MnMo’s September Issue

In case you missed it, Minnesota Monthly set aside its September issue for examining what makes Minnesota cool.

I know, it sounds like the kind of stock theme that let’s the editors really focus on their sumer vacations. But as it turns out, MnMo makes a convincing case for our coolness.

Just take Tim Gihring’s wonder and well-written reflection on our recent history, in which he contradicts the widely held belief that receiving bad service at the Loring isn’t cool, inclusiveness is, and that as cool as we are now, it hasn’t always been this way:

“Truth be told, we didn’t deserve to be cool in 1984. What passed for ethnic food here was spaghetti. Our diversity, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being a Benetton ad, 1 being Aryan Nations) was about a 2 (Hootie & the Blowfish). Our museums, as implied by the fortress-like 1970s additions to the Walker and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, were stuffy and forbidding. Even there, you had to be in with the “in crowd”; teenagers were about as welcome as wildlife art.”

Blasphemy!

But it’s true. Many of us have moved beyond baby boomers’ fading-to-fondness memories and gotten on with our own work. And as a result, the Cities and state have grown into a bustling social sphere; we embrace our own works and success almost as much as we namedrop “every Young British Artist who crosses the pond”. (I’d still much rather see Art Brut than The Hold Steady, though.)

MnMo even backs up their claims with a list of events sure to elicit a pinch of smugness — yes, Frida Khalo follows the Picasso and American Art exhibit, and yes it is going to be in our possession after the Walker after hours party. Also, btw, Helmet played with the Melvins at one of our bars on the same night Talib Kweli played at one of our clubs.

Honestly, we’re cool.

Here’s the picked nits:

First, the piece on the creation of Target’s image certainly fits in Minnesota Monthly, but that’s a story for another issue. Celebrating the bourgeoise aesthetic of “mass class” doesn’t make us cool, especially if it leads the MnMo demographic to believe they can be like Sarah Jessica Parker by getting designer scrub brushes and $12 stirrup pants.

The North Star list also has few problems. Yes, we definitely have Minnesotans up to some very important work. Joy Teiken, Michael Noble, Thomas Osland? Very cool. But he rich kids behind the LEAD project who make a difference by selflessly and heroically throwing lavish parties? Not so much. And I’m not going to be the only one who balks at the inclusion of Loring owner Jason McLean on the “Legends” list.

Last, there’s a lot of light hearted truth in “The Cool Matrix”, but some of the answers completely miss the mark. (My favorite weekend activity would be “reading while downloading bittorrents”, not “swooning over Osmo”, lol.)

But despite those few detractions, well played, MnMo. Now get out there and enjoy the summer.