The Walker Art Center’s Target Free Thursday Nights in June are highlighted by the finals of the teen artists competition 20 Under 20, presented by the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC). 20 Under 20 is a competition for artists, filmmakers, dancers, graffiti writers, spoken word poets, and musicians. The top 20 finalists chosen from two semifinal showcases in May compete at this finals event (June 12, 7 pm). Other Target Free Thursday Nights highlights include the gallery talk American Mythologies: The Art of Richard Prince (Part 3: Jokes), presented in conjunction with the exhibition Richard Prince: Spiritual America (through September 14), a critical overview of the celebrated American artist’s work, organized by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (June 5, 7 pm); performances of Trisha Brown’s 1968 dance work Planes, performed in the Medtronic Gallery as part of the exhibition Trisha Brown: So That the Audience Does Not Know Whether I Have Stopped Dancing, by local choreographers (June 5, 12, 19, and 26, 6 pm); and screenings of short films from the series Queer Takes, showcasing new works from emerging filmmakers in queer cinema. Screenings include Cynthia Wade’s Freeheld, copresented with OutFront Minnesota and featuring a post-screening discussion (June 26, 7 pm), and Abigail Child’s On the Downlow, preceded by Dee Rees’ Pariah (June 26, 8:30 pm).
Target Free Thursday Nights sponsored by Target.
Target Free Thursday Nights
June 5, 12, 19, 26
Galleries open 5–9; special events follow.
Free
Thursday, June 5
Architecture Tour, 6 pm
Gallery Performance: Trisha Brown’s Planes, 6 pm
Medtronic Gallery
Planes is a 1968 dance which is presented in-gallery as part of the exhibition Trisha Brown: So That the Audience Does Not Know Whether I Have Stopped Dancing. Local dance companies, along with student-dancers from the University of Minnesota, trained with Trisha Brown during her visit to the Walker in April. Each week a different company performs the piece, which finds the dancers scaling a wall upon which a film is projected. As the dancers move, the clarity with which one perceives “up” and “down” fades, and suddenly one is watching bodies suspended or falling through the air. Performances are on the half-hour beginning at 6 pm on Thursdays. (On days when Planes is not performed live, a recorded performance is displayed on a monitor.)
June 5: Black Label Movement
June 12 and 19: Hijack
June 26: Black Label Movement
The Year of Trisha is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpiece: Dance Initiative, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the University of Minnesota McKnight Arts and Humanities Endowment.
Gallery Talk
American Mythologies: The Art of Richard Prince, 7 pm
Part 3: Jokes
Meet in the Bazinet Garden Lobby
“I went to see a psychiatrist. He said, ‘Tell me everything.’ I did, and now he’s doing my act.” So goes one of Richard Prince’s monochrome joke paintings. His reproduction of what is known as “borscht-belt”–style humor can appear simple. This talk delves into what goes into writing jokes and how class and culture play into their appeal as “low humor.”
Thursday, June 12
Richard Prince: Spiritual America Tour, 6 pm
Gallery Performance: Trisha Brown’s Planes, 6 pm
(See description above.)
20 Under 20 Final, 7 pm
Cinema
Free tickets available at the Bazinet Garden Lobby desk from 5 pm
Every teen has something to say, but only 20 of the most dynamic teen artists will win their way onto the stage at the Walker. Teen artists are grabbing the spotlight and vying for attention through 20 Under 20, a competition thrown by the Walker’s Teen Arts Council. Come see the best of the best. For 20 Under 20 updates and event information, visit teens.walkerart.org, e-mail teenprograms@walkerart.org, or call 612.375.7683.
Walker Teen Programs sponsored by Wells Fargo. Support provided by Best Buy Children’s Foundation. Walker Teen Programs are also supported by the Surdna Foundation. Media partner Vita.mn.
Thursday, June 19
Gallery Tour, 6 pm
Gallery Performance: Trisha Brown’s Planes, 6 pm
(See description above.)
Thursday, June 26
Trisha Brown: So That the Audience Does Not Know Whether I Have Stopped Dancing Tour, 6 pm
Gallery Performance: Trisha Brown’s Planes, 6 pm
(See description above.)
Film: Queer Takes Shorts, 7 and 8:30 pm
Cinema
Free tickets available at the Bazinet Garden Lobby desk one hour prior to each screening
Freeheld, 7 pm
Directed by Cynthia Wade
This Oscar-winning short subject documentary shows a lesbian couple’s legal and emotional battle to have their relationship recognized and to receive the same rights as their straight colleagues. As cancer ravages her body, a venerable New Jersey policewoman seeks piece of mind for decades of service by asking that her partner receive her pension benefits. She is supported by her department, but the decision rests with the freeholders of the county. 2007, video, 38 minutes. A discussion follows the screening. Copresented by OutFront Minnesota
Pariah, 8:30 pm
Directed by Dee Rees
with
On the Downlow
Directed by Abigail Child
In this startling documentary, Abigail Child investigates men who don’t identify as gay or bisexual but have sex with other men on the “downlow,” capturing their delicate balancing act to remain masculine and keep up appearances while justifying their desires. (2007, video, 54 minutes). Child’s work has been screened at Women with Vision 2006 and is in the Walker’s Edmond R. Ruben Film and Video Study Collection. The screening is preceded by Pariah, a short focusing on a lesbian teenager in the Bronx who juggles multiple identities to avoid rejection from friends and family (2006, video, 27 minutes).
