Minneapolis, November 18, 2011— The Walker Art Center’s Target Free Thursday Nights in December feature a British themed menu tasting with executive chef Josh Brown at Gather by D’Amico (Thursday, December 1, 5–9 pm) and Open House: The Designer as Producer, featuring the work of 30 local design students who have participated in a 12-week course related to the exhibition Graphic Design: Now in Production (Thursday, December 1, 5–9 pm). December events also include a design lecture with British designer Anthony Burrill (Thursday, December 1, 7 pm), and Art Chats on Thursday nights. In recognition of World AIDS Day, the Walker will screen World AIDS Day: Untitled, a film by Jim Hodges, Carlos Marques da Cruz, and Encke King (Thursday, December 1, 8 pm). Gallery admission is free from 5–9 pm every Thursday night.
Target Free Thursday Nights
Get inspired. Get in free.
December 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29
Galleries open 5–9 pm; special events follow.
Free
Thursday, December 1
Tastings with Chef Josh Brown
Gather by D’Amico, 5–9 pm
In celebration of the Walker’s month–long screenings of the British Arrows Awards, join Gather’s own chef Brown, who shares tastes from his unique British–themed menu for the month of December. On Thursday, December 1, as with the first Thursday of every month, guests can sample two complimentary menu items. Chef Brown will be present throughout the evening to chat with guests and answer any questions. Named “One of the Best New Restaurants of the Year” by Mpls./St. Paul magazine, Gather features a happy hour and full bar with an innovative specialty cocktail menu by mixologist Josh Rigert.
Open House: The Designer as Producer
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab, 5–9 pm
See what 30 graphic design students from the College of Visual Arts, the College of Design at the University of Minnesota, and Minneapolis College of Art and Design have produced in a 12-week course related to the exhibition Graphic Design: Now in Production.
Design Lecture: Anthony Burrill
Walker Cinema, 7 pm
British graphic designer Burrill makes acclaimed edition posters that combine witty slogans and sayings with bold typographic treatments and strong color. His unique approach to graphic language includes collaborations with filmmakers and musicians on moving image work and environmental installations for Colette, the famed Paris boutique, and the Design Museum in London. His work has been exhibited in England, the Netherlands, France, and Italy. Presented in conjunction with Graphic Design: Now in Production.
Opening Reception: Elizabeth Simonson Installation
Hennepin Lobby, 6 pm
Notwithstanding its 11 galleries, outdoor terraces, cinema, and theater, the Walker is rife with other, more unusual spaces for presenting art. Take, for instance, “the oculus”— the nickname architects Herzog & de Meuron gave to the eccentrically shaped, overhead opening in the Hennepin Lobby that connects to Gather by D’Amico above. Elizabeth Simonson is the first of four Minnesota artists commissioned to create work for this space in a multiyear exhibition initiative funded by the McKnight Foundation. Noted for incorporating ordinary materials into intricate accumulations of texture, pattern, and color, the artist will render a new large-scale installation composed of fishing line, beads, and wire. Join Simonson and visual arts curator Siri Engberg at its unveiling.
Screening
World AIDS Day: Untitled
Lecture Room, 8 pm
Directed by Jim Hodges, Carlos Marques da Cruz, and Encke King
Invited in 2010 to lecture on the billboard project of Felix Gonzalez‐Torres at San Antonio’s ArtPace, Jim Hodges joined forces with filmmakers Carlos Marques da Cruz and Encke King to build a non‐linear montage of archival and pop footage to conjure up the passionate activism sparked by the early years of the AIDS crisis. Un‐spooling at multiple levels, the narrative flies between scenes of tragic brutality and kitschy humor, arch clips of laughter and ironic surprises while shredding traditional chronology. While many references ‐ the title, short excerpts from Golden Girls and Dynasty, popular songs, and contemporary issues ‐ nod towards Felix Gonzalez‐Torres’ oeuvre, the film is not an attempt to portray the artist, but rather to place the viewer “in his room.” In this way, the framing of the artist becomes a means to project any number of people, endlessly.
By juxtaposing fractious scenes from the last few turbulent decades, Untitled presents a powerful and provocative reflection on an era when political protest and personal existence converged. At the same time, the film draws history nearer by representing the pressure and hopelessness created by regimes of power from New York to Los Angeles, New Orleans to Guantánamo, and beyond, and the brave women and men who in times of crisis stood up for themselves, for their communities, and for humanity. 2011, video, 60 minutes.
Artist Bios:
Jim Hodges has created a broad range of work exploring themes of fragility, temporality, love and death in a highly original and poetic vocabulary. His works frequently deploy different materials and techniques: from ready‐made objects to traditional media, such as graphite and ink. He has been the subject of many solo exhibitions in the United States and Europe and has been included in numerous group exhibitions, including the 2004 Whitney Biennial. His work was recently included in the Walker’s A Shot in the Dark exhibition. He currently lives and works in New York City.
Carlos Marques da Cruz works with artists, performers, and filmmakers in Lisbon, Paris, Venice, Rome, Genoa, Spoleto, Naples, Milan, Palermo, Madrid, Brussels, London, and New York.
Encke King is a film and video producer, editor, and writer based in New York.
Distributed for World AIDS Day / Day With(out) Art 2011 by Visual AIDS.
Visual AIDS utilizes art to fight AIDS by provoking dialogue, supporting HIV+ artists, and preserving a legacy, because AIDS is not over.
Art Chat Every Thursday in December
Walker Galleries, 6:30–7:30 pm
Have a question about contemporary art? Find an Art Chat guide as they roam the galleries engaging visitors on their topic of choice.
Target Free Thursday Nights Special in the Walker Shop
The Walker Shop offers a discount on a selected item during Target Free Thursday Nights. The featured item for December is the Pantone mug. These mugs, inspired by the Pantone Color charts, are glazed as an iconic Pantone Color Chip and come with a Pantone chip tag. Made of fine bone china, the mugs are dishwasher safe and microwave proof. Each mug is $10 in the Walker Shop on Thursdays in December. This offer is limited to one per person and can’t be combined with other discounts.
Target Free Thursday Nights sponsored by Target