March 21, 2022
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be able to touch the art at a museum? Conservators and preparators get to do just this as they delicately move, care for, and arrange the pieces in the museum’s collection. The WAM Collective spoke to Reggie Spanier, Preparator at WAM, about what it’s…
October 7, 2021
New York City’s American Museum of Natural History is the stuff of wonders. Filled wall to wall with countless dioramas, statues, and artifacts that are sure to jog the imagination, it is no wonder that the museum attracts five million visitors a year. The vast majority of those visitors pass through the building’s Central…
November 25, 2020
At an accessions meeting at Weisman Art Museum (WAM) in December 2019, committee members voted to bring Cara Romero’s TV Indians into the permanent collection. With funds gifted by Russell Cowles, WAM purchased Romero’s striking photograph from the Bockley Gallery (Minneapolis, MN), where the work was on view for her solo exhibition, Jackrabbit &…
November 24, 2020
Upon entering Vesna Kittelson’s North Loop Minneapolis studio, you notice that her space is populated with the faces of Young Americans. The painted portraits, slightly larger than life, are unfettered by frames and hung directly on the wall, most of them at eye level or just above. You can’t help but meet their gazes;…
May 6, 2020
Real Colorful Creatures I’m reminded of the crisp new pages of my inexperienced youth, quickly turned into crumpled corners, faded lines, ripped edges. I’m reminded of the boundless possibilities that arise from a single plot. A plot that has a rise and a fall, with an ending that comes too soon. I’m reminded of Where…
May 6, 2020
Around Here “Time? What is time? We don’t have that around here,” she says. But how then, I thought, can I compare yourself to me? No number to make us seem similar, no skin wrinkle, hair color, or light amid your eyes. The balance of unbalanced strings lapping against bright plywood, yellow coated and a…
May 6, 2020
How My Husband Makes a Jackson Pollock As for paint, any kind of object filled with non-solid matter will suffice. They need to fit comfortably in his hand, which means bigger than a gum ball but smaller than a cantaloupe. But also neither if it’s late enough or early enough or both. Perfume, hot sauce,…
May 6, 2020
Situated Between a Hamlet and a Village If there was noise in the void, it would sound like the snow kicked up softly by the wind on the countryside. Empty. Cold. Colorless. Nauseating. There’s no separation between the ground and sky, expelling the urge to take one step further. A tree’s shadow is disgusting because…
January 15, 2020
Luminous swaths of green, yellow, and purple spread and seep through the surface of the canvas, capturing the attention of gallery visitors. The paint still looks alive with movement nearly fifty years after its deployment. The brilliant colors captivate viewers immediately, but after observing for a minute or two, one may be inclined to ask,…
November 19, 2019
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we are featuring Indigenous artists and their work that we hold in our permanent collection on our blog, social media, and Collection Highlight E-Newsletters. Our intention is to both recognize the varied contributions of Indigenous artists while acknowledging how their works are disproportionately underrepresented in museum collections nationwide,…