Categories
Art Collection Contemporary Education

From the Collection: MMPI (Self-Portrait in Yellow) by Tony Oursler

Yellow doll trapped under a chair with a face projected on
Tony Oursler (American, b. 1957), MMPI (Self-Portrait in Yellow), 1996 (detail). Video installation with video projector, VCR, video tape, small cloth figure, and metal folding chair. Dimensions variable. Milwaukee Art Museum, Purchase, with funds from Donald and Donna Baumgartner, Marianne and Sheldon B. Lubar, Allen and Vicki Samson, Dr. and Mrs. Philip Shovers, and Sibyl and David Wescoe. M1998.136a-i. Photo by Larry Sanders
Yellow doll trapped under a chair with a face projected on
Tony Oursler (American, b. 1957), MMPI (Self-Portrait in Yellow), 1996. Video installation with video projector, VCR, video tape, small cloth figure, and metal folding chair. Dimensions variable. Milwaukee Art Museum, Purchase, with funds from Donald and Donna Baumgartner, Marianne and Sheldon B. Lubar, Allen and Vicki Samson, Dr. and Mrs. Philip Shovers, and Sibyl and David Wescoe. M1998.136a-i. Photo by Larry Sanders

Walking through the center of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s main level galleries, visitors often become aware of something out of place: a single, monotone voice echoing faintly through the spacious galleries. Those curious enough to follow the noise to its source will stumble upon an unexpected scene. Just around the corner from the central staircase, a small cloth doll lies on the museum floor, a bright yellow folding chair leaning precariously against its head. Projected onto the doll’s blank head is the expressionless face of an adult man, speaking a series of short phrases slowly and deliberately.

Categories
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
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.

Categories
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
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.

Categories
Art Curatorial Exhibitions

30 Encounters with 30 Americans: Conversations X – XII

Sharon and Schuyler Seager visit the Museum on August 5, 2013. Photo by the author.
Sharon and Schuyler Seager visit the Museum on August 5, 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 blog post features visitors that all shared international views of the Museum’s 30 Americans exhibition.

Categories
Art Curatorial Exhibitions

30 Encounters with 30 Americans: Conversations VII – IX

Kai Gardner-Mishlove, Bechane Tendai Cole and Jnana Martin. Photo by the author
Kai Gardner-Mishlove, Bechane Tendai Cole and Jnana Martin. 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?

From the well crafted thoughts of educators to the developing impressions of young students, this week’s 30 Encounters with 30 Americans is rich with engaging perspectives.