Visual arts spotlight:Arts Love & Politics in the 1980s

Updated: June 28, 2012 - 3:18 PM

Jeff Koons' "Rabbit," 1986.

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THIS WILL HAVE BEEN: ART, LOVE & POLITICS IN THE 1980S

Opening Saturday: Remember Reaganomics, the AIDS/HIV crisis, postmodernism and monster shoulder pads? A new Walker Art Center show plans to re-examine all those dubious 1980s moments, except maybe the shoulder pads. "This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s" promises more than 100 paintings, sculptures, photos, videos, audios, works on paper and documentary material by more than 90 artists. That should allow for plenty of deep-dish investigation of the preoccupations of the era: identity politics, sex and gender roles, environmentalism, feminism, queer culture, the commodification of pretty much everything. Jeff Koons, the art world's boy toy of the time, made beaucoup bucks wrapping up some of the issues in his glitzy sculptures, including the stainless steel "Rabbit" shown here. As always with Koons, it's difficult to tell if he's a victim of his era or an ironic commentator on its excesses. (Opening day talk, 2 p.m. Sat., free with $10 gallery admission. Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. Ends Sept. 30. 612-375-7600 or www.walkerart.org)

MARY ABBE