Humor is more than jokes. It is a tool for essential reflection on and relief from societal norms, and it is made relevant through lived experience and culture shared across generations, gender, geography, and many other “g” words. As dinner with your parents’ friends can prove, humor is not always universal.
Laughing Matter explores art within the Weisman’s collection that actively creates responses that signal humor—laughs, groans, and the in-between. The artworks shown here focus on five types of humorous devices that can be expressed by visual art: irony, satire, pun, comparison, and surprise. Through this art, you can uncover the structure and efficacy of jokes.
A good rule for making good jokes is to punch up, rather than down: to make fun of power rather than the powerless. This exhibition omits examples of exaggeration and caricature, as these often evoke stereotypes, insecurities, and a lack of nuance.
Much like frogs, jokes are best left undissected. Historical and cultural contexts are provided throughout the gallery. It’s up to you to decide if any of it is funny.
Laughing Matter was curated by Laura Moran, the 2016–17 Lisa & E. Gerald O’Brien Curatorial Fellow.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. General operating support is generously provided by Ameriprise Financial and the Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of HRK Foundation, and the KHR McNeely Family Fund, thanks to Kevin, Rosemary, and Hannah Rose McNeely. Additional support for Laughing Matter and its exhibition-related programs was provided by Hannah Rose McNeely.
Image credits: (Top) Bambi Peterson, Cheryl: Humanist, (detail) 1984, gelatin silver print, 13 3/4 × 11 in. Collection of the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Gift of the artist. 1985.14 (Bottom) Jasper Johns, The Critic Smiles, 1966, l-stone litho. hand-colored on Chatham Brit. handmade paper, 25 1/4 × 20 1/4 in. Collection of the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The Ione and Hudson D. Walker Fund. 1966.4.24
