At 1419, the year-old West Bank art collective, on Sept. 17 the SHOOT THE MOON art show was a representation of the Minneapolis art world meets nightlife. Between the various elaborate art installments to the communion of chicken and Velveeta provided by Moonstone Continuum to the mass amounts of glitter donned by many of the attendees this one-night-only event turned into a hell of a one night stand for the 400 attendees.
After three months of planning curator Jonathan Thomas, SHOOT THE MOON was finally a reality. This local art space frequently holds exhibits of local artists, musical performances, and an all-around good time. SHOOT THE MOON art from 24 artists, several Super-8 and 16mm films from nine filmmakers, and five bands played.
“It brought together work by artists, writers (poets, critics), filmmakers, and musicians who engage with bridges or bridging, light and space, and the nocturnal. These themes suggested themselves in the space itself, so it was, in a sense, site-specific,” said Thomas.
Bridging the art and music scenes in Minneapolis was literally interpreted at SHOOT THE MOON.
“1419 is […] located a couple blocks from the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis a few years ago, now lit beneath by a blue light at night. Bridges, I think, are productive to consider in various ways. Minneapolis is distinguished by other bridges as well: the skyways, for instance, which connect 69 blocks of downtown in a privatized network that teems with its own expressions of collapse (the collapsing of production and consumption, work and leisure, public and private, and so on). These are the ingredients that SHOOT THE MOON sought to rearticulate, in a playful way,” said Thomas.
Thomas will be curating another art show at 1419 in January.
“It’s called IN THE PALE, and it, too, will bring together artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians. Set in the winter, it will be about the deprivation of color,” said Thomas.
With such a strong turnout and the overall success of the show, keep your eyes on 1419 for upcoming events. I know I will.