“We Beasties: Explorations of the Intersections Between Humans and Animals” solo show featuring the sculptures of Northeast Minneapolis artist Kyle Fokken is at Metro State University in the Gordon Parks Gallery through Dec. 2. Formally inspired by antique toys and folk art, the centerpiece is a backwards flying pig that projects a cosmic collection of colored lights onto the gallery walls. Miniature shopping carts support the animal as it hurtles through space. This work satirically points to Jeff Bezos and the rise of Blue Origin. Ironically, the artist purchased the little shopping carts that make up the base of the sculpture on Amazon, contributing to the tumultuous financial and cultural problems associated with consumer culture.
Gallery hours are 1–7 p.m., Monday to Thursday on the third floor of Metro State’s Library and Learning Center, 645 East Seventh Street.
Dystopia: Inside the building at Lowry Avenue and Marshall Street NE (the one with the Ferris wheel), photographer Shelly Mosman and others have curated and created a political diorama described as “dystopian,” in light of the venue’s re-branding as Betty Danger’s Animal Farm, a reference to the satirical allegorical novella about seeking a free, equal and happy society, by George Orwell, first published in England in 1945.
