Out and About at the Chazen Museum and Memorial Union

I took M. and friend on a little field trip to the Chazen Museum today.
This Deborah Butterfield horse sculpture is one of my favorites from the permanent collection. It's actually part of ArtSmart program, a collaborative program between the museum and the school district. We had posters of this work and some of Deborah Butterfield's other works at school, and I had some lesson plans based on her work.
















This is one that M. was particularly taken with. I don't remember who the artist is, though... I'll have to look it up next time we go.












There is one Louise Nevelson work in the permanent collection. Both M. and I like the use of the violin (and cello?) bridges in the piece. Every time I see it I think about getting some old bridges to use in some assembly work. I do have a little collection of the pegs for strings... I always thought they would make great little doll pieces.













We were actually there to see an temporary exhibit: "Ringmaster: Judy Onofrio and the Art of the Circus". The museum description:
"Judy Onofrio’s life-sized sculptures of extraordinary performers, animals, and circus acts will be exhibited alongside examples of banners, posters, and carvings—drawn from the Circus World Museum collection—that have inspired her work. Onofrio’s glittering constructions are carved, molded, painted, and assembled from wood, fiberglass, beads, ceramic shards, and collected objects. With Onofrio as ringmaster, these materials take form as contortionists, acrobats, and magicians of yesteryear who once again twist, soar, and cast spells for audience..."
Photographs of the temporary exhibits are not allowed, but you can see some of the pieces that were on display at her website. I was amazed at how large the pieces were... some of them must have been 12 feet high... and so detailed.
In Ring of Fire, (third row down on the page you can get to from the "exhibition" link on the left), the woman balances without being attached to the hoop... you can see her swaying gently up in the air.
































I've probably passed by this door a million times... it's a church right in the middle of campus... between the Humanities Building, the Chazen, the University Book Store, and the Lake Street Parking Ramp (where I have spent countless hours roaming in circles looking for parking), but I don't think I've ever had a camera when I passed by the very cool doors.
We wandered over to the Union, got a Babcock Hall ice cream cone, and sat out on the terrace to watch the lake and the boats. (This is right after the major rains/flooding we had here, so the lake level is really high, and probably a bit toxic at this point, but that doesn't seem to phase anybody out there.)