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Art Behind the Scenes Curatorial Education Exhibitions

Recap: 30 Americans Sticky Notes

This past summer, we hosted 30 Americans, featuring works of art by contemporary African-American artists. The exhibition was, by the numbers, a huge success: we had an attendance goal of 85,140 and our actual attendance was 114,389! But impact goes beyond facts and figures, which is why we wanted to round out our blog posts about the exhibition with a look at a powerful expression of the city that was embedded in the show.

Categories
Behind the Scenes Education

ArtXpress Teen Program: ONE-MKE

Group shot of the ArtXpress teens with their mural! Photo by Front Room Photography
Group shot of the ArtXpress teens with their mural! Photo by Front Room Photography
How does one respond to a show like 30 Americans, which raises so many contemporary issues about identity, place and culture? How does this exhibition fit into a city that at first glance is all about motorcycles, baseball, and beer? Teens in the Milwaukee Art Museum’s ArtXpress program tackled these questions this summer.

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Art Curatorial Exhibitions

30 Encounters with 30 Americans: Conversations XXVIII – XXX

Karin Ormson and Valerie Curry visit the Museum on August 28, 2013. Photo by the author.
Karin Ormson and Valerie Curry. Photo by the author.

30 Encounters with 30 Americans is a ten week blog series showcasing the perspectives of thirty visitors to the Milwaukee Art Museum’s 30 Americans exhibition (June 14 – September 8, 2013).

Read about the experiences of these visitors–from couples to families, from students to scholars–and see how their thoughts compare to your own. What are visitors saying about this dynamic exhibition of paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, video, and more made by African American artists since 1970?

As the 30 Americans exhibition draws to a close, so too does the 30 Encounters with 30 Americans blog series.  Since July, it has been a pleasure to engage with this project and have the opportunity to speak with a variety of visitors on their perceptions of selected artworks from the Rubell Family Collection.  Sunday, September 8th is the final day to visit 30 Americans at the Milwaukee Art Museum.  As the exhibition continues its tour at the Frist Center for Visual Arts in Nashville, Tennessee on October 11th, may all those who view 30 Americans spark further conversations.

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Art Curatorial Exhibitions

30 Encounters with 30 Americans: Conversations XXV – XXVII

Sarah Bare and James Huber visit the Museum on August 28, 2013. Photo by the author.
Sarah Bare and James Huber. Photo by the author.

30 Encounters with 30 Americans is a ten week blog series showcasing the perspectives of thirty visitors to the Milwaukee Art Museum’s 30 Americans exhibition (June 14 – September 8, 2013).

Read about the experiences of these visitors–from couples to families, from students to scholars–and see how their thoughts compare to your own. What are visitors saying about this dynamic exhibition of paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, video, and more made by African American artists since 1970?

Conversations XXV-XXVII discuss how art, whether it is walked over or walked around, and history can intertwine to portray influential messages about society.

Categories
Art Curatorial Exhibitions

30 Encounters with 30 Americans: Conversations XXII – XXIV

Tyree, Marcus, and Yulonda Anderson visit the Museum on August 30, 2013. Photo by the author.
Tyree, Marcus, and Yulonda Anderson. Photo by the author.

30 Encounters with 30 Americans is a ten week blog series showcasing the perspectives of thirty visitors to the Milwaukee Art Museum’s 30 Americans exhibition (June 14 – September 8, 2013).

Read about the experiences of these visitors–from couples to families, from students to scholars–and see how their thoughts compare to your own. What are visitors saying about this dynamic exhibition of paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, video, and more made by African American artists since 1970?

The 30 Americans exhibition looks to the past while creating a brighter future in the mind’s of this week’s 30 Encounters with 30 Americans participants.

Categories
Art Curatorial Exhibitions

30 Encounters with 30 Americans: Conversations XIX – XXI

Sandra Menning, Tomas Pena and Noel Menning visit the Museum on August 21, 2013. Photo by the author.
Sandra Menning, Tomas Pena and Noel Menning. Photo by the author.

30 Encounters with 30 Americans is a ten week blog series showcasing the perspectives of thirty visitors to the Milwaukee Art Museum’s 30 Americans exhibition (June 14 – September 8, 2013).

Read about the experiences of these visitors–from couples to families, from students to scholars–and see how their thoughts compare to your own. What are visitors saying about this dynamic exhibition of paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, video, and more made by African American artists since 1970?

Conversations XIX – XXI of 30 Encounters with 30 Americans demonstrates that education in the arts is a life-long experience.

Categories
Education

Teen Voice: Victoria–The Museum’s Impact on Milwaukee

Victoria and her castle in the Kohl's Art Generation Gallery. Photo by Emerald Summers
Victoria and her castle in the Kohl’s Art Generation Gallery. Photo by Emerald Summers
The first time I saw the Milwaukee Art Museum I was in awe. The huge wings and the stark white building against the lake made the Museum seem like a weird foreign castle that I wanted to explore and get lost in. When I got inside, I was suddenly intimidated as I realized I couldn’t lay my grubby first grade fingers on anything! It was probably one of the biggest let downs in my first grade life I had ever encountered, but now, coming back as a senior in high school (and knowing about artwork conservation), I know it was for a good reason.

Four weeks ago I had no idea that I would be creating a post that would be viewed by anyone who accessed Milwaukee Art Museum Blog. When I first started the internship I was ecstatic: Working at the art museum? I was movin’ on up in life. Then when I found out I was going to create a blog post, you could pretty much say my day–if not year–was made.

Categories
Education

Teen Voice: Rachelle–Connecting with Art at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Rachelle and Victoria at the exhibition model in the Kohl's Art Generation Lab. Photo by Emerald Summers
Rachelle and Victoria at the exhibition model in the Kohl’s Art Generation Lab. Photo by Emerald Summers
To me, art is not about the finished product but instead is a process of thoughts, motives, symbols, creativity and challenge. A museum’s central purpose is to secure and preserve the heritage of each work as a whole, ensuring that the voice of each artist is heard to reflect their thoughts, curiosity, and growth. Museums connect art with visitors beyond just the visual sense.

On a personal level, art has always been a part of my life. Whether it be in dance, thought, or in action; art surrounds me. As an intern here at the Milwaukee Art Museum, my appreciation for creativity, innovation, and artists new and old has only grown. Art as a whole, has changed through time, increasing in meaning and expression. In my eyes, the finished product of art does not need to make complete sense to every individual. The same piece of art I may find beautiful may not meet another’s standards of beauty. Art lives on, beyond the surface of a canvas, in the Museum.

Categories
Art Curatorial Exhibitions

30 Encounters with 30 Americans: Conversations XVI – XVIII

Elysia Powers and Tori Transut(?) visit the Museum on August 22, 2013. Photo by the author.
Elysia Powers and Tori Trausht visit the Museum on August 22, 2013. Photo by the author.

30 Encounters with 30 Americans is a ten week blog series showcasing the perspectives of thirty visitors to the Milwaukee Art Museum’s 30 Americans exhibition (June 14 – September 8, 2013).

Read about the experiences of these visitors–from couples to families, from students to scholars–and see how their thoughts compare to your own. What are visitors saying about this dynamic exhibition of paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, video, and more made by African American artists since 1970?

Read a variety of expressive viewpoints from artists and art enthusiasts this week on 30 Encounters with 30 Americans.

Categories
Art Curatorial Exhibitions

30 Encounters with 30 Americans: Conversations XIII – XV

Gwendolyn Mounger and Kathleen Waugus visit the Museum on August 9, 2013. Photo by the author.
Gwendolyn Mounger and Kathleen Waugus visit the Museum on August 9, 2013. Photo by the author.

30 Encounters with 30 Americans is a ten week blog series showcasing the perspectives of thirty visitors to the Milwaukee Art Museum’s 30 Americans exhibition (June 14 – September 8, 2013).

Read about the experiences of these visitors–from couples to families, from students to scholars–and see how their thoughts compare to your own. What are visitors saying about this dynamic exhibition of paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, video, and more made by African American artists since 1970?

This week’s 30 Encounters with 30 Americans marks the halfway point in the blog series and features, as usual, engaging perspectives on the exhibition.