Blog A mincing MMOCA mystery

The backstories of great works of art are often filled with theft and intrigue, and on Thursday night the Madison Museum Of Contemporary Art gave patrons (at $50 a head) a chance to hunt down a freshly stolen print from Madison artist T.L. Solien. Dubbed "A Contemporary Caper," the event at MMOCA was essentially a clever fundraiser disguised as an art heist. The suspects (the gallery owner, his wife, the gallery assistant, the art critic, the caterer, the art collector) all had motive to steal Solien's new work, "Levi In A Tree," which was supposed to be on display for the evening. Here's what went down as The A.V. Club followed the clues in a goofy yet rousing game of whodunit.

7:02 p.m.: As the guests arrive—about 50 in all—they each receive a Clue-like scorecard with a schedule of the night's events and one of those tiny golf pencils.

7:05 p.m.: MMOCA publicist Katie Kazan explains that the actors portraying the suspects are local thespians, proving that local theater is alive and well in Madison. (Throughout the evening, they're all pretty good about staying in character and dropping somewhat laughable hints: "Anything can happen," the gallery assistant later tells The A.V. Club.)

7:13 p.m.: Going in for a "mystery martini" and having the bartender pour Hypnotiq and pineapple juice together in front us kind of takes the mystery out of it. It's still pretty good, though.

7:22 p.m.: The "suspects" are mingling with the guests and they are pretty funny. The gallery owner has a really subtle, Christopher Guest-like humor about his character.

7:36 p.m.: The appetizers from the Fresco restaurant upstairs are all really delicious, but the little mug of tomato soup with a mini grilled cheese sandwich is the cutest thing ever.

7:49 p.m.: After the art collector finishes gushing about the piece—"I'm babbling like a baby," he says—the unveiling happens, and (gasp!) the print is missing.

8:20 p.m.: Three (or four?) clues deep now, and we are a little lost. But the music mix from Robin Davies (formerly of Tar Babies and now of Ka-Boom!Box) is making for good background noise while we ponder the crime.

8:23 p.m.: The piece is back in place, which begs the question: Case closed? But it's nice to get a look at it. It's a vividly abstract print, which the art collector points out, looks "cartoon-y."

8:41 p.m.: We're Just about giving up on solving the caper, but it's fun to watch the crowd egg on the performers.

8:53 p.m.: A dessert tray comes out loaded with little crème puffs. They're light, slightly boozy, and definitely continuing the adorable food trend.

9:14 p.m.: After the drawing for the Solien print, it's revealed that the gallery assistant did it. We were way off. Although The A.V. Club missed its chance to foil the caper, it was still a fun and ambitious, if slightly confusing, caper.