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Behind the Scenes Education

Behind the Scenes of Illusions: Near and Far

Brigid balancing on the vine. Photo courtesy Brigid Globensky
Brigid balancing on the vine. Photo courtesy Brigid Globensky
We are just a week from opening the new exhibition in the Kohl’s Art Generation Gallery, Illusions: Near and Far! Have you ever wondered how an artist makes a work of art seem “real”? We tell all the tricks of the trade—you’ll get to see just how an artist makes us think we are looking into space when we’re really not. Better yet, you get to make your own magic!

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20th and 21st Century Design Art Collection Education Events

Connecting the Dots

Grete Marks, Tea Service, ca. 1930. Milwaukee Art Museum, Purchase, by exchange. Photo by John R. Glembin
Grete Marks, Tea Service, ca. 1930. Milwaukee Art Museum, Purchase, by exchange. Photo by John R. Glembin.

Let’s begin with three seemingly disparate thoughts.

One: Since I started working here at the Museum as the Team Coordinator for the Kohl’s Color Wheels art education outreach program in August, I have seen over 25,000 people while out in the community. As you can imagine, the idea of the accessibility of art has definitely been on my mind.

Two: As part of the Museum community, last month, I had the chance to see two lectures in one day: one on the German potter Grete Marks, given by Mel Buchanan, the Assistant Curator of 20th Century Design at the Museum; the other about the creative process at Pixar Animation Studios, given by Dan Holland, a sketch artist there. It made my day.

Three: I also teach freshmen at MIAD. One of my classes focuses on discussing the philosophical and practical underpinnings of these young artists’ budding visual practices. The other day my students started an impromptu discussion about Felix Baumgartner jumping from the stratosphere. It was a great class.

So, where am I going with all of this? Let me explain.

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Behind the Scenes Education

Community Outreach–The Collaborative Chihuly

A close-up of the Kohl's Color Wheels Chihuly project.
A close-up of the Kohl’s Color Wheels Chihuly project.
As the Kohl’s Color Wheels Team Coordinator, I have the chance to bridge the gap between the Collection and the world outside the Museum walls. I am given the awesome task of working with area schools and art teachers to bring part of the Collection to them. I wanted to share this process through photos of a past event with Shady Lane Elementary.

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Behind the Scenes Education

Voting Counts: The Kohl’s Art Generation Lab

View of the voting stations in the Kohl's Art Generation Lab: Museum Inside Out. Photo by John R. Glembin
View of the voting stations in the Kohl’s Art Generation Lab: Museum Inside Out. Photo by John R. Glembin
The Kohl’s Art Generation Lab—part of the new Kohl’s Education Center, which opened February 25, 2012—is the Museum’s new “technology room” for kids and families. It features an exhibition entitled Museum Inside Out, which takes visitors on a behind-the-scenes tour of different departments at the Museum through high-tech interactives (and some low-tech ones, too). Kids and families can X-ray a painting, choose the frame for a work of art, and “Ask a Curator” their art-related questions. The Kohl’s Art Generation Lab is open during normal Museum hours through August 31, 2013.

One of the higher-tech attractions in the Lab is the Museum’s voting interactive. Five touch-screen monitors each randomly display two artworks side by side; the visitor is instructed to “tap to vote” for his or her favorite work between the two. Upon each selection, the information is collected, the results are tabulated, and two new works are displayed. A larger “leaderboard” screen above the touch-screens displays the current top 20 works in the contest, along with a list of recently selected works.

We started out not knowing how many votes to expect, and we were pretty surprised by the results.

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20th and 21st Century Design Art Behind the Scenes Collection Curatorial

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the American Studio Glass Movement

American Studio Glass installation. 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?

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Art Behind the Scenes Education Museum Store

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

Sunny in Baumgartner Galleria
Sunny in Baumgartner Galleria
Gray, long-haired dog sitting in a field by the lake with its tongue out

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.

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Art Events Exhibitions

What’s Up at the Museum?

ImageThe groundhog may have seen his shadow, but the Museum is jumping full steam into spring with its new exhibition, Accidental Genius: Art from the Anthony Petullo Collection.

Containing 200 works of modern and contemporary self-taught art from some of the world’s greatest self-taught artists, the exhibition has opened to rave reviews and much praise, and is on view thanks to the generosity of its collector and donor, Anthony Petullo.

To celebrate the exhibition, the Museum has a variety of programs and Gallery Talks scheduled, as well as panel discussions, dance performances, and a special MAM After Dark.

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Behind the Scenes Education

Download the Kohl’s Art Generation iPod Touch App!

I am so excited to announce that the Kohl’s Art Generation Family iPod Touch Tour is now a free, downloadable app from the iTunes store!

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Art Events Exhibitions

What’s Happening at the Milwaukee Art Museum: July 11-July 17

Contemporary Chinese Warriors, Yue Minjun, 2006

Welcome to another sweltering week in Milwaukee, with big things happening at the Museum.

Have you seen the latest installation in the Summer of CHINA series? It’s called Contemporary Chinese Warriors and it’s by Chinese artist Yue Minjun. The 26 satirical statues are located in the Museum’s Contemporary Galleries, on the Main Level.

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Art Events Exhibitions

What’s Happening at the Milwaukee Art Museum: July 4-July 10

Happy Fourth of July from the Milwaukee Art Museum. The Museum is open Monday, July 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission for active military and their families is free. We hope you include the Museum in your Independence Day plans.

Also happening this week, there’s a Gallery Talk on The Emperor’s Private Paradise at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 5, and an Express Talk on the feature exhibition on Thursday, July 7 at noon.