Year in Review - Arts Edition

Art opening, Maple Grove, Minnesota

These images are "leftovers" from prior posts, they didn't really fit at the time, but I felt them to be too good not to show.

   This year could be termed "The Year of Art" at FITK. It seemed to me that a larger portion of the posts this year were concerned with visual arts; be it openings I had attended, galleries crawls, as well as my own photo-illustrations for The Matriarchy serial novel. I've also been acquiring new art. Original works by Caitlin Karolczak and Shoshanah Lee Marohn, in addition to reproductions of Wanda Gág photos and illustrations, are now gracing the walls of Flippist World Headquarters.


Art opening,  Maple Grove, Minnesota

   I've managed to overcome my traditional avoidance of public photography, most people ignore me: its surprising how far gray hair and wrinkles can go in making one become invisible.


Art-a-Whirl, Minneapolis, Minnesota

   One of the original 'tenets' of Flippism is the Key was "Common things which are actually strange and strange things which are really common will be dealt with here." Tip for those thinking of starting a blog: leave your credos as open-ended as possible, you'll eventually need as much "wiggle room" as possible.


Experience Music Project, Frank Gehry architect, Seattle Washington

   I've been fortunate in avoiding disability or destitution, so travel is still enjoyable. I'm not a compulsive globe-trotter, but it is nice to broaden my horizons from time to time. No Iceland this year, but there will be a 'special' trip in February.


Pedestrian Tunnel, Anoka, Minnesota

   On the home front things are going well, my immediate neighborhood has been repopulated, with only one unoccupied house in the adjoining blocks versus the seven or eight only a few years ago. We're the 'old-timers' now, although we'll always be considered 'outsiders' (some of the houses here have third generation owners.)


Commercial Exterior, Minneapolis, Minnesota

   Minneapolis, a thirty minute drive away, has maintained its stature as the cultural mecca of the upper Midwest, although Saint Paul is right on its heels. Improvements in mass transit have started to erase the barrier between the twin cites, as well as continued growth in the increasingly more urban suburbs.


Commercial Interior, Minneapolis, Minnesota

   The new year finds Professor Batty and FITK looking ahead to more randomness as well as finishing "The Sequel." This site is starting to suffer the law of diminished returns but, barring further revisions in Google's search algorithms, it should remain viable for another year. If, however, the open internet should happen to be taken over by corporate interests you can kiss this blog goodbye.


Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota