“In the moment that we align our bodies with these sculptures there becomes a communion of embodied experiences—across time and mediums and histories and people.” The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden's newest commission, Shadows at the Crossroads—by Ta-coumba Aiken and Seitu Jones with poet Soyini Guyton—uses shadows to tell the stories of important Minnesotans, from artist Siah Armajani to Harriet Robinson Scott, a slave who petitioned for her freedom at Fort Snelling.
The metaphor of the table evokes images of folks coming together to break bread or discuss personal and political issues. For Seitu Jones and Theaster Gates, the table is more than a metaphor; it’s a medium. In the Twin Cities, their tables are provoking dialogue about systemic reform, in local foodways and cultural institutions. Can these conversations effect change? Or is the change the conversation itself?
