The Object

Free tickets are now available for the next live taping of The Object podcast on Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. With special musical guest Chastity Brown, 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me'-style quizzes and prizes, curator conversation, music, and of course storytelling—all about the art and artists of the Harlem Renaissance on roughly its 100th anniversary. Plus, we're opening the museum's Print Study Room after the show for a rare chance to see these artworks in person! These free tickets will go fast—get yours at the Tickets page at artsmia.org for "The Object LIVE! The Renaissance Blues!" Now, on with our story: In the early 1900s, George Morrison is born into a remote Ojibwe village on Lake Superior, and before long finds himself in the least likely place doing the least likely thing—painting abstract art in New York City. He's good at it, too, even as he battles critics who think his art is not Native enough, and those who think he's too Native for abstraction. But eventually he finds his way back to Lake Superior for one final challenge: can he merge his sense of space with his sense of place? You can see eight pieces by George Morrison, from abstract painting to sculpture to his iconic driftwood collage, now on view at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Free tickets are now available for the next live taping of The Object podcast on Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. With special musical guest Chastity Brown, 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me'-style quizzes and prizes, curator conversation, music, and of course storytelling—all about the art and artists of the Harlem Renaissance on roughly its 100th anniversary. Plus, we're opening the museum's Print Study Room after the show for a rare chance to see these artworks in person! These free tickets will go fast—get yours at the Tickets page at artsmia.org for "The Object LIVE! The Renaissance Blues!" Now, onto this week's show: A special chat-show edition about supernatural Japan. As Dr. Andreas Marks, curator of Japanese and Korean art, explains, nowhere else is there such a rich and numerous  host of ghosts, demons, and even bewitched household objects that can help or hurt us.  We talk about the cultural, religious, even geographic reasons for this, Japan's unique relationship with ghosts and ghost stories, and how we all might benefit from being spirited away, as it were, to a world where the living and the dead are not so clearly defined. You can see some of the artworks discussed in the show, especially the giant screens of playful skeletons, in the new exhibition "Bare Bones" now on view at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. And here you can find Dr. Marks's recent books: Japanese Yokai and Other Supernatural Beings and Samurai in art.

Free tickets are now available for the next live taping of The Object podcast on Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. With special musical guest Chastity Brown, 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me'-style quizzes and prizes, curator conversation, music, and of course storytelling—all about the art and artists of the Harlem Renaissance on roughly its 100th anniversary. Plus, we're opening the museum's Print Study Room after the show for a rare chance to see these artworks in person! These free tickets will go fast—get yours at the Tickets page at artsmia.org for "The Object LIVE! The Renaissance Blues!" Here, we explain what these live tapings are all about, with some clips from our past few sold-out shows. Everything you love about the podcast, live on stage. See you there!

In 1950, Robert Doisneau takes one of the most iconic photographs of Paris—a young couple kissing on the street—that eventually becomes a global symbol of romance, spontaneity, joie de vivre. But the real story is only now coming to light, a story about the world as it is and the world as we wish it to be. You can see the photograph in question here, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, but be sure to listen before you buy a ticket to Paris.... (First aired 2/6/2023.) BIG NEWS: Free tickets are now available for the next live taping of The Object podcast on Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. With special musical guest Chastity Brown, 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me'-style quizzes and prizes, curator conversation, music, and of course storytelling—all about the art and artists of the Harlem Renaissance on roughly its 100th anniversary. Plus, we're opening the museum's Print Study Room after the show for a rare chance to see these artworks in person! These free tickets will go fast—get yours at the Tickets page at artsmia.org for "The Object LIVE! The Renaissance Blues!" PLUS! See the incredible Paris fashion of the 1950s and every decade from the 1890s to today at the new special exhibition "Paris Couture," now on view at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.   

It is easily the most familiar painting in all of the Americas—Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Virgin Mary in a shawl of stars, against a blazing sunburst. As seen on candles, keychains, sugar skulls, even skateboards. And every year, millions of believers come to see the original, in Mexico City. But what is the story behind this literally iconic image, a story still unfolding some 500 years after conquest, faith, and miracles collided in the mountains of Mexico, forever changing the world? You can see an incredible version of Our Lady of Guadalupe, recently acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, here. BIG NEWS: Our next FREE live taping of The Object podcast will be Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium of the Minneapolis Institute of Art with special musical guest Chastity Brown! Featuring 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me'-style quizzes and prizes, curator conversation, music, and of course storytelling, all about the artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance on roughly its 100th anniversary. Free tickets will be available beginning October 15 on the Tickets page at the Minneapolis Institute of Art: "The Object LIVE! The Renaissance Blues!"

When Frida Kahlo dies, in 1954, she is soon forgotten. And then, suddenly, she is everywhere: on magnets, puzzles, underwear, flip-flops. How did this remarkable artist become an international icon, an emoji, a figure of fervid devotion? And what does she mean to those who believe? You can see Yasumasa Morimura's "An Inner Dialogue with Frida Kahlo," mentioned in the show, here in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Have you heard Frida Kahlo talk? Neither has anyone else—not since she died, in 1954. Unless it turns out that this is actually her on a recording surfaced a couple years ago by the National Sound Library of Mexico. (This episode first aired May 10, 2021.)

BIG NEWS: Our next FREE live taping of The Object podcast will be Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium of the Minneapolis Institute of Art with special musical guest Chastity Brown! Featuring quizzes and prizes, curator conversation, music, and of course storytelling, all about the artists of the Harlem Renaissance on roughly its 100th anniversary. Explore the electric, empowering, dare we say better renaissance of the Jazz Age at "The Object LIVE! The Renaissance Blues!" Tickets are free but you do need to have them. Get tickets starting October 15 at 9 a.m. on the Tickets page at artsmia.org. Learn more about this free taping here,  This episode: A mysterious stone sculpture, supposedly found in Mexico, finds its way to the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art and is hailed as a Chac Mool, the iconic Mayan vessel of human sacrifice. It tours Europe as a masterpiece of ancient Mesoamerican art. It's featured in magazines and books and poems. But a surprising discovery suddenly begs the question: What is it really? See the Chac Mool for yourself here.  

Every year, thousands of artists compete to get their work in front of millions of hot, bothered, blood-sugar-spiked visitors at the Minnesota State Fair. It's a tradition that goes back almost to the very beginning of the fair—and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, whose influence permeates the Fine Arts Building like the scent of so many Pronto Pups. Here, how the unnatural marriage of art and gluttony came to be, and what it says about our great egalitarian get-together. You can see the best of the fair's popular seed-art display at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in "Cream of the Crop: The Second Harvest," starting September 19.  You'll can see art of the fair in the museum's collection online or in person by appointment in its Photography Study Room. Also, SAVE THE DATE! Our next live taping of The Object podcast will be November 15 at 2 p.m. in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium of the Minneapolis Institute of Art with special musical guest Chastity Brown! Featuring quizzes, curator conversation, music, and storytelling all about the women artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance on its 100th anniversary. 

Back when The Odyssey was written down, some 2,700 years ago, the greatest thing you could do in life was to die. A glorious death in battle was the path to immortality for, well, mortals. An idea that resurfaces throughout history until fairly recently—when it meets its match in a war of many deaths and little glory. Whether you've seen the new Odyssey film with Matt Damon or not, this episode will give a sense of the central conflict—to seek glory abroad or comfort at home. You can see the "Kiss of Victory" sculpture that kicks off the episode, and launched the career of Sir Alfred Gilbert, here in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.  Also, SAVE THE DATE: Our next live taping of The Object podcast will be November 15 at 2 p.m. in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium of the Minneapolis Institute of Art with special musical guest Chastity Brown! Featuring quizzes, curator conversation, music, and storytelling all about the women artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance on its 100th anniversary.  Learn more about The Object LIVE!, our series of live podcast tapings here. 

Even when horses were transportation, they were also transportive, inspiring poetry and art and sometimes war. Here, in the Year of the Horse, we recount the incredible saga of the so-called Celestial Horse, a breed from central Asia that seemed to represent everything good about this world and the next, driving a Chinese emperor mad with envy and sending tens of thousands of men to their doom. A story of power and beauty and the eternal wish for immortality. You can see a bronze statue of the Celestial Horse through August 9 at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in "Year of the Horse: Hoofbeats Through Time" in the Bell Family Decorative Arts Court. Also, SAVE THE DATE: Our next live taping of The Object podcast will be November 15 at 2 p.m. in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium of the Minneapolis Institute of Art with special musical guest Chastity Brown! Featuring quizzes, curator conversation, music, and storytelling all about the women artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance on its 100th anniversary.  Learn more about The Object LIVE!, our series of live podcast tapings here.