Catherine Opie

Skyways & Icehouses

Perhaps you’ve noticed that the Walker has been on the bleeding edge of the museum business–yes, it’s a business. And the good people here in the Twin Cities have been happy to serve as a petri dish for a commercial plan that often involves a delicate balance between populism and serious art, juxtaposing an ephemeral lightweight like Claes Oldenburg with an important aesthete like Anselm Kiefer. In other words, fine arts institutions need to attract a broad range of the public (think “Spoonbridge”) in order to get the support they need to do their more important work (think “The Order of Angels”). At this point, they must compete with pop culture for a limited supply of money and attention. This particular show is a wonderful distillation of that conundrum. Opie’s stark photos of skyways and ice houses open up like a matroshka doll to reveal numerous layers of the dichotomy. Photographs are accessible in a populist way, but these images are formalist in the extreme. Skyways are permanent, ice houses are temporary. See what we mean? This is the kind of show we love–simple on the surface, but bursting with the possibility of endless mental gymnastics once you ask, “Why?” WAC, (612) 375-7622