February 27, 2018
Inherent vice: Saving a beloved George Morrison painting from itself
An untitled painting by George Morrison, made in 1960, spent eighteen years lying on its back in storage—and for good reason. It certainly wasn’t unloved. The striking abstraction of an urban landscape had been hanging in an office at Mia for years, a favorite of one of the museum’s former directors. But in 1999, curators noticed that its . . . Keep reading »
February 23, 2018
J.S. Ondara shares the music video he filmed at Mia
When J.S. Ondara came to Minnesota from Nairobi, Kenya, a handful of years ago, it made sense personally (he has family in the area) and musically (he’s a huge Bob Dylan fan). And he wasted no time getting into the music scene. In lieu of his first album, which had been expected last year, the singer-songwriter . . . Keep reading »
February 6, 2018
Five quotes from Robert Wilson’s talk at Mia that reveal the genius behind “Power and Beauty”
Robert Wilson is not known for his words. His early theatrical masterpiece “Einstein on the Beach,” created with Philip Glass, is five hours long and has almost no real dialogue. His first major theater works, in the 1960s and ’70s, were completely silent. Last week, he gave a sold-out talk with Mia director Kaywin Feldman and . . . Keep reading »
February 6, 2018
NewsFlash: As flu season rages, a look back at epic pandemics of the past
The history of human existence is also the history of infectious disease. The plague killed 25 to 50 percent of Europe’s population in just a few years in the 1300s. The flu, which we contend with every winter, killed up to a fifth of the global population between 1918 and 1920. This year’s flu season . . . Keep reading »
January 30, 2018
A super bowl deserves a superb punch—like this long-lost recipe from Mia
On Super Bowl Sunday, we should all be so lucky to imbibe from a punch bowl like this one—a super bowl indeed. It has been called one of the world’s greatest rarities (by the silver dealer who bought it in 1961 at a world-record price and sold it to Mia that same year) and arguably the finest piece of English silver in the . . . Keep reading »
January 25, 2018
Why I became a Super Bowl spy
I need to come clean: I am not a sports fan. That knock on art people being like cats around water on game day? Guilty as charged. I’m happier in the galleries at Mia any day. But when the Super Bowl announced an effort to recruit 10,000 volunteers to help greet and guide the one . . . Keep reading »
January 18, 2018
NewsFlash: Does Mia’s mummy contain secret writing?
Egypt’s mummies were intended to rest in peace for eternity, slumbering beneath the sand or high up in pyramids. But most were dug up almost immediately. Robbed of their valuables and their serenity. Dragged into darkened British parlors to be unwrapped for entertainment. Burned as train fuel. But they’ve been slow to give up their secrets, . . . Keep reading »
January 11, 2018
How Robert Wilson changed theater—and what that means for his show at Mia
Robert Wilson met Philip Glass, the avant-garde composer, in 1973, after Glass attended a show by Wilson—The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin—that was 12 hours long and almost completely silent. Glass loved it. And the two men, retreating to Wilson’s Manhattan studio after the performance, decided they would meet every week for lunch. Within a few months, as they . . . Keep reading »
January 5, 2018
Art Inspires: Lisa Yankton on the transformative power of compassion
Lisa Yankton, a Minneapolis-based poet and member of the Spirit Lake Dakota, was inspired by Mia’s statue of Avalokiteshvara, or Guanyin in Chinese, a Buddhist deity associated with mercy and compassion. It is on display in the Buddhist sculpture court (gallery G200). Avalokitesvara, “One Who Hears the Cries of the World” Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara Guanshiyin Guanyin Goddess of . . . Keep reading »
December 20, 2017
Are museums safe from natural disasters?
Wildfires in Los Angeles. Hurricanes and flooding in Houston. Earthquakes in Mexico City. With the frequency of natural disasters seemingly on the rise, planning for them is increasingly important as well. So where does that leave museums, whose mission, in part, is to protect the world’s great treasures? Like other institutions, museums test their emergency plans and have close . . . Keep reading »
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