50/50 Exhibition Features Works Selected by Both the Public and the Walker

Curators and visitors share the spotlight as organizers of the new Walker Art Center exhibition 50/50: Audience and Experts Curate the Paper Collection on view December 16, 2010 (5-9 pm)-July 17, 2011. Invited to view 183 images of art from the Walker’s expansive collection of works on paper, the public cast nearly 250,000 votes indicating whether the artworks should “definitely” or “maybe not” be included in the exhibition. Meanwhile, chief curator Darsie Alexander was considering artists whose work represents important art historical moments captured by the Walker collection as well as some recent purchases that foreshadow areas of possible growth. “I was interested in enabling a public voice in this exhibition,” says Alexander, “taking advantage of the natural impulse people have when encountering art to form an opinion.” Featuring some 100 works, 50/50 presents “curation” as a joint affair. Drawn from a trove of objects made with pencil, marker, pen and ink as well as watercolor and gouache, the final selections include highlights of post-1960s art and even earlier, from conceptual works to narrative figuration.

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