Last night I was fortunate enough to see a wonderful exhibition at the Walker Art Center (on Targets FREE Thursday night)! The exhibition is titled, This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s; looking back to remember peoples' voices (through art) in the “80s” (1979 to 1992). At this time in the 80s, President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dominated political ideas while also turning eyes from big issues such as nuclear war and the AIDS pandemic.

"When you think back to the 1980s, what characterizes the decade for you?"

In the 80s, artists of the time questioned whether visual art was being overshadowed by the new and encroaching mass media. What role did the artists in the United States have in society, they asked? Pieces of artwork in the exhibit touch upon issues dealing with people of marginalized status--women, people of color, gays and lesbians--and how they worked to show their voice.

This Will Have Been contains artwork of 90 artists, and 100 pieces, that show the decade's action of debate, discussion, opinions, and strong expression. The exhibition is divided into four thematic sections dealing with: The End is Near, Democracy, Gender Troubles, Desire and Longing.

Here, Donald Moffett discusses the piece, Kissing Doesn't Kill, 1989, which was originally set for display on the sides of buses in Chicago. At the time of its posting, people lived with the idea that the AIDS pandemic was passed on to others by physical contact, like kissing... it made people think as the buses swept by.

Now friends, to make this short so you may do this, get outside and ENJOY the sun and FREE Art offered throughout our city... you'll be missing out if you miss this one!

Until next time.