Year: 2007

Museum Announces More Growth in Education Programs

Milwaukee, WI, November 27, 2007- The Milwaukee Art Museum is pleased to announce continued growth in its Education Programs. A commitment to presenting art as a vital source of inspiration and education lies behind the numbers illustrating the Museum’s expanding service to area schools and communities. A new paid teen internship program has been made possible by the Museum’s continued success with exercising its educational mission, and an important Museum program celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, as well. Museum Announces More Growth in Education Programs

The Eight Themes of Foto

Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918-1945 is divided into eight thematic sections, each of which brings together work from across central Europe to compare local differences against a heritage of shared institutions and attitudes towards modernity. The Eight Themes of Foto

Milwaukee Art Museum Presents Exhibition of Groundbreaking Photography

A golden age of photographic experimentation takes shape in the Milwaukee Art Museum’s presentation of Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 19181945, organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and on view in Milwaukee from February 9 through May 4, 2008. Together with its accompanying film program, Foto explores photography in Germany, Austria, the former Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary as the ultimate modern art form: a democratic response to such hallmarks of modernity as the advent of industrialization and new technologies, the growth of cities and urban lifestyles, and the rise of nationalism. Milwaukee Art Museum Presents Exhibition of Groundbreaking Photography

Light, Motion, Sound, and the Optical to fill Museum Collection Galleries

Immersive light environments, optical illusions, and interactive sound installations-these uniquely engaging works of art that explore the principles of perception take center stage in a new exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum developed from its Collection. On view January 24, 2008 through October 2009, Sensory Overload: Light, Motion, Sound and the Optical in Art since 1945 tracks two populist visual art movements, Kinetic and Op art, and their spectacular legacies. Light, Motion, Sound, and the Optical to fill Museum Collection Galleries

Milwaukee Art Museum Announces Growth in Education Programs and New Paid Internship

Milwaukee, WI, November 27, 2007— The Milwaukee Art Museum is pleased to announce continued growth in its Education Programs. A commitment to presenting art as a vital source of inspiration and education lies behind the numbers illustrating the Museum’s expanding service to area schools and communities. Milwaukee Art Museum Announces Growth in Education Programs and New Paid Internship

Drawings of an American Master Featured in New Exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee, WI, November 27, 2007— He was a college drop-out at 22, a member of the National Academy at 27, the country’s most accomplished lithographer at 35, and dead of appendicitis at 43. George Bellows is now an American legend whose powerful drawings of early-twentieth-century America reflect his singular genius. Drawings of an American Master Featured in New Exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee Art Museum Director Knighted by French Ambassador

Milwaukee, WI, October 26, 2007— The Milwaukee Art Museum is pleased to announce that David Gordon, Director and CEO of the Milwaukee Art Museum, has been named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters) by the Ambassador of France to the United States, H.E. Pierre Vimont. Milwaukee Art Museum Director Knighted by French Ambassador

Milwaukee Art Museum Features Rare Arts and Crafts Pottery, 10/25/07-2/10/08

Milwaukee, WI, September 6, 2007–Colorful, iconic examples of American Arts and Crafts pottery tell the compelling story of one of America’s most successful reform-minded workshops in Art and Reform: Sara Galner, the Saturday Evening Girls, and the Paul Revere Pottery.  This comprehensive exhibition of turn-of-the-century household wares is on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum October 25, 2007-February 10, 2008. Milwaukee Art Museum Features Rare Arts and Crafts Pottery, 10/25/07-2/10/08

Harley-Davidson Foundation Initiates School Tour Program at Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee, WI, August 28, 2007-Made possible through the generous support of the Harley-Davidson Foundation, 2,500 children from predominantly Hispanic schools in Milwaukee and neighboring Waukesha will be able to see and learn from a legendary 20th century Mexican artist this fall through docent-guided tours at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin’s largest and best-known visual arts resource. Harley-Davidson Foundation Initiates School Tour Program at Milwaukee Art Museum

The Contemporary Art Society Announces the Tenth Benefit Art Auction

Milwaukee, WI, August 14, 2007-The Contemporary Art Society proudly announces the Tenth Benefit Art Auction for the Milwaukee Art Museum on Friday, November 2, 2007, at 6:30 p.m. Featuring approximately 140 museum-quality works by artists such as Sigmar Polke, Christo, Chuck Close, and David Hockney, the auction offers attendees a unique opportunity to support the acquisition of contemporary art for the Milwaukee Art Museum, while acquiring world-class contemporary art for their own collections at one of the country’s most prominent museums and architectural landmarks. The Contemporary Art Society Announces the Tenth Benefit Art Auction

Milwaukee Art Museum Exhibits Polar Photographs from Yesterday and Today

Milwaukee, WI, August 2, 2007 – Mixing rare nineteenth-century photographs with some of today’s most outstanding polar photography, the Milwaukee Art Museum is pleased to present Photographs from the Ends of the Earth September 13-December 24, 2007. Comprised of approximately 75 photographs and stereographs dating from 1869 to the present day, the exhibition surveys images of the polar regions over the past century and a half, and invites visitors to probe the exhibition space and subject matter just as the photographers themselves discovered the unique features of the Arctic and Antarctic landscapes. Milwaukee Art Museum Exhibits Polar Photographs from Yesterday and Today

Milwaukee Art Museum Presents Drawings of Martin Ramirez

Milwaukee, WI, July 30, 2007-Martín Ramírez, on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum October 6, 2007-January 13, 2008, is the first major retrospective in nearly twenty years dedicated to the complex, multilayered drawings of this Mexican self-taught artistic genius. This holistic exhibition reconsiders the long-held classification of Ramírez as a “schizophrenic artist” and presents his drawings in a major metropolitan museum alongside artists in the art-historical canon, as works of artistic quality and merit. Milwaukee Art Museum Presents Drawings of Martin Ramirez

Martín Ramírez Classes, Lectures, Programs and Events

Rare Watercolor Collection on Display at Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee, WI, July 25, 2007 – Comprised of approximately twenty-five watercolors by principal Photorealist artists such as Chuck Close, Richard Estes, and Ralph Goings, the PieperPower Photorealists Watercolor Collection features works created at the height of these influential artists’ popularity in the 1970s and 80s. Rare Watercolor Collection on Display at Milwaukee Art Museum

Viewers Enter a Masterpiece in New Installation at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee, WI, July 20, 2007— Museum-goers are invited to step inside a world-famous painting as the Milwaukee Art Museum presents an exciting new interactive installation amidst the renowned masterpieces in its galleries of European art. On view through July 2008, Bar at the Folies-Bergère (after Manet) is inspired by one of the most popular and debated faces in the history of modern art. Viewers Enter a Masterpiece in New Installation at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Third Annual Milwaukee Artist Marketplace

Milwaukee, WI, May 30, 2007— The Milwaukee Art Museum along with a coalition of Milwaukee-based artist organizations is proud to present the Third Annual Artist Marketplace on Saturday, July 28, 2007, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In conjunction with Gallery Night and Day, over 80 emerging and established artists will display and sell their work on the Museum grounds in a relaxed and informal setting. Third Annual Milwaukee Artist Marketplace

Going Out of Style Redefines Milwaukee Art Museum Furniture Collection

Milwaukee, WI, May 24, 2007— The Milwaukee Art Museum is proud to present its new exhibition, Going out of Style: 400 Years of Changing Tastes in Furniture, on view June 21 – September 30, 2007. Highlighting important shifts in aesthetic and cultural theory over four centuries of European settlement in America, the exhibition offers the public a truly unconventional interpretation of historic design. Going Out of Style Redefines Milwaukee Art Museum Furniture Collection

Milwaukee Art Museum’s Lakefront Festival of Arts Celebrates 45th Anniversary

Milwaukee, WI, May 22, 2007— The Milwaukee Art Museum’s Lakefront Festival of Arts (LFOA), presented by Quad/Graphics and Milwaukee Magazine, celebrates its 45th anniversary on June 15 to June 17. The annual three-day event, which ranks among the premier juried art fairs in the country, features more than 170 leading artists from around the nation who will exhibit and sell their work on the grounds in front of the museum’s Santiago Calatrava-designed addition. Milwaukee Art Museum’s Lakefront Festival of Arts Celebrates 45th Anniversary

Milwaukee Art Museum Exhibition Schedule as of April 2007

All exhibitions and dates are subject to change; please call to verify before publication. Images available upon request. Milwaukee Art Museum Exhibition Schedule as of April 2007

Milwaukee Art Museum Features Early Graphic Work by Adolph Gottlieb

Milwaukee, WI, March 30, 2007— Adolph Gottlieb: Early Prints, on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum May 24 – August 19, 2007, is a rare opportunity to view the graphic work by an important Abstract Expressionist artist. Milwaukee Art Museum Features Early Graphic Work by Adolph Gottlieb

Milwaukee Art Museum Announces Leadership Change

Milwaukee, WI, May 14, 2007— The Milwaukee Art Museum announced today that David Gordon would be retiring as director and CEO by March 2008. Milwaukee Art Museum Announces Leadership Change

Three Degrees of Francis Bacon: From Viewer to Artist and Back Again

Milwaukee, WI, February 2007— The Milwaukee Art Museum once again teams up with Cedar Block for another interactive art event: Three Degrees of Francis Bacon , Friday, March 23, 8 p.m.-Midnight. For this special night, regional artists working in a range of media will reveal the works they created incorporating the material submitted by visitors to the Francis Bacon: Paintings from the 1950s exhibition. $7/$5 Members.

Francis Bacon found inspiration by kicking around in his studio, a chaotic mess where he lived and worked. The process of sifting through the piles of magazines, newspaper clippings, books, photographs, and scraps of interesting ephemera provided Bacon with the source material for the images in his intense and intimate paintings. The Museum and Cedar Block invite the public to help create the same environment for the Three Degrees participating artists. “This is the third collaboration between the Museum and Cedar Block and the first to engage the local community in the act of inspiration. The evening is a perfect opportunity to expose a fresh audience to world-class art in an exciting social atmosphere,” said Fran Serlin, director of Public Programs at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Director of Cedar Block, Brent Gohde, credits the quality of the Museum’s exhibitions for the success of these community happenings: “The Milwaukee Art Museum continues to have incredible exhibitions that lend themselves to creative and innovative events such as this.”

First Degree

Francis Bacon said, “I don’t think people are born artists; I think it comes from a mixture of your surroundings, the people you meet, and luck.” For Three Degrees of Francis Bacon, the public is the first degree. Everyone is invited to visit the Francis Bacon: Paintings from the 1950s exhibition and to then go about their everyday, with the understanding that Bacon was influenced by the stuff of daily life. Once you have selected a few things that resonate (jpegs, mp3’s, links, articles, book reviews, some thoughts, a sketch), send it to mailto:bacon@cedarblock.comby February 28.

Second Degree

The messages and attachments will be forwarded to the participating artists. Each artist will use these emails to create an original work in the spirit of Francis Bacon. The works will be displayed on at the March 23 event at the Museum.

Third Degree

Come to the Museum and close the loop. View the works that were developed from your submissions. If you didn’t get a chance to email your contribution, bring it on March 23 and add it to an interactive piece by participating artist Dwellelephant.

For a full list of artists, visit cedarblock.com. Three Degrees of Francis Bacon is a program created by Cedar Block and produced in collaboration by the Milwaukee Art Museum.

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Confronting Life, Death, and Notions of Perception: The Milwaukee Art Museum presents Currents 33: Gregor Schneider

Milwaukee, WI, February 2007— “I am always making, I always have to be making things. That is my personal problem. The work doesn’t exist in my head. I also regard doing as a higher form than thinking.” -Gregor Schneider

German artist Gregor Schneider makes things. He makes things like sculptures, photographs, and videos, but he also makes spaces- spaces that explore our conscious and subconscious perception. Currents 33: Gregor Schneider , an exhibition on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum February 16-May 6, 2007, features several of Schneider’s sculptural works as well as a large body of photographs chronicling his architectural installations. Confronting Life, Death, and Notions of Perception: The Milwaukee Art Museum presents Currents 33: Gregor Schneider

The Milwaukee Art Museum Presents Camille Pissarro’s Revolutionary Impressionist Paintings

Milwaukee, WI, February, 2007— Pissarro: Creating the Impressionist Landscape is coming to the Milwaukee Art Museum June 9-September 9, 2007, and explores Camille Pissarro’s transformation from a traditional landscape painter to a daring pioneer of Impressionism. The Milwaukee Art Museum Presents Camille Pissarro’s Revolutionary Impressionist Paintings