
Because suburbia occupies a dominant presence in so many lives—a place of not only residence but also of work, commerce, worship, education, and leisure—it has become a focal point for competing interests and viewpoints. The suburbs have always been a fertile space for imagining both the best and the worst of modern social life. more
Drawn Here: Sean Griffiths of FAT
Target Free Thursday Nights
Thursday, March 6 7:00 pm
Escape to the Suburbs!
Free First Saturday
Saturday, April 5 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Next Exit: The Shifting Landscape of Suburbia
Target Free Thursday Nights
Thursday, April 24 7:00 pm

All essays are originally from the companion book for this exhibition, Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes. Some essays appear in excerpted form where noted.

Jeremy Floto American, b. 1976, Mountain Home, Idaho; lives and works in New York
Cassandra Warner American, b. 1975, New York; lives and works in New York
Jeremy Floto and Cassandra Warner are principals in the New York–based photography studio Floto+Warner. The husband-and-wife team has received critical acclaim for their architectural photography. Their striking images capture not only the spatial dynamics of their architectural subjects but also the human and social energy and spirit of the place. They have photographed some of today’s most celebrated new buildings and interiors, including Rem Koolhaas’ Seattle Public Library and Prada Epicenter store in SoHo, Frank Gehry’s Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Santiago Calatrava’s Milwaukee Art Museum expansion, and Marcel Wanders’ Hotel on Rivington in New York. They began the Inflatable series as an extension of a photography project documenting holiday yard installations. “Captivated by the simultaneous joy and sadness of these homemade environs,” they ventured to Kmart to create their own renditions. The series consists of large-scale, inflatable lawn ornaments—ranging from Christmas holiday staples such as Santas, snowmen, and reindeer to sports-team mascots increasingly common in yards across America. The resulting works, while recall- ing the soft sculptures of Claes Oldenburg and the readymade artwork tradition first formulated by Marcel Duchamp, display a more decidedly abstract, occasionally grotesque, and frequently humorous transfiguration.
We asked people to make a video telling us about the suburbs and put it on YouTube. Selected videos are showing in the gallery at the Walker Art Center during the run of the exhibition.
Do you live in a suburb? Do you work or go to school in one? What is your experience of the “burbs? ”…
Whether you love them or hate them we’re interested in your thoughts on the phenomenon of the American suburb. We invite you to make a 5-minute video about strip malls, cul-de-sacs, office parks, and green lawns or whatever suburbia means to you. A select number of videos will be chosen to screen as part of the exhibition Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes in the Target Gallery from February 15 to May 18, 2008.
To participate, upload your video to YouTube and add the tag “walkerworldsaway” or post it as a response to our video above. We’ll feature all videos on the Walker’s YouTube page. To be considered for gallery screening, entries must be 5 minutes or less and be online by January 18, 2008.