Around the Museum, #1
(Welcome to Around the Museum, a feature of the Plains Art Museum blog recapping the week and psyching you up for the week to come.)
The week that was.
On Tuesday, we officially opened The White Album: The Beatles Meet the Plains, an exhibition that showcases work from our permanent collection organized around the songs from “The White Album” (technically called The Beatles). Featuring a diverse set of artists (Star Wallowing Bull, T. L. Solien, and Luis Jimenez, among many others) chosen in such a way has given this exhibition a “shuffled” feel. This makes sense since the show is sort of a mashup. So far, it’s been warmly received; many visitors tell us that they’ve been excited to have a reason to reacquaint themselves with such a powerful musical statement. A large contingent of kids have been through for tours as well. I understand there was a lot of dancing to “Birthday.”
(Paul McCartney? Ringo Starr? If you’re out there somewhere, we’d be honored to have either or both of you in to give a gallery talk.)
The work on the roof windows over the atrium was finished last week and the scaffolding was taken down earlier this week. For both visitors and staff, it was daunting to have three stories of scaffolding right inside the front door, so we’re glad it’s down. Also reassuring is the fact that the Rosenquist mural will be protected from harmful light and UV rays when it gets installed this fall.
On Wednesday, Jeff Mooridian and friends led a laid-back evening of jazz for our Rush Hour Music Series. Jeff led a skilled band but kept the proceedings loose, creating a jovial atmosphere. He called up his sister to sing a couple tunes and, folks, she was dynamite (I have video from the evening that I will put up next week). I’d like to thank Connie and Kristy from our sponsors, Minnesota Public Radio, for bringing the scrumptious cake for their member appreciation function that coincided with the concert. I had the carrot cake. Two pieces.
We had a huge response to Theme Photo Thursday on our Facebook page this past week. If you’re not familiar with Theme Photo Thursday, it’s simply an open call for fan photos to be posted to our wall along a broad, simple theme. This week, the theme was “Music.” We had quite the array of work, from photos of Kiss to photos of old instruments. Please do check it out.
The week yet to be
We’re entering a brief period without any public programming, but that doesn’t mean we’re lacking in things to do. We just put the wraps on our next newsletter due out in the beginning of June, so now we’re in the process of getting the website up to speed. We’re also still planning a few functions, including a tribute to Modern Man coming up in July. Mostly, however, we’re basking in the beautiful early summer and working our hardest to bring people and art together.
Any thoughts to share about the week that was or the week yet to be? Please leave a comment, and thanks for reading.