In an American literary scene where the writer’s gaze has been steadily turning inward for decades, Philip Levine’s concerns–blue-collar work, exploitation, social justice, and spirituality–are so virtuous as to be almost anachronistic. Born to Jewish immigrants in Detroit in 1928, Levine did a long apprenticeship in the Motor City’s industrial academies, and his poetry–distinguished by … Read more
With her all-seeing eye and clear, impelling, and quietly humorous prose, Joan Didion helped shape the golden age of literary journalism in the sixties and seventies. In particular, her book of California essays, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, was a landmark work that confirmed for the rest of the country that strange folks indeed populate that state. … Read more
The cringe-inducing title of this show is borrowed from the name of a bar, one that was the center of a peculiar sort of mayhem in mid-century rural Missouri. From 1948 to 1951, the regulars at the Bloody Bucket included a flood of World War II veterans who continued to live out the violence they’d … Read more
Huang Yong Ping is a perfect choice for the Walker’s first full-scale retrospective since its reopening last spring. While he’s known within the global contemporary art firmament, this exhibition will expose his work to more of us regular folks–and thus add him to the lengthy roster of international artists (think Rirkrit Tiravanija, Krystof Wodiczko, Fischli … Read more
Getting around in the city can be intense, whether you’re swerving on your bike to avoid oblivious pedestrians, crammed into a crowded bus at rush hour, or squeezing past that bus in a car. The crush can be oppressive, but it can also have moments of hectic beauty; the latter is what inspires Shawn McNulty … Read more
This ambitious and high-concept show has twenty-eight artists considering the future of black culture. From Sun Ra’s cosmic jazz to Brother From Another Planet to DJ Spooky’s book Rhythm Science, the notion of a rising black culture that blends art and technology is nothing new. But the varied film, sound, collage, and multimedia works housed … Read more
Offering perhaps conclusive proof that fewer Americans are reading these days, Best Buy’s health and wellness retail experiment, called Eq-Life, will soon occupy the space vacated by Grand Avenue’s now defunct independent bookstore, Bound to Be Read. It’s worth noting that about a mile down the street, the space left open by Ruminator’s closure is … Read more
Over the summer, as a new orchestra season neared, Minnesota Orchestra Artistic Director Osmo Vänskä started cropping up with more frequency and in interesting places. He fell out of the Sunday New York Times, for example. His smiling face was spotted on a friend’s bookshelf, atop a collectors’ edition bobble-arm, and, in one colorful portrait … Read more
Adulthood is overrated in many ways, and that’s especially so in Istanbul, according to this comedy set in an apartment building full of nosy folks. There’s the six-year-old who doesn’t want to get circumcised. There’s the teenager who doesn’t want to join the military. And then there’s the poor guy who’s exiting his twenties, but … Read more
In his mid-fifties, New York financier William B. Post developed a new hobby, photographing comely young Edwardian women primping and simpering in sentimental poses. He would have remained a dilettante had he not gone outside for a little fresh air. Post’s country place in Maine set him in the midst of a wild beauty and … Read more