Author: rakemag

While interviewing Vietnam veterans, Mara Pelecis talked with a man named Phong Phan, who told her, “Many people have souvenirs–some souvenirs are very heavy.” Pelecis’s photos explore the kind that can tear people apart. She shows us life after wartime for Native Americans, Vietnamese, women, and her own father. One of her most moving works is a black and white photograph of her father’s lighter, inscribed with his post in Vietnam. The story of this object, which Pelecis rescued from the bottom of a lake, has a lasting impact, especially if you walk away from this stunning exhibit with a matchbook, printed with the lighter’s image, in your hand. 165 13th Ave. N.E., Minneapolis; 612-824-5500; www.mncp.org

The little-studio-tour-that-could has transformed the landscape of Northeast Minneapolis. In its first ten years, it has helped to spawn an arts organization, legislation designed to fight gentrification, and a thriving arts district mixed in among all those Polish churches and pubs. Despite all of that, Art-A-Whirl has maintained its scrappy, scatterbrained appeal, even in the face of hefty sponsorships and professional event planners. With hundreds of participating artists, the tenth anniversary of Art-A-Whirl promises to be the most dense and delightfully chaotic studio tour yet. For the highest concentration of galleries and studios, try the massive California and Northrop King Buildings. www.art-a-whirl.org

Stare at the vibrant swaths, dots, and squiggles in these prints and try to guess which blob means people are having sex. We’re the first in the U.S. to feast our eyes on the sometimes steamy, always stunning images made by the Warlpiri artists of Australia’s Tanami Desert region. All those dots and squiggles translate as ceremonies, love stories, and magic rituals of this aboriginal people; the exhibition is part of a project by which the Warlpiri seek to strengthen “cross-cultural partnerships” between their Outback communities and the rest of the world. 2638 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-871-1326; www.highpointprintmaking.org

Ever seen a bird sleeping? Probably not, although if you took a flashlight into the woods late one night and played its beam through the trees, you may get lucky and spy a snoozer on a branch. Daniel Wheeler’s creepy-beautiful paintings suggest scenarios in which they might indulge when they know that no one is looking. In one work, songbirds are submerged in waters up to their necks, like swimmers; in another, birds survey human places with a touch of foreboding in their eyes. Things are just a little bit off here, but rendered with intuitive grace and emotion; in all, this show conveys a great sense of mystery. 3413 W. 44th St., Minneapolis; 612-339-1094; www.theissgallery.com

It’s hard to imagine Frank Gehry hitting on the inspiration to design aluminum buildings while living in his chilly home country, Canada. This exhibit credits his crazy idea instead to the fifteen years he spent living in Venice, California. There, Gehry soaked up the sunshine alongside the oddballs and beautiful dreamers who have long distinguished this town from its SoCal neighbors; he also mingled with other artists who called Venice home, including Peter Alexander, John Altoon, and Ed Moses. West! gathers the works of seventeen artists who were part of that endless summer, and who, not coincidentally, favored industrial materials and experimented with the play of light. Paired with photos of Gehry’s architecture, they go a long way toward illuminating how the WeismanÕs own fantastical home was conceived. 333 E. River Rd., Minneapolis; 612-625-9494; www.weisman.umn.edu

We may be living in a post-post-feminist world, but that doesn’t mean that certain professions, filmmaking among them, aren’t still overwhelmingly male-dominated. The good news is that more women than ever are making movies; actual screenings of their work, howevever, are still surprisingly rare. The Walker’s annual festival, now in its twelfth year, gathers the best of the bunch. Susanne Bier’s Brothers is a Cain and Abel love triangle set in modern day Afghanistan. Sally Potter’s Yes is told in iambic pentameter. Joanna Priestly’s animation is accompanied by an artist’s talk. The festival also continues its tradition of screening films by girls and teenagers; now that digital video equipment comes standard with many a family, kids are making incredibly accomplished movies. Filmmaking as we know it is changing dramatically–here’s a glimpse of the future. 612-375-7600; www.walkerart.org

The poor guy got saddled with a girl’s name, which, if you believe Johnny Cash, is enough to set a fellow on a murderous path. In this case, however, Marion Morrison changed his name and became a hero, wearing good-guy white in so many westerns that when he finally rode off into the sunset, in 1979, the Olympic torch was lit in his honor. Five of the Duke’s classic films are now out on DVD: Blood Alley, McQ, The Sea Chase, Tall in the Saddle and The Train Robbers. These films show that once upon a time, violent movies were good, clean fun.

Todd Solondz’s films are not easy to like, and they’re not really intended to be. In Welcome to the Doll House, he tormented his protagonist, the geeky teen Dawn Wiener, to hilarious effect. But we were laughing with her, not at her; it was all too easy to identify with poor Wiener Dog. Well, in his new movie, we learn that Dawn is dead. Which isn’t funny. Nor are a lot of other things in Palindromes, a divisive, over-the-top trip into bizarro world. There is some humor to be found in the shape-shifting, thirteen-year-old “heroine”–who desperately wants to be a mother and is played by eight actresses chosen for their differences in skin color, age, and size–as well as an assortment of other cracked characters. But other elements, like a houseful of children with horrible birth defects and a fundamentalist Christian plot to murder abortion doctors, are disturbing enough to make you wonder just what Solondz’s agenda is. 612-825-6006; Todd SolondzÕs films are not easy to like, and theyÕre not really intended to be. In Welcome to the Doll House, he tormented his protagonist, the geeky teen Dawn Wiener, to hilarious effect. But we were laughing with her, not at her; it was all too easy to identify with poor Wiener Dog. Well, in his new movie, we learn that Dawn is dead. Which isnÕt funny. Nor are a lot of other things in Palindromes, a divisive, over-the-top trip into bizarro world. There is some humor to be found in the shape-shifting, thirteen-year-old ÒheroineÓÑwho desperately wants to be a mother and is played by eight actresses chosen for their differences in skin color, age, and sizeÑas well as an assortment of other cracked characters. But other elements, like a houseful of children with horrible birth defects and a fundamentalist Christian plot to murder abortion doctors, are disturbing enough to make you wonder just what Solondz’s agenda is. 612-825-6006; www.landmarktheatres.com

The Enron story is far from over, since the guys who walked away with the most money are still working their way through the legal system and, naturally, balking at every turn. But apparently, these perps were mighty pleased with the ways in which they carried out one of the biggest business scandals in history. They created enough of a record of their personal excesses and professional thievery, in both video and audio, to make what amounts to a documentary about the downfall of the seventh largest company in the United States. If you find Ken Lay’s lifestyle repellent, you’ve got another thing coming with this film. 612-825-6006; www.landmarktheatres.com

This visually gorgeous 1990 drama is one of the pinnacles of Hong Kong Cinema. Director Wong Kar-Wei and cinematographer Christopher Doyle spy on a lazy charmer as he works his way through a string of beautiful and damaged women during a sticky hot Hong Kong summer. Set in the 1960s and suffused with a cool rumba soundtrack, this film is an intoxicating celebration of beauty, sensuality, and dangerous pleasures. But as each affair turns sour, heartbreak and existential hopelessness tarnish the glow from the night before. These characters are seeking meaning in human connection, but none of them seems able to connect in any meaningful way. 309 Oak St. SE, Minneapolis; www.mnfilmarts.org/oakstreet