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Martin Friedman: Art (re)Collecting

Director of the Walker Art Center from 1961 to 1990, Martin Friedman (1925–2016) shifted the museum’s focus to contemporary art, a move that grew its reputation globally. Among his many accomplishments are the expansion of education programming, overseeing the construction of the 1971 Edward Larrabee Barnes–designed building, and spearheading the development of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, which opened in 1988. Friedman’s dedication to the art and artists of our time—a legacy still activated today—brought critical early support to creators such as Chuck Close, Jasper Johns, and Robert Rauschenberg. In this series of previously unpublished reflections, shared with the Walker a few years before his 2016 passing, we look at Friedman's special relationship with artists.

Il Treno di John Cage: In Italy, a Historic “Happening on Wheels”

Martin Friedman

Performing Arts Visual Arts

Il Treno di John Cage: In Italy, a Historic “Happening on Wheels”

"A 'prepared' train, as envisaged by John Cage, would be a large-scale equivalent of Cage’s 'prepared piano,' but one in motion." In a posthumously published writing, former Walker director Martin Friedman recalls Il Treno di John Cage (1978), a three-day musical train ride across Italy.
Cornell Boxes & Cake: A Visit to Utopia Parkway

Martin Friedman

Visual Arts

Cornell Boxes & Cake: A Visit to Utopia Parkway

Former Walker director Martin Friedman recalls his 1967 visit to Joseph Cornell's home on Utopia Parkway.
ONCE, Not Again

Martin Friedman

Performing Arts

ONCE, Not Again

"It wasn't that I hadn’t seen daredevil events before," recalls former Walker director Martin Friedman of a lone 1965 performance by the ONCE Group in the Walker lobby, "but this was the first time I was responsible for them, all in the name of art."
Indeterminate Adventures with John Cage

Performing Arts

Indeterminate Adventures with John Cage

Composer John Cage's visits to Minneapolis often veered toward the unexpected--from a late-night reading of James Joyce with Tony Smith to Sunday-morning mushroom hunting in a church yard. A recollection of one visit from former Walker director Martin Friedman.
“It’s Art If I Say So”: Martin Friedman on Marcel Duchamp’s 1965 Visit to Minneapolis

Martin Friedman

Visual Arts

“It’s Art If I Say So”: Martin Friedman on Marcel Duchamp’s 1965 Visit to Minneapolis

"My first question was, did he feel that the revolutionary spirit that had inspired Dada and other early twentieth-century Modernist movements was still alive?" Martin Friedman recalls a 1965 meeting with Marcel Duchamp in Minneapolis.
Animating Space: On the Sculpture Garden

Martin Friedman

Design Visual Arts

Animating Space: On the Sculpture Garden