Eugène Atget’s documentary photographs, mostly taken in Paris during the early 1920s, offer haunting, uncanny city scenes bereft of human actors. Often beginning his work before dawn, Atget would carry a bulky (and increasingly obsolescent) bellows camera while strolling the streets, endeavoring to capture a city on the brink of dramatic urban transformation. These images are imbued with nostalgia and a sense of loss.

This presentation was recorded on April 19 in conjunction with the exhibition MESSAGE FROM OUR PLANET: DIGITAL ART FROM THE THOMA COLLECTION and is available via the Weisman’s YouTube channel. 

After 3+ years in WAM Collective, Likeness will be my last event as a member. My favorite memories with the group involve meeting people and collaborating with artists, and I'm so glad that my final event encapsulates those elements so beautifully.

In the midst of the late July downpour last week I made my way over to the University of Minnesota faculty artist studios to visit Paul Shambroom's and ask him some questions about his work in Silence and Echoes the Weisman’s summer feature show. Shambroom has two photographs in the show, though his work has changed significantly since the days when he snapped them.

This Fall, WAM Collective is partnering with local artist Sean Connaughty to perform an Anthropocenic Midden Survey of the Mississippi River. On August 13, WAM Collective, students from the Sustainability Office, Sean Connaughty, and volunteers from the community collected trash from the banks of the Mississippi River to be cleaned, studied, and catalogued in a survey of the impact of University of Minnesota litter on the waters and surrounding eco-system.