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Design

Putt A Hole in One at this Artist-Commissioned Golf Course

As part of collection of artist commissions, The Walker Art Center brings together art and mini golf.

Two kids try their luck at Aaron Dysart’s designed hole Rock! Garden. Photo credit: Walker Art Center

The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is a long-established haven for artists and art lovers, known for its experimentation and support for the local artist community. While visitors to one of the US’s most impressive contemporary institutes may not go searching for the local art scene, a yearly commissioned mini-golf course provides a snapshot of some of the city’s most creative contenders.

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Kevin Weeden, one of 23 artists who collaborated on a hole at the Skyline Mini Golf course on the rooftop of The Walker Art Center, tells The Creators Project about the inspiration for his hole titled Right On Cue. “I began by thinking The Walker needed an unconventional mini golf hole since the art there was and is unconventional. I wanted to use the basic golf club in an unusual way. As I researched more, I learned billiards is believed to have evolved from golf and I came to see my golf hole as a ‘missing link’ between the two.”

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The Right on Cue hole comes from the conceptual mind of artist Kevin Weeden. Photo credit: Walker Art Center

Weeden describes his typical practice as cast iron sculpture, meaning he created Right on Cue using artistic methods he wasn’t accustomed to. “I think all of my work has a conceptual component,” he says. “I provided the idea and design and then [The] Walker hired a prop company to actually build it.”

In 2004, 2008, and each summer since 2013, The Walker Art Center has opened up its links, exhibiting artists and designers from the area with their creative takes on golf holes. Weeden says, “I think the mini golf course brings people closer to the art museum than would otherwise.”

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This Andy-Warhol-inspired hole, Thrillo-Brillo, was made by artists Yousif Del Valle, Tom Loftus, Andrew MacGuffie, Meena Mangalvedhekar, and Amy Toscani. Photo credit: Walker Art Center

Other ideas put forward this year range from Stargazer — a hole where you need to make your way through constellations like the Big Dipper before reaching the North Star — to Let’s Be Frank, a giant hotdog and fry installation.

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Let’s Be Frank hole, by Yousif Del Valle, Tom Loftus, Andrew MacGuffie, Meena Mangalvedhekar and Amy Toscani. Photo credit: Walker Art Center

Aaron Dysart, another commissioned artist, presents Rock! Garden — three gigantic rocks containing musical instruments, which make sounds every time a player knocks their exteriors with a golf ball.

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“I thought about durability a lot,” he tells The Creators Project. “I thought about all the kids with clubs in their hands.”

A sculptor who likes to investigate the intersection between built and unbuilt environments, Dysart made the rocks using foam, fiberglass, and a metal flake gelcoat. The instruments—xylophone, tambourine, drum and taunt strings—were second-hand.

“[The course] makes the arts a bit more accessible,” says Dysart. “The holes are more interesting when the artists make them.”

The Walker Center's artist-commissioned Skyline Mini Golf is open until September 4, 2016. A game of golf, which is $12 for adults players, also includes admission to the gallery. Find out more on the Walker Center site, here.

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