Art Hounds: Carnage, 'Urinetown' and small works of art

This week on Art Hounds: Urinetown and Carnage the Executioner.  

The Rev. Elaine Aron Tenbrink of First Universalist Church of Minneapolis says this weekend's Pizza Luce Block Party caught her eye, especially when she noticed that both Lizzo and Carnage the Executioner are in the lineup.  Tenbrink says she's been dancing in the kitchen to their music a lot lately, and finds their "truth-telling" lyrics especially powerful during what has been a "summer of unmasking racism in our culture." Performances start at noon Saturday in Minneapolis.

Arts consultant Robin Gillette says if you're in southwestern Minnesota, you should pay a visit to the Lake Benton Opera House and see its latest show, "Urinetown: The Musical," produced with Sod House Theater. The satirical comedy takes place after a 20-year drought, making personal flush toilets too wasteful.  People pay to pee at public toilets controlled by a mega-corporation called "Urine Good Company." Gillette says the musical is good fun while also raising some pertinent issues. Performances run through Sunday.

Debra deNoyelles is headed to Soo Visual Arts Center in Minneapolis this Sunday for "Love SooVAC: A Celebration of 15 Years of Visual Art." For its 15th anniversary, the gallery asked all the artists it's ever presented to create a postcard-size original work of art. All the pieces will be on sale for $20 each. DeNoyelles says she's looking forward to buying some art small enough to fit on her already-crowded walls.