The Monuments Men were given an impossible, well, monumental job—which of course is why their story makes for a great book and a great movie. If not set up to fail, exactly, they were certainly looking for needles in haystacks. In fact it’s hard to imagine a more sparsely staffed unit of the Allied war  ...

In honor of Joan Mondale’s life, and in admiration for the many ways she championed the arts—and artists—of Japan, the United States, and Minnesota, we salute her: her passion, generosity, and contributions as an educator and docent at the MIA. Here, we reprint her words, published in Arts magazine, about one of her favorite places  ...

Sun Yung Shin, a Minneapolis-based poet and teacher, was inspired by Ksitigarbha and the Ten Kings of Hell, a silk painting on display in gallery 206. 명 부 쩐 – 冥 府 殿 Myeongbujeon, the Hall of the Underworld “The day that makes one an orphan.” —Myung Mi Kim, Works On the day that makes  ...

In The Monuments Men, opening February 7, George Clooney is his usual charming self in a dapper mustache and Army officer’s garb, cracking wise in Art Deco cafes and backslapping buddies Matt Damon, Bill Murray, and John Goodman as they race through Europe in the wake of D-Day. Billed as “the greatest treasure hunt in  ...

In the new movie Her, a lonely introvert played by Joaquin Phoenix begins a relationship with the talking operating system of his computer. Set in the familiar future, it’s been described as a “science fiction romantic-comedy drama,” another way of saying it’s a film by Spike Jonze, who likes to mess with genres not to  ...

In the new movie Her, a lonely introvert played by Joaquin Phoenix begins a relationship with the talking operating system of his computer. Set in the familiar future, it’s been described as a “science fiction romantic-comedy drama,” another way of saying it’s a film by Spike Jonze, who likes to mess with genres not to  ...

Last summer, I caught up with my friend Monica Haller while she was in the Twin Cities working on an exciting project for Northern Spark, the all-night festival of light. (Working with Molly Reichert, Nick Knouf, and Jonathan Zorn, she set up special listening decks by the Mississippi River for people to hear the sounds  ...

On January 23 and March 27, you’re invited to join Krista Tippett for On Being Live at the MIA. Held in conjunction with the museum’s Sacred exhibition, she’ll tape her radio show before a live audience for later broadcast, speaking with artists Ann Hamilton (January 23) and Dario Robleto (March 27) on art and spirituality.  ...

The world of Harry Potter aside, still pictures—paintings, drawings, photographs—don’t tend to move. But that doesn’t mean they can’t evoke some of the great moving pictures of our time. Recently, as part of the MIA’s Evolvelle initiative to interpret the museum’s collection in experimental ways, we asked Baltimore-based actor and film historian George Figgs to  ...

The world of Harry Potter aside, still pictures—paintings, drawings, photographs—don’t tend to move. But that doesn’t mean they can’t evoke some of the great moving pictures of our time. Recently, as part of the MIA’s Evolvelle initiative to interpret the museum’s collection in experimental ways, we asked Baltimore-based actor and film historian George Figgs to  ...