August 27, 2002 - The Gag Family: German-Bohemian Artists in America explores how Minnesota-born artist Wanda Gag transformed children's literature and illustrating in the 1920's. Julie L'Enfant, professor at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, discusses her book with MPR’s Greta Cunningham.
September 2, 2002 - Mardi Oakley Medawar (MAR-dee OAK-lee MED-ah-war) is a Cherokee who lives in Wisconsin. She's written several historical novels and family sagas, and a series of mysteries set in 19th century Kiowa country. Now she's turned her attention to a book about contemporary Indian life in Wisconsin. She says most non-Indians have no conception of what life is like on a reservation today. Mardi Oakley Medawar talked with Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill.
September 5, 2002 - When people are asked to name the great photographers of the 20th century, Ruth Bernhard's is unlikely to come up immediately. However she studied and worked with some of the greats: including Ansel Adams. Now 96 years old, Ruth Bernhards work encompasses seventy years of American photography. She is particularly recognized for her studies of the female figure. Ansel Adams called her the greatest photographer of the nude. Her work is now on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr reports.
September 10, 2002 - In the year since the terrorist attacks, thousands of copies of a book by a St. Paul author have made their way to the families of the September 11th victims. The book is called "The Next Place." It's a children's book about dealing with loss and grief. After 9/11, several people contacted author Warren Hanson because they wanted to share his book with people affected by the attacks. Eventually, some Minnesota schools got copies, and students wrote notes in the books before they were shipped to victims' families. Hanson says it all started with an e-mail he received on the morning of September 13th.
September 13, 2002 - Singer songwriter Cliff Eberhardt says if he had known being a folk singer was going to be just as much work as a normal job, he might have steered his life in a different direction. For more than three decades, Eberhardt has toured the country with original songs, recording at least six C-D's along the way. He's also performed and collaborated with fellow folk stars like Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplasky and Suzanne Vega. Eberhardt wrote and recorded his new C-D, "School for love," during a diffacult year of his life... his mother became ill and died and he was in a bad car accident that's left him with chronic pain. He says both experiences helped focus the C-D's songs on issues of loss, friendship, family, romance and love:
September 18, 2002 - A new opera, Loss of Eden, portrays one of life's greatest tragedy's, the loss of a child. However, not just any child. In l932 two year old Charles Lindbergh, Jr. was kidnapped and apparently murdered. It was called the crime of the century. Loss of Eden compares the emotions of Anne and Charles Lindbergh with those of convicted kidnapper and murderer Bruno Hauptman and his wife Anna. Vocalessence, formerly the Plymouth Music Series, is co-producing the work with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. The Minneapolis debut is Thursday and Saturday. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.
September 19, 2002 - Rocky Mountain peaks, roaring waterfalls, and New England sunsets will fill the walls of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts starting Sunday. The MIA is opening a new exhibit called "American Sublime: Epic Landscapes of Our Nation: 1820-1880." The exhibit features some of America's most influential landscape artists of the 19th century - artists such as Frederic Church, Thomas Cole, and Albert Bierstadt. Patrick Noon is the curator of paintings at the MIA. He says these paintings come from a time when America was finding its identity.
September 26, 2002 - Today marks the beginning of an unprecedented weeklong event in the twin cities arts community. "Art on the Town" involves dozens of art galleries and four museums in an effort to raise awareness of what the local visual arts scene has to offer. For more on "Art on the Town," we turn to Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts.
September 26, 2002 - A new museum devoted to Soviet-era Russian painting opened today in Bloomington. The museum is a labor of love for local art dealer Raymond Johnson, who has spent the last 13 years collecting in Russia. He began scouting trips to Russia soon after perestroika opened the country up, Ignoring cold war rhetoric that Russian art was of little value, he hired art historians from all over the former Soviet Union to help identify the most important artists. Johnson says he was quickly impressed by what he found:
September 27, 2002 - On this Word of Mouth episode, a look at the current environment of poetry. Contains a State of the Arts report with interviews and readings, including Louis Alemayehu reading his poem, Crazy Eyes, No Boundaries.