PUBLIC ART IN THE PARKS
Minne, The Lake Creature, Is Back!
After a winter spent in Florida, enjoying the sun and the water there, Minne is now back in Minneapolis. She mysteriously appeared on Tuesday, May 18th, at Powderhorn Lake, and is enjoying making new friends and surprising the neighborhood by her presence in their lake.
She became a very popular resident of Minneapolis last summer, and it is expected that she will once again be welcomed back with great warmth and affection this summer. As we had hoped, she is popular with people of all ages, Moms, Dads, Kids, Grandparents. At any one time, you can see families who are riding bikes with their kids, who stop by to take a photo of the lake creature. Often, many generations of the same family drop by to enjoy a family outing.
Or, just as likely, you will see perfect strangers talking to one another, and enjoying that special moment of looking at the Lake Creature together, and sharing their thoughts about this sculpture residing in their lake. Canoeists enjoy a special sunset cruise, checking out the lake creature up close, but always being respectful to not hurt or damage the lake creature. Minne, the Lake Creature, is fast becoming a special icon of the Twin Cities.
Let us know your thoughts and reactions to Minne, by going to the Lake Creature website and sharing your stories and your photos of Minne. We would love to hear from you.
Minne will be visiting several lakes this summer. But when she shows up, and where, will always be a mystery and a surprise. She likes to check out different lakes and different neighborhoods; and of course, she LOVES to make many new friends.
So keep looking; one day, she just might be in your neighborhood, visiting your closest lake while you are enjoying your lake with your family and friends.
Check out this video which shows how her friends welcomes her last year, and what they thought of her visit to Lake Harriet.
Minne, The Lake Creature, As Art
Cameron Gainer, an artist from New York City, who now resides in Minneapolis, is the creator of this unique piece of public art. His artistic expertise spans sculpture, photography, performance, and film and video; and his works explores aspects of human perception and cognition as well as the universal themes of time and space, life and death.
This particular sculpture, symbolically titled _[. is based on the iconic, “Surgeonʼs Photo” of 1934 that was presented as definitive evidence of the existence of Scotlandʼs infamous Loch Ness Monster. This photo was subsequently proven to be a hoax many years later but remains the universally acknowledge representation of the mystical lake creature.
Cameron Gainer has expressed his interest in the notion of “cinema inside out” where you encounter something in an environment and under circumstances where the view is not quite sure what they are looking at. “The viewer is surprised by the discovery, as they stumble upon it, and there is a momentary rupture in what is reality.”
Public art accesses an audience that isnʼt necessarily going to go to an art museum. Instead, they just come across the art in their environment, which “creates a moment of access”. This represents a “tremendous opportunity to reach an audience that didnʼt expect to see art”. In the case of the lake creature, the artist intentionally made the lake creature so that it has to be placed in a body of water, a natural setting, and not in an art museum.
For more information about Cameron Gainer, in his own words, watch his video below.
SUMMER ART CLASSES FOR KIDS
Minne, the Lake Creature, has also now inspired art classes for kids this summer.
The Northern Clay Center is featuring a clay sculpture class, called: Minne's Claycreations: The Lake Creature Comes Alive
Kids aged 8-12 will be doing clay sculptures of Minne, right by one of the lakes this summer where Minne will be residing (the exact location will be announced later; because we need to keep the mystery of her location a secret right up to the last moment).
The class will be held on: June 21-25 from 9am-Noon and the cost is: $160 ($150 for NCC members).
For registration, call NCC at this number, (612) 339-8007, OR: you can get the registration form from the Northern Clay Center website.
The Loft Literary Center is featuring a class for kids about story creation, called: “Monsters, Creatures, In Lakes, Oh My!”
Kids of ages 6-8 years old, will be taught to write a story about Minne, the Lake Creature, on June 5th and 12th, from 10am to Noon. The cost is: $55.
For registration, call The Loft Literary Center at (612) 379-8999 OR you can register on their website.
For more information about what will happen with Minne, plan to check www.lakecreature.com for details and please remember Minne is on Facebook and Twitter.
DONATE TO MINNE, THE LAKE CREATURE, AND THE MINNEAPOLIS PARKS FOUNDATION
Please consider supporting the many great projects of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation. Our parks are certainly a treasure, and there is so much more we can do in the parks, and for the parks, with your generous donations.
As Minne herself says:
“Your donation will help fun needed enhancements to our treasured neighborhood parks, more fun public art projects, and important community planning for creative park
designs of tomorrow. And of course, your donation will help the MPF bring ME back, year after year. And, I’m worth it, right?!!” So, please give generously, or as much as you can afford.
Thank you.
Your friend,
Minne, the Lake Creature 
To make a donation to Minne, the lake creature, and for the other projects of Minneapolis Parks Foundation, please press this donate button.
