The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in partnership with The Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, recently announced a new exhibition, Prince from Minneapolis opening April 6, 2019 and remaining on view through January 4, 2020.
Prince from Minneapolis features nearly 50 artifacts, including photography, artwork, instruments, and costumes worn by the Purple One, examining the icon’s image, his influence on other artists and on fans, and highlighting his unique relationship to Minneapolis and Minnesota.
“Prince embodied so many of the themes we like to explore at MoPOP,” said Brooks Peck, MoPOP Curator. “He drew on the work of the greats who came before him, yet created his own, truly original style and sound. He defied convention and broke boundaries, and he continues to inspire musicians as well as artists of all kinds to this day.”
At the start of his career, Prince worked to create a unique and dynamic professional image. He collaborated with photographers in his local community, and several Minneapolis artists participated in the construction and dissemination of what is now his legendary image and identity. Four Minneapolis photographers – Allen Beaulieu, Nancy Bundt, Terry Gydesen, and Robert Whitman – are showcased in the exhibition, along with Troy Gua, a Seattle based artist, who uses art doll recreations of the megastar in different settings, and the Mexican American de la Torre brothers, who created memorial spirit figures in glass at Minneapolis’ FOCI glass studio days after Prince’s death.
“WAM is thrilled that Prince from Minneapolis will soon be landing and expanding at MoPOP, Seattle. From early photographs of the megastar by Minneapolis artists to artwork of all kinds — paintings, blown glass, and even a bicycle — inspired by Prince, the exhibition strives to manifest the well known adage that ‘everyone has a Prince story,'” said Diane A. Mullin, Weisman Art Museum Senior Curator. “We look forward to the Seattle chapter.”
Also on view will be a portrait by famed Minnesotan seed artist, Lillian Colton, a painting representing city walls covered with flyers and graffiti by the Turkish painter Burhan C. Doğançay, and a Prince bicycle by independent frame builder Eric Noren of Peacock Groove. The bike won Best in Show and Best Theme Bike at the 2017 North American Handmade Bicycle Show, and was commissioned by and is on loan from Anna Schwinn, great-great-granddaughter of the legendary late nineteenth century bicycle pioneer, Ignaz Schwinn.
From Minneapolis to Seattle, San Diego, and New York City, and from mural painting to seed art, glass, and a custom bicycle, Prince from Minneapolis showcases examples of inspiration and broad geographical and cultural reach of the artist known as Prince.
WHEN:
April 6, 2019 – January 4, 2020
WHERE:
Museum of Pop Culture
325 5th Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
Ph. (206) 770-2700
