education Coordinator, Walker Art Center (1972-1974) chose two favorites:
Mary Ann writes: “Vibrant colors, striking perspectives, a work at once familiar and unexpected. Tom Cook’s beautiful photograph taken inside Richard Serra’s Five Plates, Two Poles, above, took my breath away. Finding inspiration in Serra’s monumental, raw sculpture, Cook taps his own creative spirit to transform the monochromatic piece into something luminous.
In the same way, but to very different effect, Donneen Torrey reimagines Saul Baizerman’s Nike, below, capping the sleek figure with Cheryl Halsey’s riotous papier mâché mask . . .
One vision meditative, the other whimsical. Both are fresh takes on what Walker Art Center is all about: a place to engage us, to touch us, to help us see the world through others’ eyes.”
See one of Mary Ann’s WPA contributions.
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Another contribution from Mary Ann is among the favorites of Heather Everhart, WPA Contributor and self-styled Art(ist)s/Admin/Champion.
Heather elaborates: “Mary Ann Nord’s photograph with Ellsworth Kelly is excellent, and the story she tells fills me with questions. Which image was upside down in the program? How did you sit still with him right next to you? What did you talk about? I hope you still have that dress and, if you do, can I buy it from you? The image itself allows me to play Imagination, making up my own narrative of events for a few minutes before I read the didactic, a thing I love to do with photographs of people. Though I know that Kelly is simply gesturing in conversation with his right hand, Imagination says he could be gently touching her chin. It reads like a film still, with Nord as the vamp or the ingénue; I can’t be certain which, as I haven’t read the script.”
See one of Heather’s WPA contributions, and follow her on instagram and tumblr.
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Finally, Divya Rao Heffley, Program Manager for the Hillman Photography Initiative at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art, is taken with this one.
As Divya puts it: “Maria Mazzocco’s quirky self-portrait grabs me from first glance. My double-take at the unexpected shape of her contorting body quickly turns into amazement at the acrobatic prowess her feat represents. Formally, it’s a beautiful photograph: her outstretched arms align with the struts of the bridge. The back of her jacket, which takes flight along with her body, creates a “W” between her arms that finds an echo in the intersecting elements above. This symmetry pulls me in, providing a strong a visual focus for the image, both anchoring the piece, on one hand, and propelling it upwards, on the other. The two pedestrians in the background, instead of distracting me from the gymnastics in the fore, provide a sense of scale. They serve as silent reminders that most of us, sadly, remain earthbound–unable to express our emotions like the seemingly weightless sprite at center stage.
Beyond the beautiful formal qualities of the photograph, what really hooks me is the way Mazzocco’s motion activates the space. In her caption, she writes, ‘As a student at MCAD, I did a self portrait series where I wanted to transform places through acrobatic gestures.’ When public space begs to be used and remade through the activities of the humans around and inside it, it elevates itself to another level. This relationship is indeed transformative–to the space and to the visitor–and it’s the reason I find public art so exciting. When art moves from object to experience, it allows you to make it your own. This sense of ownership can change you forever. Although I lack the skills to perform Mazzocco’s acrobatics, I can feel the joy in her aerial maneuver and long to be there with her, my heart taking flight in sympathy.”
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Find your own favorite photo– and think about art, cake, the perfectly framed and perfectly expressive shot, that dress you wish you still had, and the great party you missed (or did you?)–when you visit the Walker People’s Archive.