Celebrating the tenth (or twelfth) anniversary of my exercising the right to abstain from animal dissection in high school biology class, I present to you a discussion at the Weisman Art Museum called “Why We Dissect.” All right, all right… The expert panel won’t be talking grasshoppers and frogs here. (I still gag.) Rather, they’ll specifically tackle the ethics of the Body Worlds exhibition. Is it cool with you that human corpses be sliced like loaves of bread? And what about those fetuses who haven’t filled out consent forms?
Author: rakemag
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Twenty-Four Hour Arty People
What is with all these twenty-four hour, speedy art projects? By this, I am referring to such things as the 24-Hour Play Project, even this, the “24-Hour Collaboration,” a slumber party involving several University of Minnesota composers, most of whom live in the same ramshackle in south Minneapolis. It’s not that I oppose the application of such time restraints. It’s just that, for the life of me, I can’t fathom the compulsion to stay up all night while slogging through the creative process with others–or worse even, without the luxury of slogging. But maybe that’s because I’m but a lowly, solitary writer. When I stay up all night working on a deadline, there’s seldom anyone else around to get barked at.
But there are apparently plenty of art-makers wanting to participate in these 24-hour collaborations, because I’ve noticed several such speed-art events cropping up.
At least they double the allotted time for making film–and by this, of course, I am referring to the 48-Hour Film Project. There is a best-of screening at the Riverview Theater tonight. Check out the website for the lineup.
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The Fringe
By the way, there’s a free Fringe Festival preview tonight at Theatre de la Jeune Lune–thirty playlets done in tasty, three-minute bites.
Ah, how I love the Fringe for all its quirky, lo-fi virtues. But do you know what I love the most about it? Those campy, most often amateur photographs the Fringe performers put on postcards or otherwise use to promote their shows. An early sample:
From Janet And Tina (Hard Up And Landlocked), “a comedic dance theater piece about two disgruntled co-workers”:
From Wrapped in Plastic, a teen show about body image:
The ultimate in Fringe Fest geekiness–the image below, while not all that entertaining in and of itself, is from Carpe the DM, a show put on by a bunch of “Fridley and Columbia Heights residents” who introduce a lovely lady to “their favorite fantasy role-playing game.” (In unision, here’s where we go sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)
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Wanly yours,
The big news this weekend is the Guthrie opening, of course. And I’ll be there. I won’t elaborate too much on how I feel about that (uh, excited), considering that there are many other things going on this weekend, and in some instances they won’t involve such logjam traffic.
There’s Twin Cities Pride, for example. Might I recommend that daylight dance party on Bar Lurcat’s patio (I look forward to this, being that the afternoon is the only time I really have energy to kick it) or the uptown pride block party outside of Bryant Lake Bowl? The later event has music performances by Venus and Tina Schlieske for a trip down memory lane.
And speaking of music, I like the little shows. For example, Beatifics will sprinkle their sugar-sweet brand of pop around the Hexagon Bar tonight. High On Stress will be among the lineup at Spring Street Tarvern.
Theater: My top pick is London After Midnight: Victorian Tales of Crime and the Supernatural, Hardcover Theater‘s late-night production of vampire and grave robber stories, which is scheduled for a 3 p.m. matinee this Sunday. My other top pick is I Am My Own Wife at the Jungle, starring Bradley Greenwald. I haven’t seen it yet; it’s just that I loved Greenwald’s work in Torch Song Trilogy a few years back. From what I am hearing we can expect a repeat of that bold performance.
Finally, while walking although the Mill Ruins Park last weekend, mostly to scope various views of the new Guthrie, I vowed to participate in the community dig in that area, an archaeological project to excavate the old Cataract Mill Complex. Some of it has already been exposed, and it’s a breathtaking display.
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Pink in the face
Since I don’t often plug charity events, and am starting to feel as though I’ve got a hardened, black heart, I thought I’d pass along this info about an event happening tonight at the grandest she-palace in all the Twin Cities, Alfred’s Grand Petit Magasin.
Before I get into the event: This magnificent store, in Edina, is sort of fashioned after Barney’s or Fred Segal, although it’s infused with a little more Parisian flare. I guess you could say it’s the last ridiculously high-end outpost on the prairie, catering to the sorts of local ladies who might travel to the coast, or even abroad, to form fall wardrobes or decorate their homes for the season. The place is decked out with a cafe, a stationery section, housewares, furniture, jewelry, a clothing section (my fave-or-ite!, except that it looks to be a little heavy on the over-embellished as of late, and I’m trying to stay away from that stuff), and even a basement filled with vintage goodies.
If you haven’t already guessed, Alfred’s is not the sort of place to bring your thoroughly masculine friends.
In any case, the event, called Pink Party, is a fundraiser for Hope Chest for Breast Cancer and, let’s see, it’s in the shape of a champagne and dessert party. Do not be fooled if your boyfriend or husband has a sweet tooth or likes swilling bubbly. This ain’t for him.
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More of Same
He’s a convicted felon with many priors and not a U.S. citizen. He should be deported. We have enough criminals that are U.S. citizens and do not need to pay for non-citizens to go through the court/prison process. Convicted felon with priors—that says it all.
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In Praise of Second Chances
IN PRAISE OF SECOND CHANCES
My husband is very good friends with Moek. I feel that it’s very unfair to not give a person a second chance. I wonder if there is anything that anyone can do to help a person in this situation. I understand he maybe should be put on tight probation, but at least this will give him a chance to prove them wrong—to prove that people can change, especially at Moek’s age.If I had some sources to go to or ideas on what I can do, because I’m a very outspoken person, I would fight this. The U.S. didn’t give him a second chance. When they took Moek away from his family, he had to leave behind a son and that’s heartbreaking. Moek was young and he made a huge mistake. They really should have given him a second chance, at least for the sake of his son.
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Finer Points of Lakeville
As a resident of Lakeville I’d like to make a couple of corrections to the article in your June issue on the last metro Ben Franklin [Rakish Angle]. We only have nine elementary schools and three middle schools—not twelve and four respectively. We also have an Area Learning Center, Community Education Building, and Family Learning Center.
The road from McStop doesn’t exactly wind either. It’s a straight shot with one long curve passing a couple of open fields soon to be taken over by yet more sprawling single-family home sites and townhomes.
Lakeville covers a huge area and still has vast, open, rolling hills. I like the fact we can drive a couple of miles and be surrounded by farmers’ fields—the occasional whiff of cow manure in spring confirms the ground is thawing in spring.
Lakeville’s downtown still has a tranquil small-town feel far away enough from the rushing traffic of Interstate 35.
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Las Vegas
“Nothing says love and commitment like a wedding in Sin City. With nine witnesses,
one limo driver, and a registered minister, the vows of a lifetime were less than fifteen minutes. But not you, Rake—your literary contents last forever. We love you!” -
Katherine Turczan, Carolyn Swiszcz, Oliver Michaels
Of these three absorbing mini-exhibits, we were most smitten with the 112 small works by Swiszcz, which were hung in grid form on two walls. The Minneapolitan selected these from the results of a painting-a-day spree that lasted for nine months. Some are abstract, but most are quirky studies of everyday life: a cat entreating its owner, complete with word balloons; fairgoers silhouetted against a glowing roasted-corn stand at the state fair; a friend telling what he’s learned from a book on Nikola Tesla. In the main gallery, Turczan, also from Minneapolis, presents new landscapes and portraits captured on the Crimean Peninsula in the aftermath of the Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. Large-format photos are all the rage these days, but Turczan’s have a gravity and lyricism that is exceptional. Finally, Oliver Michaels’ loopy video, shot atop the engine of a model train as it careens through various domestic settings, is a hoot. 1021 Franklin Ave. E., Minneapolis; 612-872-7494; www.franklinartworks.org