State of the Arts: March 11, 2011 Archive
Friday news and reviews
Posted at 11:09 AM on March 11, 2011
by Marianne Combs
Filed under: News and reviews
Art
Potter's homecoming
Minnesota-born Michael Simon returns from Georgia to the Northern Clay Center for a career retrospective.
- MARY ABBE, Star Tribune
'Scuffle and Scrape' opens this Saturday at Rosalux Gallery"Scuffle and Scrape" is not only the name of Shawn McNulty's upcoming exhibition, but also an apt bare-bones description of his application of paint, pumice, and gels to his large canvasses.
- Coco Mault, City Pages
General
The week before St. Pat's: Irish comedy at the Fine Line and Frank Theatre's 'Cabaret'
- Max Sparber, MinnPost.com
Old gods: 'The 7-Shot Symphony'; also, Julian Schnabel at the Walker
- Max Sparber, MinnnPost.com
Movies
'Before Night Falls' screens at the Walker Friday
The film first premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2000, where its reputation grew as an award-winning glimpse into an important era of Cuba's history.
- Shelby Meyers, City Pages
'Mars' needs more than mothering
How about some 3-D storytelling to go with 3-D animation?
- TOM HORGEN, Star Tribune
Review: Looks like Disney spaced out on this one
The best way to enjoy "Mars Needs Moms"? Skip the movie and watch the closing credits.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press
Grimm reaper
'Red Riding Hood' gets botched in this teen-targeted retelling.
- COLIN COVERT, Star Tribune
Review: Director Catherine Hardwicke's scary tale doesn't measure up to her 'Twilight' series
Clearly an attempt to cash in on the success of the "Twilight" movies, "Red Riding Hood" repurposes the folk tale as a vaguely creepy romance.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press
"Red Riding Hood": My, Grandma, what a big demographic you have!
Rather than focusing on doing a few things well, the movie bounces all over the place trying and half-exploring a theme for a scene and then discarding it for another theme in the next.
- Sarah Heuer, TC Daily Planet
California screaming
Alien invaders attack greater Los Angeles. All hell breaks loose. Call in the Marines.
- COLIN COVERT, Star Tribune
Review: Simple plot, unassuming characters, plain speaking, colossal payoff
Bad news: The West Coast is under attack. Good news: We've got Michelle Rodriguez on our side.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press
A platter of splatter
New from director Kim Jee-woon, an ultra-violent revenge flick.
- COLIN COVERT
Review: Any time there is this much torment, there's also the devil to pay
"I Saw the Devil" is a long movie -- a little too long, given the modesty of its cat-and-mouse tale -- but Kim is so in control as a filmmaker I was willing to go to whatever bloody, unpleasant, humanity-questioning place he wanted to take me.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press
Review: Guaranteed not to be music to your ears
I would not recommend "The Over the Hill Band," but it practically begs to be remade for American TV with Betty White in the lead.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press
Review: The action is brutal, the message clear"The Last Lions" seems to have been created for people who want a land-based version of the Discovery Channel's "Shark Week." It's all carnage all the time.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press
Music
SPCO program propelled by contrast
In both his original compositions and his interpretations of others' work, Matthias Pintscher is devoted to emphasizing contrasts and conflict.
- Rob Hubbard, Pioneer Press
Hip-hop contenders
Three local names to watch, all with different styles and backgrounds.
- CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Star Tribune
Cold War Kids at First Avenue, 3/10/2011
Cold War Kids have received some lukewarm press and icy criticism following their January-released third album Mine is Yours, which was all zipped up by Kings of Leon producer Jacquire King.
- Natalie Gallagher, City Pages
Gayngs and friends at First Ave: Once again, Prince missed his big night
A plethora of Minneapolis bands gathered at First Avenue Sunday night for the debauched Gayngs Affiliayted Showcase.
- Matt Beachey, Examiner.com
Vocalessence upcoming season: New work and old
Premieres, commissions and a state tour
- GRAYDON ROYCE, Star Tribune
Yeti Records hosting mixtape exchange, 'Yetifest'
Yeti Records has been the hub of much music loving activity lately.
- Danny Sigelman, City Pages
Get ready for 'Petrenko-mania' and one of season's best
For concertgoers accustomed to Osmo Vanska's leaping and lunging, Petrenko must have seemed downright statuesque conducting Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony.
- Rob Hubbard, Pioneer Press
Stage
Barrio Grrrl! at The Children's Theatre Company
Even nine-year-olds will not miss the positive message inherent in this sweet story: that it is possible to change your world for the better, just by exercising a little imagination and gumption.
- Janet Preus, Howwastheshow.com
You'll be glad there are strings attached
An experimental wonderland for miniature puppetry, the annual Toy Theatre After Dark Festival is bigger than ever.
- Amy Carlson Gustafson, Pioneer Press
The accidental actor
James Craven never intended to be an actor, but 40 years later he believes it is "the finest thing a person can do."
- ROHAN PRESTON, Star Tribune
Mario and Michael Bay: Like peanut butter and exploding chocolate
The folks at Comedy Suitcase gleefully jam genres together with Michael Bay's "Super Mario Armageddon."
- Ed Huyck, City Pages
At SteppingStone Theatre, "Get Up Your Irish" tells the story of Irish immigration to Minnesota
Get Up Your Irish tells the story of a group of immigrants from the fishing village of Connemara, Ireland who, in 1880, were plopped in the prarie land of Graceville, Minnesota under the order of Archbishop John Ireland.
- Deb Pleasants, TC Daily Planet
Radio stars are the focus of next season's Orpheum and State shows
Artists better known for showing up on radio stations than in theaters -- including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Abba and punk-rockers Green Day -- highlight the season.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press
New, old Broadway musicals on tap
Hennepin Theatre Trust's 2011-12 lineup includes "American Idiot" and "Million Dollar Quartet."
- ROHAN PRESTON, Star Tribune
Comedian Gallagher collapses during show in Rochester, Minn.
Comedian Gallagher was rushed to a hospital on Thursday night after collapsing during a performance in Rochester.
- Associated Press
This week's Minnesota originals
Posted at 9:30 AM on March 11, 2011
by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Television
On this edition of Minnesota Original...
Family inspires the work of visual artists Seitu Jones and his granddaughter Hunter Powell.
We catch up with Emmy-Award winning composer Steve Heitzig at his home in St. Paul to learn the secrets of his songwriting process.
There is a science to Marilyn Garber's watercolor botanical art.
And Singer/Songwriter Peter Himmelman performs songs from his newest album.
Students to have "A Continued Presence" at the MIA
Posted at 2:51 PM on March 11, 2011
by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Education, Museums
Carla Rodriguez and Ethan Holbrook stand in the rotunda where they've created a sound piece for the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
For two seniors at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, making the journey from student to "legitimate artist" involved a trek of just a few hundred feet.
Carla Rodriguez and Ethan Holbrook beat out 17 other proposals by their peers - including graduate students - for the opportunity to create a site specific piece for the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. This is the first round in what is expected to be an ongoing collaboration between the school and the museum.
The piece, which is situated in the second floor Target rotunda (see image below), is a sound installation. Called "A Continued Presence," it features the sound of Rodriguez running around the rotunda with bare feet (Holbrook and Rodriguez were allowed into the museum after hours to make the recording). The sound is just loud enough that it doesn't seem like an intrusion, but gradually grabs your attention.
"It's an activation of the space," says Holbrook. "I'd like to think that it will make the viewer aware of this space, the architecture, of the building."
"I feel like a lot of people aren't going to notice it," says Rodriguez, "which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It depends on how aware they are in that moment."
Rodriguez is primarily a photographer, and Holbrook a filmmaker, so this project was a stretch for both of them.
MIA curator Christopher Atkins says the space the students chose is an area most people just pass through moving from one gallery to the next, but he believes the sound installation will get people to stop and notice their surroundings a little more.
"It's kind of creepy - you can hear it from all three floors," says Atkins. "And it's also breaking the rules - you can't run in a museum!"
The second floor Target rotunda in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Carla Rodriguez ran barefoot around the rotunda for 25 minutes while Ethan Holbrook recorded to create "A Continued Presence."
Image courtesy of the MIA
The students were also inspired by tales of certain rooms in the museum being haunted (ghosts?! plan to read more on that topic on this blog sometime soon), and liked the idea of creating a sound piece that was in essance an echo of what had once happened there.
While both Holbrook and Rodriguez have both shown their work in exhibitions organized by MCAD, this is their first real exposure to life as professionals. Their proposal was selected in December, and they've been working with the museum for the past two months to create and install the piece.
"I'm ecstatic that we could do something like this with the museum," says Rodriguez. "You get into kind of a bubble at MCAD, and things are easy - it's a safe environment, people are always there to help you. But in this situation there's this sense of professionalism, there's more riding on it. It's a well-known museum, it's a huge honor. We're graduating soon, now we have this on our resume; I feel like this makes us more legitimate."
Christopher Atkins predicts that after students see "A Continued Presence" installed, the MIA can expect even more proposals next year.
"It's gone really well - I think this will go a long way to get students interested in participating. It's been really nice to share our resources with MCAD, and work on this project together."
Atkins says MCAD president Jay Coogan brought the collaboration idea with him from the Rhode Island School of Design, where they had a similar program. Next year students will be encouraged to submit proposals for different locations in the museum.
"That was one of the coolest parts," says Rodriguez. "We could choose any part of the museum. It made me think outside of what I'm normally comfortable with, and look at the building differently."
"It's a great space," Holbrook adds, noting that the minimalist artwork on the walls in the rotunda partners well with the sound piece.
"A Continued Presence" is still in the final stages of installation, and will have an official opening reception on Thursday night. It will remain in the museum through May 22nd.
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