Mini-adventure - Howdy, MAM!

 

Milwuakee Art Museum - lakeside view

 

 

I've passed by the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) at least a dozen times.  Truly, walked right by the exterior as my family participated in the Milwaukee Komen Race for the Cure.  I had a free morning on the way to see my sister and family in the outskirts, so finally made my way inside.  

 

Surely I could have made the time sooner to see this beautiful piece of architecture.  Much of the time my sister has lived in Milwaukee overlapped with the years I worked at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC).  Museum fatigue was part of the delayed visit, spending Monday - Friday at a museum left me disinclined to spend my free time in one.  It was probably also a little snobbery, what could a little museum in Milwaukee possibly offer that wasn't on display at the AIC?

 

Shame on me!  The MAM is a delightful museum, and all in the Milwaukee area should plan a visit.  For me, the star of the show is the museum itself, specifically the 2001 Quadracci Pavilion addition designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.  Read more on the MAM webpage.  I planned my visit around the scheduled (weather permitting) noon opening and closing of the Burke Brise Soleil.  The "wings" are a 217-foot moveable sunscreen.  The day of my visit was rather cold and windy, so the wings did not open fully.  Or I missed it.  I went out to watch, nothing happened, so I went back in, only to see from the inside the wings were opening and went back outside.  As I said, it was very cold!

 

Me waiting for the "wings" show.

 

"Wings" in the closed position (left) and semi-open (right).



 This was my second visit to a small museum in the past few months.  When in Florida earlier this year, I met a friend at the Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland.  Snobbery over, I'm rather enjoying smaller museums.  They feel more intimate, and are certainly more manageable.  Big museums like the Art Institute have stellar collections, but it is impossible for a day-visitor to see the entire facility.  In that regard, I am grateful for my time at the AIC, as I saw the collection over time.  

 

MAM has its share of "big names."  Georgia O'Keeffe in particular is well represented, with several galleries devoted to her works.

 

Chagall, O'Keeffe, Monet

 

Calder

Bertoia




"The Last of the Spartans"



 

At the time of my visit, the primary special exhibition was "Uncommon Folk:  Traditions in American Art."  As the name implies, it is a collection of American folk works and self-taught artists.  Drawn from the museum's permanent collection, the brochure describes it as "a captivating visual feast."  I enjoyed it for the display of beauty, pride, and care that people take in their "everyday" objects.  We all have our own creativity and artist lurking inside.   

 

Collage of works in the "Uncommon Folk" exhibit

 

Another special exhibit was "Flow," a celebration of the upcoming National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts conference (March 19-22).  I found this interesting because of the ceramics classes I have been taking.  A lot of inspiration, ideas, and questions on technique to ask my teacher.  I also found it a good use of a light-filled gallery.  I really enjoyed all the exterior views in the museum, but I know how troublesome sunlight can be for curators and conservationists.  Ceramics are, in general, a more durable art form, and can withstand the harmful effects of sunlight.   

 

 

"Flow" exhibition

"Valentine" by Michelle Erickson, part of the "Flow" exhibit

 

Enjoyments, notes, and miscellaneous:

 

1)  As I mentioned previously, one of my favorite things about the museum was the view to the lake.  Had it been a sunnier day, this would have been even more enjoyable.

 

2)  I also enjoyed the ship-like elements.  MAM is perched right on Lake Michigan's western shore, ready to go forth and share art. 

 

3)  Staff and volunteers super friendly and helpful!  Some volunteers even gave me the tip to be sure to see the garage, as the Calatrava design carries through.  Indeed, it may be the nicest garage I've ever seen. 

 

4)  Watching the "wings" open and close is free to any and all passing by. 

 

5)  If you are short on time, or art just isn't your thing, I think if you just wanted to pop in and see Windhover Hall (grand reception hall), no one would hassle you.  It's beautiful.   

 

6)  The museum was not busy at all, many galleries I had to myself.  I did visit midday on a weekday in February, so that is probably a factor.

 

7)  Loved seeing all the school groups!  Art and kids are made for each other, it warms my heart to see them together in museums. 

 

8)  Speaking of kids and art, also on display during my visit was the 2014 Scholastic Art Awards.  There are some truly talented student artists in Wisconsin.

 

9)  I spent about 3 hours there, including a café sustenance break.  I took a lot of time with photography, and going in and out for the wings.  I'm more of an art glancer than deep ponderer.  In all, I think I could have used maybe 30-60 minutes longer for a first visit. 

    

10)  Lockers available for 50 cents.  50 cents!  No wait. 

 

11)  Parking in the north lot was $6 for as long as I wanted. 

 

12)  The museum has an abundance of much appreciated benches, water fountains, and toilet rooms throughout.        

 

13)  And there is actually yoga at the museum once a month. 

 

See you back here soon for another mini-adventure.

 

Hugs,

Tara

 

Fancy pants garage

 

Looking out to Lake Michigan

 

Inside the Burke Brise Soleil

Contemporary galleries

 

Your correspondent

 

       

Wheels spinning 'round - ceramics week one

 

 

 

 

I took a ceramics wheel throwing course, oh, 15 years ago, when I worked at the Art Institute of Chicago.  A perk was free courses at the School of the Art Institute.  It was a non-credit class on Sunday afternoons.  Lately, my fingers had been asking to do ceramics again.  But it was actually a search for a photography class that led to taking a ceramics class now.  It is another non-credit class, with Northwestern University's Norris Mini Courses.     

 

Our first class was primarily introductions, review of studio procedures, and how to get started demonstrations by the instructor.  We spent some time towards the end of class on the wheel.  It was as fun, and hard, as I remembered.  I think my fingers did retain some little bit of knowledge, I didn't feel like I was starting from zero.  We'll see how it goes this week when we have more time on the wheel.  I plan to arrive a little early, as I have to leave promptly to get to photo class.  We're welcome to use the studio any time it is open, giving priority to classes.  Here are a few photos from last week.  Not sure how many I'll get each week, it's hard to use a camera with clay-covered hands!

 



 

 

 

 



Inside Studio Gang and Museum Visitors!

Looking from inside the exhibition out to Griffin Court

"Why couldn't you make me an architect? You know I always wanted to pretend that I was an architect."  

~ George Costanza, Seinfeld, episode"The Marine Biologist"

Early last week I made it to the "Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects" exhibit at The Art Institute of Chicago. As you may recall from previous exhibition visits, I sometimes procrastinate and catch the show just before it closes. I actually made it to this one fairly early in the run. I was curious about the "rope rooms" I had heard about from my colleagues.

First, a little about Studio Gang.  Founded by Jeanne Gang in 1997, "Studio Gang is an international practice whose work confronts pressing contemporary issues. Conceived as a collective of architects, designers, and thinkers, the studio acts as a lab for testing ideas on varying scales: from cities to environments to individual buildings’ unique material properties."  Studio Gang is based here in Chicago.  They work both locally and internationally.  One of their recent buildings, Aqua Tower, is a fun addition to the Chicago skyline.  And, if I may speak frankly, Jeanne Gang is younger than you might think (according to Wikipedia she was born in 1964).    

Aqua Tower is the "shorter" building (it's 86 stories) to the right 

behind Pritzker Pavilion (by architect Frank Gehry).

This photo doesn't capture the building's fluidity. 

This exhibition was not in the "big" "main" Regenstein exhibition hall in the Rice Building, but the rotating galleries the Architecture and Design department gained for this purpose upon the opening of the Modern Wing.  

The exhibition has two main areas.  The first is devoted to some of the recent projects of the firm.  Projects were further divided into four categories:

• Nature | Northerly Island, Chicago
• Density | Aqua Tower, Chicago
• Community | Hyderabad Tellapur 02, Hyderabad, India
• Performance | Kaohsiung Maritime Museum and Popular Music Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

A whole city of models from their projects!  

In between the two areas was a brief display on Studio Gang solutions for problems created by architecture.  

The second area of the exhibition focused on the how - methods the studio uses to realize their projects.

Looking back at the exhibition from the staircase in Griffin Court

A benefit of being employed at a city landmark is that now and then friends and family come and see you at work!  In the later part the week my sister-in-law brought her kids to visit on a day off school.

Kevin's favorite part of visiting Aunt Tara at work - the model of the museum

and Millennium Park.  Kevin demonstrates where "The Bean" 

would be, if the model had a Bean.

The view from the conference room.

More view.

Looking at more models.

Michael goes Godzilla on the museum.

Genevieve is a natural teacher!

Obligatory pose on the Grand Staircase.

So much museum!

Michael checks out the newest paperweight addition,

Honey Bee Swarm with Flowers and Fruit, by Paul Stankard

I wasn't able to stay with Genevieve and kids the entire visit, but suggested they check out the Studio Gang exhibit, based on how much the boys liked the architectural models.  It was a big hit, kid approved!  The boys can't wait to build their own models.

I will leave you with a short time lapse video of the Studio Gang installation, with an audio segment by Jeanne Gang.   

"Architecture defines who we are."  

How are you defining the environment?

Until next time!

Hugs,

Tara

Lichtenstein

Last week I finally made it to the Lichtenstein show at the Art Institute of Chicago, which opened back in May.  You may be thinking, "Um.... it's at your place of employment.  You're there five days of every week."  This is true, I'm at the AIC frequently.  This can be a hazard of working at a museum, actually SEEING the objects in the museum.  My office is across the street from the museum itself, and the special exhibition hall is over in a part of the museum not on a usual route to Take Care of Business.  In other words, it requires a trip On Purpose.  I know, queue the violins. 

It closes on September 3, so I made a point of seeing the show.  If you're in Chicago and would like to see it this week, the details are here.  For those not in Chicago, here's a mini tour.  The website has a lot of additional details on the exhibition.  

I will preface the tour by saying this - it is just a quickie tour, not a review and not a proper dissertation.  The art history I had was ages ago, and didn't go any later than around Impressionism, aside from architectural history.  I don't really understand "modern" art.  This is a few photos, and a few non-academic opinions.  

So, why should we care about Roy Lichtenstein?  Why bother have an exhibition devoted to his work?

From the description leading into the hall:

"His contribution - the still-potent collision of commercial sources and fine art - defined the enduring legacy of Pop Art."

and

"In restating the mass-produced image by means of insistently handmade, painterly process, he confounded the notion of the readymade and forever expanded and altered our understanding of how a painting can be made, how it should look, and how we define the artist in our society."

Makes sense to me!  After viewing the exhibition, I had a greater appreciation for the artist, and his place in history.   

   

Detail of above painting.  

This was the most interesting part of the exhibition for me, 

Lichtenstein's explorations of other artistic styles.  

Recognize this one?  The AIC has a lot of works by this artist.  

The answer here.

This was my favorite, I found it amusing.

I also noticed the hygrothermograph in the corner.  

This is another hazard of working at a museum, noticing non-art stuff in a gallery.  

(What is a hygrothermograph?  It is an instrument that measures 

the air temperature and humidity).  

Update September 5, 2012 - The Lichtenstein show was the 2nd most popular in the past ten years.  The retrospective drew about 350,000 visitors.  Read full article in The Chicago Tribune.