Secrets of the City

Paul Schmelzer links to an opinion piece by a student at St. Cloud State who who attended the Walker Art Center, didn’t really get it, and proceded to declare it “crazy” and say it “bogs my mind.” I offered a rather pointed response in the comments, and quite a lot of discussion followed on Twitter. Our own Erica sums of the column, some of the discussion, and offers her perspective. The crux of the discussion was: How informed do you have to be about art before you can offer a useful or worthwhile critique of it? And are all opinions equally valuable, or do they become more valuable with more information?

It just happened. Almost all the sweet deals that crossed our desk and made it to our Deals Page this week are for the shop-’til-you-drop, bargain-minded, design-and-style-conscious crowd. If we missed some Big Deal events, add your comment here!

Danish Teak Classic sale through June 14 MNFashion designer garage sale Walker Shop double discount day Max’s trunk show Grethen House sale

As part of the Walker’s Quick and the Dead show (”A beautiful madhouse” says the TC Daily Planet), artist Kris Martin bruied and actual human skeleton somewhere on the Walker grounds. The Strib reports: It’s an extremely complicated work. Kris wanted to take a human skeleton that had been used for medical research and to bury it in an unmarked site, so this person who had been objectified would have a dignified resting place. (via)

One of the creators of the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture that stands in the Walker Art Center’s sculpture garden, Coosje van Bruggen, has died at age 66. Here are stories about her in the Downtown Journal, MPR, and the Decider.