Located in Minneapolis, the Walker Art Center has a new exhibit called “Multiple Realities: Experimental Art In the Eastern Bloc.” The exhibit is a variety of different art from six of the countries in the Eastern bloc during the period 1960 -1980.
The countries in the Eastern bloc were Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia. The exhibit features all but Albania and Bulgaria, and it displays the varying amounts of influence and control the USSR had on them. The exhibit displays art from each region by artists that refused to follow the official systems in place, mainly lesser known artists, women and people exploring the LGBTQ+ lens.
I love the Walker building, and I was pleased to hear about an exhibit that I hadn’t seen. There are two wings of the building, a newer one and an older one. This particular exhibit is located in the older building in galleries one, two and three. To get the best experience at the museum, I recommend going in on Thursday night. On Thursdays the Walker is open five p.m. to nine p.m. for free. Though it is already free for people under 18, it’s more fun to go with family or friends and this allows the option for doing so without spending extra.
The exhibit itself has its ups and downs. Overall, compared to other exhibits at the museum this one has been the most attention grabbing. There is a huge variety of art in the exhibit. The most memorable of which would be the variety of photographs. Entering the exhibit there was a lot of information about what was happening in the time period of the photos nearby, and that’s nice to contextualize the photos.
A Croatian woman, Sonja Ivekovic, refused to stay off of her balcony as Josip Broz Tios’ political party had a parade below. She took a series of photos of herself lounging out on her balcony as well as the parade itself, before she was finally told to go inside.
The best part of the exhibit was a little separate room inside of the gallery that contained a timeline. There was a cool scaffolding holding up information and pictures relating. I definitely wasn’t the only one enjoying the timeline as there was a large number of people in that area.
Though I do love the vast types of art in the gallery, something the Walker does frequently that I don’t appreciate is the videos on the TVs. The TVs are old and I would understand that they were probably of the time period the exhibit covers but they are flickering and screaming. There is a static noise that will follow you through the exhibit. I like the concept and the videos are interesting but the presentation makes them hard to watch and unlikable.
I think this exhibit is well worth your time.If you don’t like to browse through the gallery, there is still much to love due to the amazing view of the skyline and the good places to take pictures. There is also a restaurant in the Walker — it’s on the pricey side but it does have a good burger. Give it a shot!
‘Multiple Realities: Experimental Art In the Eastern Bloc’ : ★★★★☆
