My Absence (Part 2)

While the Walker Art Center hogs the headlines, a highly visible emblem of modernism, a tumble of aluminum clad cubes, promising not just paint but pixels, performance, and Wolfgang Puck. I visited instead the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, to see the collection naturally, but also to consider the building's architectural accretion, nearly equal parts McKim, Mead & White, Kenzo Tange, and Michael Graves.

Graves addition came most recently (in 2006), and feels less like his flamboyant high wire act and more like a sideshow hustle, cartoon classicism (perhaps an ode), with Paul Bunyan sized dowels, or columns, checkerboarded about in a field of white.

Tange's contribution, for a master of movement, feels a bit static. (Maybe the client's to blame?) Porcelain smooth surfaces, dinner ware without decorative roughage, the crackle of McKim, Mead, and White's matchless classicism and ornament (see photo top).

From the Prairie School gallery (yes!), the Minneapolis skyline is purposely framed. The view is accompanied by a detailed placard, buildings are identified and attributed, architecture offered as more than mere canister or amenity. Yes!
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Today's open: 2892 W. 15th ST 2 - 5:30
The best all-around property for sale in West Adams!
4 beds, 2 baths, music/bonus room, butler's pantry
The backyard is loaded with trees and shady spots (see left).
Come see the laundry chute. When's the last time you saw one of thems?

I'll have some Gatorade on ice.