museums

Stepping Out for Wisconsin Photographers

Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI

Last week my husband and I stepped out for a day and headed up to the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA). It was a bit impulsive, but, oh, so worth the trip.

MOWA_2

MOWA is located in West Bend and is a delightfully unpretentious, yet highly cultivated celebration of Wisconsin art.

The Flagellants (Procession of the Flagellants), 1889, by Carl von Marr

The museum was initially founded in 1961 to showcase the works of Milwaukee-born artist Carl von Marr (1858-1936), including this stunning The Flagellants. It’s now grown to be the most comprehensive collection of Wisconsin art in the state.

J. Shimon and J.LIndemann exhibit at MOWA, West Bend, WI

The works are all great, but I especially wanted to see the current exhibit There’s a Place, by photographers J. Shimon & J. Lindemann. I love this collaborative duo and the eclectic work they do. At a time when the rest of us get quick and easy results with DSLRs, John Shimon and Julie Lindemann meditatively create storytelling portraits with antiquarian cameras and techniques.

Herman Christel, by J. Shimon and J. Lindemann

This piece is my favorite. Years ago, one of my photography class assignments was to emulate a favorite photographer. Of course I chose Shimon and Lindemann. I did my interpretation of Herman Resting in Front of His Farmhouse and my ever-patient husband posed as Herman. We had such the fun putting it together; I can only imagine the special times Shimon and Lindemann have as they create their pieces.

Herman Christel, by J. Shimon and J. Lindemann

Herman with Stones — such peaceful simplicity, don’t you think? Picking rocks from the fields in spring and dumping them off on the fence line is a cultural part of Wisconsin farming. This immortalization of the commonplace we know so well is what makes Shimon and Lindemann beloved.

Shimon and Lindemann also capture what perhaps isn’t normally exposed to outside folk. When you learn Herman’s story, it’s obvious he was rather eccentric. Yet Shimon and Lindemann found beauty in his oddities just as they do each of their subjects. To quote one reviewer, “their portraiture serves to neither glorify nor criticize.” I think that’s what I like most about their work. It reminds me that God has made everyone with a unique story and each is as important as the other.

On top of that, Shimon and Lindemann’s portraiture is fun and eclectic.

It’s unassuming.

It’s so very Wisconsin.

There’s a Place is on exhibit at MOWA through June 7, 2015. If you have a chance, do go and see it!

All photos taken by Adunate, with the permission of MOWA.

More on J. Shimon & J. Lindemann:

 

Milwaukee’s Color Rush

mamDH

Two weeks ago, I was able to drag my husband to an AIGA guided tour of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Color Rush: 75 Years of Color Photography in America. I was particularly interested in this exhibit because, back in September, the museum’s graphic design team gave us AIGAers a peek of their studio deep within the underbelly of this fascinating structure. At the time, they were designing visuals for Color Rush. It was amazing to see how much planning and work goes into such an event!

As you can see, the museum, with its Burke Brise Soleil, is art in itself. (I think my husband is too:-)

MAMsign

In fact, Milwaukee is an all-around artsy city. The Calling is a sunburst sculpture that gets a quick peek from visitors as they come out of the parking ramp and then turn towards the crosswalk over Lincoln Memorial Drive.

MAMlakefrontview

MAMchahuly

The street entrance to the museum is beautiful Windhover Hall. It has this mesmerizing span of windows overlooking the lake and a stunning glass ceiling that looks up to the underside of the Briese Soleil.

I chuckled at a toddler bouncing against the guard ropes around Chihuly’s Isola di San Giacomo in Palude Chandelier II. Needless to say, his parents were stressing out a bit about that (been there, done that). Here’s an interesting project where school children studied Chihuly at a more age-appropriate level.

MAMcolorRush

I like how they set up the entrance to the Color Rush exhibit—they prepped viewers with this incongruous black and white introduction before moving them into the gallery’s full-color displays. My photo turned out pretty cool too. Check out the contrast between the sign and the flash of blue behind it, plus the gentleman in black looking the opposite direction. How’s that for serendipity?!

MAMpiano

I love the contrast between this ornate, black, somewhat-aged piano against the clean, white lines of the side gallaria. What do you think the acoustics are in this space?

MAMarchitecture

After our tour, we headed downtown for a bite to eat. As much as I love the city of Madison, when it comes to architecture Milwaukee has it beat, hands down. Each downtown building is more historically characteristic than the next.

MAMmadersWe ate at Mader’s, one of Milwaukee’s oldest restaurants, with lots of good, German food and beer…

MAMmadersII…and vintage collectables everywhere. It was like being in another museum!

MAMdoor

And wouldn’t you know, unbeknownst to me, my phone fell out of my pocket while we dined. Mader’s graciously called me the next morning to say they found it on the floor beside our table. Oh well, a trip back into Milwaukee isn’t so bad.

Color Rush: 75 Years of Color Photography in America

The Color Rush exhibit is on from February 22-May 19, 2013. So head on down to Milwaukee’s lakefront and check it out! You’ll find lots of other interesting things to see and do as well. Milwaukee is such a beautiful city!

An Afternoon with Toulouse-Lautrec

Toulouse-Lautrec at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Earlier this month, I had a super fun day with my goddaughter at the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM). I’m a huge fan of poster art and she likes fashion, so we checked out the Posters of Paris exhibit. It fit our tastes beautifully.

“In the 1890s, Paris was celebrated as a city of posters,” describes the exhibit details. “Art critics praised these new artistic posters for bringing joy and color to daily life and for ‘giving Paris a museum of pictures, an open-air exhibition’ that changed daily as new posters were pasted up.”

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, La Goulue
Moulin Rouge: La Goulue, 1891
Lithograph printed in four colors; three sheets of wove paper
With permission: metmuseum.org

The exhibit’s featured artist is Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman and illustrator. When the Paris cabaret Moulin Rouge opened in 1889, Toulouse-Lautrec was commissioned to do a series of promotional posters.

 

Toulouse Lautrec La Chaine Simpson
La Chaine Simpson
Lithographed advertisement for a La Chaîne Simpson, 1896
public domain

Even though creating posters was generally pooh-poohed by art community, and even though Toulouse-Lautrec’s aristocracy allowed him financial privilege, his love for the art impassioned him to do more than 300 prints and posters. In turn, these gave notice to his thousands of oil, watercolor, drawing, ceramic and stained glass works, all done within a short 20-year career.

 

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Dvian Japonais
Divan Japonais, 1892–93
Lithograph printed in four colors on wove paper
With permission: metmuesum.org

Toulouse-Lautrec led a very bohemian lifestyle. Much of his work portrays the decadent goings-on of the times (although the MAM exhibit is tastefully selective). Other pieces, however, show landscapes, portraits and even the Madonna and Child.

 

The MAM does superb promotions for its exhibits. Wouldn’t this be a fun design or copywriting job?

And of course, there’s the MAM’s architecture! The Brise Soleil itself is a Milwaukee landmark. My favorite is the galleria entry. After coming through a warehouse-like entrance and up an elevator, opening the door to this view is an immediate ‘aaaah’ moment.

Plus, my goddaughter is so beautiful, isn’t she?