Infinite Art Tournament: The Songs of the Fifty States: Minnesota

Monday, February 25, 2019

The Songs of the Fifty States: Minnesota

(What is "The Songs of the Fifty States"?)

Mill Pond at Minneapolis by Alexis Jean Fournier (1888).

Minnesota!

Size: 225,163 km² (12^th)

2018 Population: 5,628,162 (22^nd)

Statehood: 1858 (32^nd)

American Human Development Index: 5.90 (6^th)

Art Mecca:

Mrs.5000 and I were in Minneapolis in October, and our hotel was a half mile or so from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. They call it "Mia," which is cute. They've got all sorts of good stuff, 90,000 pieces of it, in fact. Insider, whoever they are, "used data provided by Foursquare" to rank the Institute as the sixth best museum in the United States! That seems a bit aggressive to me, but then I wouldn't have put the Baseball Hall of Fame in fifth position, either. But still, awfully good. After a few hours of wandering about what seemed like a very strong collection, we kind of stumbled on a back half that we hadn't noticed before. So, we came back the next day. We got lost and had a hard time finding our way out, which is a good sign in a large museum. In a lot of states, I talk about their museum being a solid regional collection; in Minnesota, perhaps we have a minor national-class show.

One of the most interesting exhibits was the office of a former curator that had accidentally been walled over and then uncovered decades later, in 2013. It was a fascinating little time capsule, and really had us on!

The second game in town -- there are actually quite a few games in town -- is probably the University of Minnesota's Weisman Art Museum. It's is a very substantial and respectable university art collection, housed in one of those goofy, exuberant Frank Gehry buildings. Which is all fine and good, but it did feel a little bit like when you opened the biggest, most beautifully and elaborately wrapped present under the tree, and it ended up being, like, a nice sweater or something.

Both museums are free, which is really super cool.

Michael 5000's Minnesota

First Visited: May 1, 2005 (7^th)
Most Recently Visited: October 22, 2018 (7^th)

First Run In: 10/16/18 (24^th)
Best Run: 7.09 miles. Minnehaha Trail, Minneapolis, 10/20/18.
Raced In: Yes. Jack's Run 6K, Minneapolis, 10/19/18.

Have Admired the Visual Arts In: Yes.

Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.

Counties Visited: 43/87 (8^th)
% Complete: 49.4% (24^th)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 32/87 (tied with Idaho for 11^th)
% Complete: 36.8% (24^th)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: November, 1963 (probably 3^rd)
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: October 22, 2018 (7^th)