Reviewing the Real
Opens Saturday: Questions about what is "real" in art are so hot now that Walker Art Center recently staged a show that included a gargantuan but very "real" table, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts will close on Sunday its popular "More Real?" exhibit. Now the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota weighs in with a selection of painting, sculpture, prints and other art from its collection, all linked by a "reality" theme. Items range from Duane Hanson's hyperrealistic sculpture "Mary Weisman," which depicts the mother of the museum's namesake, to Marcel Duchamp's "La Boîte-en-Valise," a miniature collection of the artist's own work. The abstract-appearing painting seen here depicts part of the letter "A" as artist Burhan Dogançay sees it close-up. Is it a real "A" or a real idea of an "A" or just some real yellow and purple paint on paper? Discuss. (Sat.-Sept. 8. Free. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thu.-Fri. & Tue.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wed. Weisman Art Museum, 333 East River Rd., Mpls. www.wam.umn.edu)
