Going down... or up?

The Walker is currently showing an exhibit entitled Lifelike featuring works that challenge our notion of scale and turn everyday objects into art (think Warhol). This piece is a real crowd pleaser. Overhead: Oooh! I want to see Stuart Little here!

I is for imagery

Don't miss the ladies' loo at the Gaslight in Des Moines.

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Perspective

I just visited the renovated Weisman over Thanksgiving weekend, but was glad to see this monumental study of perspective (aka chicken coop) still has pride of place on one of the main walls. I love standing near this painting as people walk up and realize what it is.

Fanning

It was a hot day back in July when I took this photo at a motorcycle street rally. We have moved on (or, more accurately, down) since then, but it rounds out the T theme this week.

Birth of the Electric Fetus

I recently took a historical walking tour of Cedar-Riverside which is in large part a history of the music scene in Minneapolis. The Electric Fetus record store is no longer in this part of town but here's where it started.

I need caffeine!

The Black Dog Coffee Shop near the Farmers Market in St. Paul fits right into the artsy neighborhood.

Did you get last week's theme? Monday was the church tower (cone), Tuesday was the railing on the High Bridge overlooking the brewery (squares and triangles), Wednesday was the stop sign (octagon), Thursday the lamp at the Riverview Theatre (can't remember the name of the shape except that it's a quadrilateral), Friday the Sinclair sign (rectangle). Congratulations!

Cooling off

Stretching the day trip label a little again as this was taken in Millennium Park in Chicago. This digital fountain right along Michigan Avenue displays enlarged faces of Chicagoans who end up "spitting" onto the pavement. It attracts a daily crowd of families seeking relief from the heat and a whole lotta fun.

Last post for this week's theme. All will be revealed tomorrow.

Life is just a bowl

It's the start of a new week and a new collection of photos that follow a theme. We've been here before at the sculpture garden at the Walker Art Center, but this is a bit different view to satisfy this week's theme.

Gentleman prefers blondes

The crowds are visiting the new Marilyn Monroe statue in Chicago leaving Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Brickhouse to admire her on his own.

This week's theme - roads (though a song on George Harrison's last album - Any Road - was running through my head as I chose the images).

Giant in the earth

One of the iconic images of Minneapolis - the cherry from the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture at the Walker Art Center's sculpture garden. Last post for this week. You should have the theme by now.

Paddlin' nowhere

Post # 2 for this week's theme taken on the State Fair grounds recently when I had an assignment for a photo class to shoot feet. Managed to get both the feet of the duck carved from tree and the feet of the carousel pony painted on the side of a building. But "feet" is not this week's theme.

Ag campus art

Back to the St Paul campus of the University of Minnesota for this robust sculpture (one of three!) across from the Dairy Building. They're a magnet for lunchtime romps. Apparently, the sculptor has installed a series of these in Thailand, too. I'd love to see them all.

Garden faces

Out in Jordan, Minnesota, a tiny town about 45 minutes southwest of the Twin Cities, Maureen Carlson has a polymer clay center - shop, workshop, classroom space - and wandering around the garden is like being in some fairy tale.

Blue Moon mosaic

The windows of the Blue Moon Cafe are adorned with these beautiful mosaics which look like they're fashioned from old windows. I'll have to take a closer look the next time I'm having a cuppa joe.

St. Paul's Lady Liberty

The elm trees that once gracefully lined the residential streets of St. Paul have been dying since the 1970s but sometimes they end up as garden sculpture. This one is appropriate for today's posting.

Bronze shoes

Biking along the eastern most end of the Greenway cyclists pass a series of bronzed shoes. I've often wondered how they got there. They are apparently part of a public art project (a lot of that here in the Twin Cities) which is not readily documented via google though I like this announcement from the City of Minneapolis for donated shoes.

More bronze art can be found over in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood.

Pushing daisies

For a  brief few days, downtown St. Paul boasted a gigantic pinwheel in a little square in front of the Travelers building. Too bad it's not there anymore. A lovely bit of whimsy.

Painting alfresco

A group from a drawing and painting club were in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood recently sketching and painting the local architecture and street scenes. Finally, a day to be an outdoor artist.

Man's (and woman's) best friend

Dog lovers, don't miss this beagle (?) as you walk your pet around Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. For a map of the sculptures on the lake, go here.

Mr. Cool

Northeast Minneapolis has attracted a lot of artists to an old brewery site and other unused commercial space. The Art-a-whirl was held recently (in the rain mostly) but for a few moments Mr. Cool here was dry.