Swaying slowly in the wind, a line of bright yellow balloons extends in a diagonal line over the desert scrub. The concentric circles emblazoned on four sides of the inflatable surface resemble staring eyes, encouraging sustained eye contact with these objects that seem both alive and inanimate. The repeated patterns on the floating spheres contribute to the mesmerizing effect created by their gentle movement.   

Scientists, architects, educators, psychologists, artists—seemingly disparate, these people gathered in May 1970 in the studio of the artist Robert Irwin to learn together: what does it take to build habitable environments in space. This was the First National Symposium on Habitability of Environments, designed by artist Robert Irwin and the space program psychologist Ed Wortz. They believed that art, as a discipline dedicated to subjective experiences, is in the unique position to offer insights on the perspective of the people that will inhabit those environments.

While processing the archival materials of the curatorial department of the Weisman Art Museum, I came across an article from MN Daily c

As with any loan from a library, a bank or otherwise, unexpected things can happen. The University of Minnesota's permanent art collection has long had an art rental program and at one point in time there were no rental fees to University employees. It happened one day in 1969 that a loan gone awry found its way to Wilson library and back home to the art collection.

Jacob Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an artist, storyteller, educator and chronicler African American life in America.