Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
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The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is an park in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is located near the
Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...
, which operates it in coordination with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It reopened June 10, 2017, after a reconstruction that resulted with the Walker and Sculpture Garden being unified as one 19-acre campus. It is one of the largest urban sculpture gardens in the country, with 40 permanent art installations and several other temporary pieces that are moved in and out periodically. The park is located to the west of
Loring Park Loring Park is a park in the Loring Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. History Loring Park was established in 1883 after the passage of the Park Act, which first created the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The park was firs ...
and the Basilica of Saint Mary. The land was first purchased by the park board around the start of the 20th century, when it was known as "The Parade" because it had been used for military drills. It became known as the Armory Gardens after park superintendent Theodore Wirth created a formal design that included a U.S. National Guard armory (Kenwood Armory) for Spanish War volunteers. Working as a civic and cultural center, in 1913 a floral convention transformed the land into floral gardens, which it remained for the next 50 years. In 1934, six years after the Walker Art Gallery opened across the street, the Armory was demolished for its instability, and a new Armory built in downtown Minneapolis, turning the Armory Gardens over to the Minneapolis Park Board. Since 1908 the area of today's Sculpture Garden and land to the west had been used for sport recreation via mildly-improved playing fields and the 1950 construction of the original Parade Stadium. In 1988, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden opened, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and landscape architects Quinnel and Rothschild. Parade Stadium was demolished in 1990, two years later the Garden was expanded, adding . Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates, Inc. designed the northward extension to complement the original space with a more open area that features a walkway and the Alene Grossman Memorial Arbor. The centerpiece of the garden is the '' Spoonbridge and Cherry'' (1985–1988) fountain designed by husband and wife Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. The Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge (1988), designed by Siah Armajani, crosses
Hennepin Avenue Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery (at West 36th Street), north through the Uptown, Minneapolis, Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the Virginia Triangle, the ...
and I-94, connecting the sculpture garden with Loring Park for pedestrians. The bridge was restored in 2018 when MnDOT replaced the wooden deck, repainted the bridge, and replaced the
John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic. Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...
poem that stretches across the bridge beams in metal letters with new letters. The bridge was repainted in consultation with Armajani to ensure the colors met his original design. The renovation included lights on the bridge that were part of the original design but not initially installed. Walker Art Center staff joke that the Ashbery untitled poem, which was commissioned for the bridge, is the "longest poem in the world" since the bridge stretches over 16 lanes of interstate traffic for 375 feet. In 2016 and 2017, the garden was reconstructed to provide more sustainable water management in an area that was previously a marsh. A water collection tank was installed near ''Spoonbridge and Cherry'' to provide water for the garden and adjacent ball fields. Other improvements were made, including narrowing Vineland Place between the Walker Art Center and the garden and providing upgraded restroom facilities. The Walker added 18 new art works to the garden after this reconstruction, including a site-specific commission from Theaster Gates in his first permanent outdoor sculpture, '' Black Vessel for a Saint.''


Notable Installations

* '' Spoonbridge and Cherry'' ( Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen) * '' Hahn/Cock'' ( Katharina Fritsch) * ''Wind Chime'' (
Pierre Huyghe Pierre Huyghe (born 11 September 1962) is a French contemporary artist, who works in a variety of media from films and sculptures to public interventions and living systems. He lives and works in Santiago de Chile. Early life and education Pier ...
) * '' Shadows at the Crossroads'' ( Seitu Jones, Ta-coumba Aiken, Soyini Guyton) * ''Okciyapi (Help Each Other)'' (Angela Two Stars)


References


External links


Parade Stadium, Minneapolis in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia

Minneapolis Sculpture GardenMinneapolis Park & Recreation Board: Minneapolis Sculpture GardenWalker Art Center
{{authority control Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in the United States Art museums and galleries in Minnesota Museums in Minneapolis Outdoor sculptures in Minnesota Parks in Minneapolis Art museums and galleries established in 1988 1988 establishments in Minnesota Edward Larrabee Barnes buildings