A lot of talented calligraphers lost their jobs back in the fifteenth century, once the printing press came into vogue; their vocation has, alas, never recovered from the blow. But Donald Jackson is lucky. Not only is he Queen Elizabeth’s official scribe, he’s also been commissioned to create the first new handwritten Bible for the … Read more
Who among us didn’t believe, just a little bit, that our toys led secret lives, either while we slept or when we’d left the house on a quiet Saturday afternoon? The toys in Nygren’s paintings leave the domestic sphere altogether, traveling to new places while fixed in a state of “objectness.” Rendered in rich hues, … Read more
Perhaps it has something to do with the rising cost of studio space in the Twin Cities. Or maybe there’s a growing impulse to get out and better appreciate our state’s natural beauty, while it’s still there. Whatever the reasons, we’re seeing a boom in art barns, small-town galleries, and artists making a go of … Read more
Two Rivers director Juanita Espinosa says that for Native Americans, the present is “synonymous with the past.” This truth of native culture runs through the works in the gallery’s latest exhibit. In a seamless mesh of tradition and modernity, various interpretations of the concept of dodem (Ojibwe for “family”) and the original clan systems (Crane, … Read more
How does two more weeks of darkness sound? Before spring truly kicks into gear, you can happily fritter away a few wet and chilly days in a theater, catching some of M-SPIFF’S 160 films from fifty countries, which constitute the largest film event in the Upper Midwest. The festival opens in appropriately grand style at … Read more
The mono-monikered Norwegian graphic artist Jason, on whose work this production is based, apparently prefers his name to be spelled “JASON.” (Does that mean one must be extra-emphatic in speaking his name aloud?) We don’t cotton to the orthographical whims of E.E. Cummings or Bell Hooks, so we’ll have to decline Jason’s wish as well. … Read more
Marsha Palmer just so happens to be joined at the hip with Jeremy Walker. What’s interesting about this is that Palmer is Zenon Dance Company’s managing director, and local jazz impresario Walker is best known as proprietor of the dearly departed Brilliant Corners; their own relationship facilitated an otherwise unlikely union between Zenon’s hoofers and … Read more
There’s no better way to sell a show: “This production contains nudity,” warn press materials for French provocateur Jerome Bel’s American debut. Known for his spiciness and experimental dance techniques, Bel has created a pop music-inspired extravaganza; sponsored by Walker Art Center, “The Show Must Go On” includes David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and Tina Turner’s … Read more
Home is where we start from. That’s why different things appear perfectly natural to different folk. For much of the Near East it is not democracy that is natural but the milet system of the old Ottoman Empire, where no one had votes, but each minority was responsible for itself under an Islamic umbrella. For … Read more
Certainly, the Varsity has come a long way since 2 Live Crew took the stage in the early 1990s to belt out “Me So Horny.” Now managed by the steady hand of Jason McLean, the man behind the nearby Loring Pasta Bar and the Kitty Cat Klub, the long-ailing Dinkytown landmark has been restored to … Read more