Milwaukee Art Museum Blog
Picture this: You’re watching the wings open on the Museum’s Quadracci Pavilion and you realize you hear music… ever wonder who is behind its creation? I have! The answer is the talented Kris Martinez, Interactive Designer at the Museum. Below, straight from Kris, is everything you ever wanted to know about the music of the Museum.
Looking for something to do as the kids head off to school this week? Come in to the Milwaukee Art Museum! The Museum is open seven days a week through Labor Day, and active military and their families receive FREE admission, thanks to Blue Star Museums.
But – on Thursday, September 1, admission is FREE for ALL individuals thanks to Target Free First Thursdays! The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, and it will be your last chance to see The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City for free before it closes on Sunday, September 11.
The Museum Store has a dedicated staff person whose primary responsibility is “Product Development.”
Julia Jackson is the Museum Store’s creative brain-power and organizational manager behind items like the Roy Lichtenstein Crying Girl V-neck T-shirt (I get so many complements when I wear mine and it’s really soft, too!) and the Calatrava-inspired “Wings” earrings that I love.
Every time you pour coffee into your Edmund Tarbell’s Three Sisters mug or admire Bastien-LePage’s Woodgatherer on a poster on your wall, you can thank Julia!
Here is a simplified breakdown of Julia’s design and organization process:
This summer, fourteen teens from all around the Milwaukee area came together for three packed weeks with a hefty task: to create a mural for the side of a Milwaukee County Transit System bus that would address an important issue in the community, inspired by themes in the Museum’s The Emperor’s Private Paradise exhibition of Chinese art.
In 2005, as a senior Art History major at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, I worked as an intern for the Museum’s Curatorial Department in Earlier European Art. Working under the expert intern-wrangling leadership of Catherine Sawinski, Assistant Curator of Earlier European Art, I industriously contributed my research (compiling artist biographies for the 2006 Biedermeier: The Invention of Simplicity exhibition) and customer service (answering public inquiries) skills to the greater cause of making the Milwaukee Art Museum run.
Breaking my daily routine, Laurie Winters (now the Museum’s Director of Exhibitions) and Mary Weaver Chapin (now the Museum’s Associate Curator of Prints & Drawings) asked me if I could go to Chicago with Mary for the day to help with a cataloging project. We would be visiting an Asian art collection to inventory, measure, and photograph all the objects.
As an intern, I was thrilled with this great opportunity, but I had no idea that this material would reappear in my life 6 years later!
Summer has hit Milwaukee with a big whollop of hot and humid, but the Milwaukee Art Museum is cool, so bring the family down and enjoy. Kids 12 and under get in free everyday.
This week the Museum plays host to a few exciting events. On Thursday, July 21, the Museum welcomes Melissa Chiu, director and curator for contemporary Asian and Asian-American art at the Asia Society in New York. She’ll be giving a lecture at 6:15 p.m. in Lubar Auditorium about contemporary Chinese art. Stick around after the lecture and walk amongst the new installation by contemporary Chinese artist Yue Minjun.
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.
The Chipstone Foundation recently opened its Summer of China exhibition: Way of the Dragon: The Chinoiserie Style, 1710-1830, which will be on view until November 6.
I sat down with the show’s curator, Kate Smith, to discuss the concept of “chinoiserie” as well as the exhibition process.
Claudia Mooney: I know a lot of visitors are probably wondering this, What does chinoiserie mean?
Kate Smith: The term “chinoiserie” basically means “in the Chinese style”. It refers to objects that are made outside of China in imitation of Chinese objects and images.
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.
It’s another busy week at the Museum, with Gallery Talks, lectures, and the opening of a new exhibition. And don’t forget the Museum is open on Monday, July 4, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On Tuesday, June 28, enjoy a Gallery Talk at 1:30 p.m. in The Emperor’s Private Paradise. There’s also a 30-minute Express Talk at noon on Thursday, June 30 for those looking for something different to do over the lunch hour.