Watery journeys
Artist Alexis Rockman dove deep for "The Great Lakes Cycle," a research-heavy, visually enchanting series of large-scale watercolors, field drawings and huge paintings. Working in a hyper-realistic style, Rockman focuses on how humans have affected and altered the lakes through pollution, bringing in invasive species, introducing mass agriculture and developing urban sprawl. Most of the paintings are jam-packed with flora, fauna and man-made change. But his watercolors are quieter, especially "Ice Fishing," which portrays a person fishing amid the green and orange lights of a purple sky as fish bubble up toward the frozen sheet. The Weisman also added a table of books about Native connection to the land and water, and a map including Indigenous names for the bodies of water — Lake Michigan comes from an anglicization of the Ojibwe word "Michigami," which means "great water" or "large lake." (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri., Tue. & Thu.; 11-5 Sat.-Sun.; 10-8 Wed. Ends Jan. 5. Weisman Art Museum, 333 East River Road, Mpls. Free. 612-625-9494 or wam.umn.edu)
Alicia Eler
