Arts and Culture in Minnesota

Minnesota abounds with diverse art and culture institutions. Smaller cities and towns emphasize the region’s folk arts, community traditions, immigrant experiences, and natural wonders. The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul offer a double serving of commercial theaters and performance halls, supplemented by a lively alternative art scene that leaves room for upstart theater companies, interdisciplinary performance groups, and independent spaces. In recent years, Minnesota has earned renown for its contemporary art museums, galleries, and sculpture parks. Galleries have morphed into performance art spaces and also host film festivals, while museums have undergone renovations that make them architectural attractions. HIGH ARTS   Minnesota enjoys the distinction of having several classical organizations that thrive financially. Music Director Osmo Vänskä oversees the Minnesota Orchestra in diverse Minneapolis programs at orchestra halls, outdoor concerts, and the three-week Sommerfest music festival. The Minnesota Chorale performs with the Minnesota Orchestra as well as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO), the country’s sole full-time professional chamber orchestra, plays in multiple locales, including Ordway, SPCO Center, and the Ted Mann Concert Hall. Born as an alternative company in 1963, the Minnesota Opera shifted to a classical repertoire when it merged with the St. Paul Opera in 1975. The company now performs in the Opera Center in Minneapolis, along the Mississippi River. The Skylark Opera showcases locally created collaborations that merge historical accuracy with contemporary relevance. The English-language productions take place at St. Paul’s E.M. Pearson Theatre at Concordia University. Started in 1962, the Minnesota Dance Theatre showcases an eclectic, international repertoire at the Hennepin Center for the Arts in downtown Minneapolis. Several smaller dance companies keep the Minneapolis dance scene diverse and groundbreaking. Jazz and modern forms predominate in the work of Minneapolis’ Zenon Dance Company. Athletic and hip, the work of Myron Johnson’s Ballet of the Dolls now attracts a larger audience in its Ritz Theater location. Also at the Ritz and other locales, the Ethnic Dance Theatre represents a convergence of 30 dancers and musicians interpreting folk art forms. Based in St. Paul, Ballet Minnesota presents a classical repertoire and organizes the annualMinnesota Dance Festival, hosting artists and companies from throughout the state. MUSEUMS Minnesota’s museums run the gamut of artist-run cooperatives to international collections that attract tourists from around the world. The grande dame of the state’s museums is the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The neoclassical structure, opened in 1915, features an additional section designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange and a wing by Michael Graves added in 2006. Seven curatorial areas in the collection cover Asian Art; Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; Architecture, Design, Decorative Arts, Craft, and Sculpture; Paintings and Modern Sculpture; Photographs; Prints and Drawings; and Textiles. Minneapolis’ Walker Art Center offers 30,000 square feet of exhibition space devoted to modern art and a growing collection of digital art. Holdings in painting, sculpture, photography and works on paper dominate, but the museum also showcases artists’ books, art models, mixed media, and interdisciplinary forms. The alternative and independent art scene in Minneapolis rounds out its visual art offerings. The Soap Factory draws experimental contemporary artists to its 40,000-square-foot space. Opened in 2000, theRogue Buddha Gallery features edgy and raw work by locals as well as by Marc Hauser (b. 1952) and Chicano artist Gronk (b. 1957). In St. Paul, the Goldstein Museum of Design holds landmark pieces in modern design, including ceramic art by the Handicraft Guild of Minneapolis, Tiffany metalwork, and Rookwood pottery. Native American design traditions are represented in a collection of Pueblo pottery and Navajo textiles. The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery, at St. Paul’s St. Catherine University, hosts local and international women artists or artists whose work pertains to women’s issues. The North Country Museum of Art, located in Park Rapids, displays European paintings dating from the 15th through the 19th centuries. The first floor consists of a show of historic artifacts. Contemporary art is the focus at the Rochester Art Center, which opened in 1946 in the town of Rochester. In Moorhead, the Rourke Art Museum features regional and international artwork within a restored 1913 Post Office building. The collection includes ceramics, pop art, West African work, American Indian traditional art, and pre-Columbian pieces. The gem of the upper Midwest, the Tweed Museum of Art in Duluth displays 6,000 objects collected by George P. Tweed and his wife Alice. Among the notable pieces are 19th-century American and European paintings, such as works from the French Barbizon School and American Impressionist landscape art. Fans of kitsch hit the Spam Museum in Austin, the original home of the Hormel company. Crammed full of whimsical and historical information, this facility offers vintage advertising, Spam trivia, memorabilia, and a can-it-yourself interactive display.   Affordable land and wide-open spaces have inspired Minneapolis artists and organizations to establish outdoor art attractions. Outside the Walker Art Museum, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden has an eccentric roundup of artwork, including the famed oversized Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture created by Claes Oldenburg (b. 1929) and Coosje van Bruggen (1942-2009). The 60 acres (24 hectares) of wooded hills in Eagan provide an ideal landscape for Caponi Art Park and Learning Center, where diverse examples of outdoor art are on display. Home of the world’s largest art tractor, the sculpture park at the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center is relatively modest, but it does play host to the annual Great American Think-Off philosophy competition. The Franconia Sculpture Parkshowcases 75 objects by emerging artists and offers artist-led tours, a hot metal pour, and the Fall Arts Festival. MUSIC Many ethnic groups established themselves in rural farmlands in Minnesota, resulting in international communities that sustained traditional musical forms. In some cases, the Norwegian and Swedish people settled near one another and, over time, produced music that bridged their traditions.Scandinavian music in Minnesota represents this blend of Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish styles, sometimes classified as old-time music. The town of New Ulm holds the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, honoring musicians who have contributed to Minnesota’s music scene. Recent inductees include Prince (b. 1958), who debuted his trademark Minneapolis sound—a blend of funk, rock, and disco—in 1978. Another inductee, Bobby Vee(b. 1943), had 38 pop songs hit Billboard’s top 100. Gospel music abounds in Minnesota’s musical history, and Robert Robinson is one of its famous contemporary practitioners. Drawing from gospel, and adding R&B and soul, the Sounds of Blacknesshas won three Grammy Awards. Lazy Bill Lucas (1918-1982) and Percy Strother (1946-2005) have earned renown in the world of blues. Jazz artist Doc Evans (1907-1977) played cornet in Dixieland jazz ensembles. Born in Duluth, the legendary Bob Dylan (b. 1941) left for New York before his name hit the spotlights. The 1980s saw a turning point in the Minnesota music scene as hardcore punk outfits started causing a ruckus in Minneapolis clubs. Groups such as The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, and Loud Fast Rules(which later became Soul Asylum) charted alternative hits.  THEATER AND PERFORMING ARTS Performing arts have a devoted following in Minnesota. Major theaters host prominent touring productions and showcase classic works in elaborate auditoriums. The Twin Cities offer several options for contemporary, interdisciplinary, and multicultural theater buffs, while smaller cities and towns host regional theater, annual festivals, and summer repertory. The sparkling Guthrie Theatre, now located on the Mississippi River’s west bank in Minneapolis, holds three theaters within its cobalt blue structure, and stages touring productions as well as major local work.  Touring Broadway comedies and musical spectaculars form the programming at Minneapolis’ Hennepin Stages, featuring two elaborate stages under one roof, the Pantages and the Orpheum. Minneapolis has many smaller theaters. Regional theater with imaginative staging earned Theatre de la Jeune Lune a 2005 Tony Award. Theater Latte Da has a bohemian environment and hosts theMinnesota Fringe Festival. The Jungle Theatre presents modern, edgy productions, while Mixed Blood Theatre emphasizes eclectic, multicultural work. Frank Theater and Minneapolis Theatre Garage (situated in an old auto body shop) excel in cutting edge, unpredictable productions.Intermedia Arts showcases theater, interdisciplinary work, performance art, dance, music, and media celebrating urban, ethnic, and groundbreaking artists. The star of St. Paul’s theater scene is The Fitzgerald Theater, known locally as the "Fitz." Built in 1910 for vaudeville shows, the theater broadcasts writer and storyteller Garrison Keillor’s radio program"A Prairie Home Companion." Legend has it that the ghost of a former stagehand haunts the space. Also in St. Paul, Penumbra Theatre stages professional productions relevant to the African-American experience. At White Bear Lake, Shakespeare & Company has the distinction of being Minnesota’s oldest outdoor classical repertory theater still in operation. The ensemble stages casual performances in its outdoor complex at Century College. The Commonweal Theatre Company in Lanesboro specializes in works by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), Norway’s master playwright known for social dramas such as Hedda Gabbler and A Doll’s House. FILM Although Minnesota does not show up in a great number of films, it does feature in the Coen Brothers’ 1996 black comedy Fargo. The movie begins in North Dakota, but was mainly filmed in Minneapolis and other Minnesota locations. Another notable movie, North Country (2005), chronicles the pioneering 1984 case, Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines. This case opened the doors for sexual harassment lawsuits. The film was shot in several Minnesota towns, and includes several errors in the Minneapolis skyline, showing buildings that did not exist in 1984. Prince stayed faithful to his roots by having nearly all of his musical drama Purple Rain (1984) filmed in Minneapolis, most famously the popular First Avenue nightclub. Other movies featured in or filmed in Minnesota include Grumpy Old Men (1993) and the sequelGrumpier Old Men (1995), both set in Wabasha, as well as the dramatic adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s novel That Was Then, This Is Now (1985), sports comedy The Mighty Ducks (1992), the romantic comedy Untamed Heart (1993), Kevin Smith’s cult hit comedy Mall Rats (1995), and the family comedy Jingle All the Way (1996). Visitors to Minnesota can see the childhood home of Judy Garland in the city of Grand Rapids, which features much of the same 1920s and 1930s design elements from the time she lived there. In downtown Minneapolis, The Mary Tyler Moore Statue depicts the fictional character throwing her hat with exuberance, recalling the image during the opening credits of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival consists of screenings, guest star appearances, filmmaker dinners, panels, and competitions. Two small film festivals worth mentioning are the Whiskey Creek Film Festival in New York Mills and the Ten Second Film Festival at Minneapolis’ Soap Factory. LITERARY ARTS In addition to being a breeding ground for many famous writers, Minnesota honors many of its literary celebrities with national historic monuments dedicated to them. In St. Paul, the F. Scott Fitzgerald House is the Victorian row house in which the Jazz Age novelist Fitzgerald (1896-1940) wrote much of his fiction. The part-time home of Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) stands in Sauk Centre, the place that inspired scenes in his novel Main Street (1920). In Northfield, the residence of Ole Edvart Rolvaag(1876-1931) recalls his immigrant upbringing that he chronicled in his trilogy of novels about the hardships of arriving in a new land. In New Ulm, the Queen Anne-style Wanda Gag House was the childhood home of Wanda Gag (1893-1946), a children’s author who wrote Millions of Cats (1928). The house operates as a historic museum, exhibiting lithographs, illustrations, photographs, and books by Gag. Maud Hart Lovelace (1892-1980) penned the Betsy-Tacy book series, inspired by her circle of friends in Mankato. Among the other writers who were born or lived and worked in Minnesota are graphic novelist and science fiction author Neil Gaiman (b. 1960), new age poet Robert Bly (b. 1926), humorist Garrison Keillor (b. 1942), one-time comedy writer (now U.S. senator) Al Franken (b. 1951), Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Anne Tyler (b. 1941), novelist and screenwriter Judith Guest (b. 1936), and Hmong-American writer Kao Kalia Yang (b. 1980). VISUAL ARTS Minnesota’s thriving arts scene would not be the same without the contributions of Minneapolis-bornCharles Schulz (1922-2000), whose cartoon Peanuts is one of the word’s most famous comic strips. Other noteworthy artists with connections to Minnesota include nature photographer Jim Brandenburg(b. 1945), contemporary painter LeRoy Neiman (b. 1921), and illustrator Mary GrandPre (b. 1954), who illustrated the American edition of the Harry Potter fantasy novel series. ARCHITECTURE From stately buildings to humble rural dwellings, historic sites to newly commissioned structures, architectural attractions abound in Minnesota. The Cass Gilbert-designed Minnesota State Capitolbuilding, on which construction began in 1896, features a triple layer dome, with an outer marble dome, a cone of steel and brick, and an inner decorative dome. The series of golden horses on the exterior was crafted by Daniel Chester French, the sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial. In St. Paul, the Landmark Center first served as a courthouse and post office. The 1902 structure was on the brink of being destroyed in the 1970s when a citizen group stopped the wrecking ball and helped restore the grand structure, now on the National Register of Historic Places. Frank Gehry designed Minneapolis’ Weisman Art Museum, with a distinctive exterior that resembles tin cans. The bold, grand-scale space offers panoramic city views and showcases a notable art collection. The town of Bemidji holds the James J. Hill Railroad Depot, an example of arts and crafts design with its hipped roof, arched windows, wide eaves, and brick and limestone base. In the Kathio Historic District, a series of mounds and Native American habitations document Sioux Indian culture. The earliest sites date back to 3000 CE. Duluth Depot, considered the Ellis Island of northeastern Minnesota, consists of a Chateau-style depot. The depot saw thousands of immigrants arrive in Minnesota. The site now showcases vintage steam locomotives and antique wooden train coaches at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. HANDICRAFT AND FOLK ART Traditional and contemporary handicrafts play a relatively minor role in Minnesota culture, except for the contributions of native tribes. About 12 miles north of Onamia, on the shore of Lake Mille Lacs, the Mille Lacs Indian Museumcelebrates the story, migration, and cultural activities of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe American Indians. Handicraft traditions such as birch-bark basketry and beadwork are demonstrated in the museum’s crafts room. At the Pipestone National Monument, the museum and visitor center chronicles the customs of regional American Indians who visited the quarries to procure red pipestone. They used the material to create crafting bowls for sacred ceremonial pipes. In the area of contemporary craft, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, located in Minneapolis, demonstrates the diversity of the art form. Papermaking, letterpress printing, bookbinding, experimental techniques, and self-publishing are the approaches and themes addressed in the nation’s largest independent book arts institution. HISTORIC ART MOVEMENTS In 1976, a group of feminists formed the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota, or WARM, with the intent of mentoring women, exhibiting work by women artists, and offering educational workshops. Once a neighborhood filled with derelict warehouses, the Northeast Minneapolis Art District now features artist lofts, open studios, funky watering holes, theaters, pubs, coffeehouses, boutiques, and alternative performance spaces. -World Trade Press