Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the American Studio Glass Movement

Posted on March 2, 2012 by
American Studio Glass installation. Photo by the author.

American Studio Glass installation at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Photo by the author.

The year 2012 is considered the 50th anniversary of the American Studio Glass movement. The anniversary is being celebrated with exhibitions and events across the country, organized in large part by the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass.

The Milwaukee Art Museum has a terrific collection of studio glass, and we were thrilled to be part of the celebration. Along one wall of the newly-designed Kohl’s Art Generation Studio is a new installation that celebrates using glass as a medium of creative impulse.

The glass sparkles, tells an important art history story, and I hope that its visual beauty inspires young artists as they create their own artwork nearby.

What is the American Studio Glass movement, and what is this anniversary?

Continue reading →

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It’s Always a “Sunny” Day at the Museum!

Posted on February 24, 2012 by

Sunny in Baumgartner Galleria

Sunny in Baumgartner Galleria

Written by “Sunny” the Dog

You know how sometimes you just need to become a tourist in your own hometown in order to truly appreciate all the wonderful places to go and things to do?  Although the Milwaukee Art Museum is my permanent home, I recently decided to spend the day like I was visiting for the very first time. Continue reading →

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From the Collection–Possum Trot

Posted on February 22, 2012 by
Calvin Black (American, 1903-1972) and Ruby Black (American, 1913-1980). Possum Trot Midget Doll Theatre. ca. 1950-1972. Wood, wood paneling, laminated Masonite, nails, bolts, paint, electrical components, and carved and painted wooden dolls. The Michael and Julie Hall Collection of American Folk Art M1989.325.

Calvin Black (American, 1903-1972) and Ruby Black (American, 1913-1980). Possum Trot Midget Doll Theatre, ca. 1950-1972. Wood, wood paneling, laminated Masonite, nails, bolts, paint, electrical components, and carved and painted wooden dolls. Milwaukee Art Museum, The Michael and Julie Hall Collection of American Folk Art M1989.325.

It’s back!

After being off view for nearly ten years, the Museum’s popular Possum Trot is back!  And it’s kicking, spinning, and singing up a storm.  Not to mention riding a bike.

Possum Trot was one of the most famous, extensive environments of self-taught art ever made.

Between about 1950 and 1972, transplanted Southerners Calvin and Ruby Black created what they hoped would be a tourist trap in the California desert.  Visitors could get a cold drink, buy bait or souvenirs—and, most importantly, witness a show featuring a cast of performing wooden dolls.

Now part of this tremendous work of art lives at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Continue reading →

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From the Collection–Jacques de l’Ange’s “Gluttony”

Posted on February 20, 2012 by
Jacques de l'Ange (Flemish, active in Antwerp 1631–1642) Gluttony, ca. 1642 Oil on canvas 49 1/4 x 40 1/4 in. (125.1 x 102.24 cm) Gift of Frank A. Murn M2006.45 Photo credit John R. Glembin

Jacques de l'Ange (Flemish, active in Antwerp 1631–1642), Gluttony, ca. 1642. Oil on canvas, 49 1/4 x 40 1/4 in. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Frank A. Murn M2006.45. Photo credit John R. Glembin.

Alas, the Milwaukee Art Museum does not own a Caravaggio painting.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Italian, 1571-1610) was a revolutionary painter who combined theatrical compositions and lighting with realistic depictions of humans to make some of the most dramatic and memorable paintings from the early Baroque period.

Unfortunately, he died young and his paintings are hard to come by.  Some of my favorites are The Calling of Saint Matthew in Rome and Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness in Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum.

But no need to despair!  Many artists who traveled to Italy in the 17th century—and lots who didn’t—were inspired to use the style of the great artist Caravaggio.  The Milwaukee Art Museum has great paintings by some of these northern European artists, which hang in Gallery #5 with Northern Baroque paintings.  Two of them—Christ before the High Priest by Mathias Stom and Mars, God of War by Gerrit von Honthorst—are by well-known artists of the phenomenon.

I’ve found myself recently admiring one in particular, by the least-known artist in the gallery: Gluttony by Jacques de l’Ange. Continue reading →

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The Making of an Exhibition Store

Posted on February 15, 2012 by
The potters in place

Ceramics in place

If you’ve read curator Mel Buchanan’s posts Painting the Gallery Walls or Layers of Exhibition Paint, you already have a general sense of how an exhibition physically comes together.  A lot of those same processes apply to the execution of an exhibition store, as well.

While Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper was still in full swing, Director of Retail Operations Karen McNeely and Store Manager Jeanne Tripi met with the Museum’s Exhibition Designer John Irion to discuss the dimensions and the colors of the Accidental Genius: Art from the Anthony Petullo Collection exhibition store.  In fact, the Impressionism store and the Accidental Genius store are located in the exact same space–just the configuration of the walls has shifted. Continue reading →

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