Minnesota
Photo 14. London
I’ve been to Minnesota. More than once, in fact. The headquarters of a multinational company I worked for are there: the capital, Minneapolis, is their capital too.
I was there in the winter, when the lake1 was frozen, the trees were bare, and—ice fishing and snowmobiling excepted—nobody went outside. Park the car and plug it in: not to charge it, but to prevent the engine from freezing. Could never figure out why the settlers—the Carlsons and the Bjorklunds etc, having escaped the snow and ice of Scandinavia—should choose that part of America. Just like home, I guess.
And I was there in summer, cocktail cruising the lake, checking out the lavish lakeside homes; a long summer evening, everything sparkling in the sunlight. Just like home, I guess.
Never expected to go there again.
And yet here it was: In London. At the Tate Modern. A painting that wasn’t even part of our tour, but caught my eye as we hurried along behind our guide and I nipped away to look. Had never heard of the artist—Joan Mitchell—whose huge, wonderful, works had a room of their own…Didn’t know then, that this one was titled Minnesota.
And yet I can see that. The sunshine, the sparkle. The profusion of summer.
Didn’t know, until now, that Joan Mitchell said this about her work: My paintings repeat a feeling about Lake Michigan, or water, or fields…it’s more like a poem, and that’s what I want to paint2.
In our small tour group—modern art devotees—there was a woman from Russia, which was a shock and I couldn’t think what to say to her. And another person, from Minnesota. Silly, but I wanted her to know that I’d been there.
Funny how the past is always present.
Extraordinary what art can do.
Next week: A Tale of Two Cities
Minnesota is ‘the land of 10,000 lakes’. The lake I was on is Lake Minnetonka.
She grew up in Chicago, hence the reference to Lake Michigan, which is not in Minnesota.
Beautiful.
You're so clever x