Milwaukee Chamber Theater takes a swing at art

Dana Fielding is an artist. She is also crazy (disturbed and depressed is a more PC way of describing her condition.) Whether or not she’s delusional is another question the Milwaukee Chamber Theater’s current production puts to its audience. It’s title, “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball,” alludes to this and people who go to the show expecting something related to “Field of Dreams” or “The Natural” might be disappointed to find it’s about an artist (Fielding) who assumes the identity of Darrell Strawberry in order to…well, I’ll leave that detail for those who will go see the show. Then again, the more athletically inclined might enjoy the metaphors about being an artist that fly like balls from the bat of the famous slugger.

Thankfully, I’ve never spent time in a mental institution or tried to commit suicide, and hope never to sink so low. But, aside from such personal details, I found Dana Fielding’s artistic and psychological predicaments not only entertaining, but at times uncomfortably familiar. Are we mad who want to be artists? Can we speak truth through our art without being a bit disturbed? Or do we simply experience the world with such heightened sensitivity that we cannot help but be overwhelmed at times?

As Dana Fielding and the play’s audience discovers, art can be a trying vocation. Success is both elusive and hard to measure. At one point Fielding’s agent implores “I just want you to be happy!” Fielding snaps forcefully back “no you don’t!” and the audience is left to wonder if she can make art the establishment finds acceptable if she is not depressed. And of course, happiness doesn’t necessarily follow from success. This is powerfully demonstrated by the example of Strawberry’s meteoric baseball career, which flamed out quickly.

Art and "madness" - however the topic is described - has a long history. It's most famous case subject is Van Gogh, of course. A quick google search of the subject produced over 21 million hits. My wife, who attended the play with me and who is an art therapist, says it's a regular topic at conventions - not so much art therapy conventions, but psychiatric ones. Am I crazy to be an artist? I don't know, but one of my favorite lines from a Billy Joel song (You May be Right) goes "it just may be a lunatic you're looking for!" Oh, and "don't try to save me."

The Sweetest Swing in Baseball runs through May 2. More about it at the Chamber Theater.

Whitney Biennial: My favorite pick #1

Curtis Mann. After the Dust, Second View (Beirut) (2009).  Synthetic polymer varnish on bleached chromogenic print. 65x153 inches. This is the image provided on the Whitney website, which says it's a detail. Most of it is there, but it's cut off on the right side.

The bare bones description above fails to mention the painstaking processes involved in the creation of this monumental work. The reproduction also fails to convey not only the immense scale of the work, which is wall-sized, but the content of the image. Of course, this is why it is essential to view actual art works and not reproductions, which at best act as a visual reminder of the work one experiences in person.

I enjoyed much of the work in this year's biennial, and if I have time I shall share other examples. For now this one is my favorite.

Mann assembled this singular and powerful image from at least 80 smaller images taken in Beirut. Each image was manipulated not only with bleach, but by physically distorting the emulsion's surface. What remains is one of the best expressions of what I can only imagine the aftermath of an explosion in a public space must be like. The image has been obliterated, as the subject of the image seems to have been.

Links: Whitney Biennial, Curtis Mann

Happy 10th Anniversary MARN!

There was a time in the U.S. when community happened because people lived in proximity to one another. In some cultures, this still is the case. But here and now we are less likely to find a supportive, cohesive community of like-minded folks in a single geographic location, like our neighborhoods, for instance. Community, as often as not, is the result of networking. Sometimes this happens online. In Milwaukee, for those of us in the creative arts, community assumed an identity ten years ago. That identity, of course, is MARN: the Milwaukee Artists Resource Network.

MARN celebrated its anniversary last night with a party that doubled as the crowning event of its first-ever fundraising Treasure Hunt. As a relative newcomer, I can’t comment on the last 10 years, but, hey, last night MARN threw a good party! Many of the artists who had contributed work for the Treasure Hunt were on hand and it was fun to meet some of them. (My one regret is not to have met them all!) It was great to see all the art together and realize the tremendous amount of work that went into this entire project. It was even better to see that some of the art was missing and therefore sold for the benefit of the organization.

The music provided a nice background, the food was delicious, and Shelby Keefe (pictured below) spent the whole time painting!

My thanks go out to Melissa Musante, the board of MARN, and the many volunteers who made this event possible and whose ongoing efforts continue to invigorate the community of artists in Milwaukee.

Why can't we make films like this in the US?

Like many foreign films, we didn't see it when it was released in 2009, but thank goodness for Netflix (in our case) where foreign films are more available than ever. We watched Revanche, from Austria, last night. I can't recommend it more highly for its balance of tension and layered subtlety. It's a thriller that moves in a kind of slow motion that builds almost imperceptibly in intensity. It's also filmed with an art house sensitivity to symbolism and a refined aesthetic rarely achieved in Hollywood (American Beauty comes to mind, but this is at once more subtle and suspenseful). Of course it did poorly at the box office in the US, but our favorite website for reviews, Rottentomatoes.com, backs us up. They give it a 95% approval rating, one of the highest I've seen.

CoPA Show a Smorgasbord of Milwaukee Photography

Those who managed to find its out-of-the-way location on the 4th Floor of the Third Ward’s P.H. Dye Building (and the crush of visitors on gallery night proves that many did) found in the CoPA Show a veritable smorgasbord of photographic delights. For this its 5th annual show, CoPA (The Coalition of Photographic Arts) continues to defy the odds with an unjuried show for its large membership. Subject matter and style vary tremendously, but the show maintains a remarkable level of quality and a large following of admirers.

I, of course, am not a dispassionate observer, being a founding member and former board member of the still young, still evolving organization. I also have work of my own in the show.

I couldn’t possibly comment on all or most of the participants, who, in any case are represented by a mere sample of work, in most cases 3 to 5 pieces. A few with larger prints have only one or two on display, which admittedly begs the question of whether the show tries to be too inclusive and ends up frustrating visitors who want to see more of a particular photographer’s output. I for one think the format is serving its purpose. The gallery night crowd seems to agree. Thanks go to Geri Laehn and Jill Moore, who organized the show and the army of volunteers who helped put it together.

There are quite a few familiar favorites.
Coree Coppinger continues to amaze me with her Fight Club series. The images manage a wonderful balancing of formal abstraction and intense emotion.
William Mueller teases with his incredibly complex constructed metaphoric scenes. I’ve seen some of these before. Here he has presented them with a gold monochrome that enhances a macabre content that teeters on the brink of humor before a close inspection reveals how serious they really are.
Suzanne Garr takes us with her on a trip to Nepal, but leaves out the travelogue to focus on carefully observed moments of human interest.
Despite repeated exposure to the colorful distortions in Cardi Toellner’s studio abstractions, I still don’t know how she does it without resort to Photoshop!
Paul Matzner takes on Milwaukee’s Motif #1, the Calatrava wing of the Milwaukee Art Museum and handles it with a refreshing emphasis on the people who visit.
Bill Zuback creates an ambiguous dialogue between his enigmatic subject and us the viewers, leaving us to do the interpreting.
Mary Dumont manages to marry two seemingly contradictory realities, mounting her beautiful, almost archetypal landscapes on an aluminum surface that gives them an industrial sheen.
I am particularly drawn to Jessica Zalewski’s taut abstractions of ordinary landscapes and I find Nancy Aycock’s colorful and monumental cupcakes luscious enough to drool over.

In the delightful new surprises category:
Angela Morgan’s contribution is the three tiny, moody gems that can be found right at the top of her website.
I could not find Mark Johnson’s three entries on his website. They are all tied together by a tall, thin, mostly black composition. A minimal bit of different ephemeral subjects, an exit sign, the moon over water, a shadowy figure, emerges out of the inky depths.
In Africa Anil Warrier found young children as subjects and presents them as monumental and integrally connected with their colorful land.

There are more, but I must stop now!

I close with Susan Lukas’s delightful re-use of a classic technique, which struck me not only as visually and conceptually stirring but humorous. I like that.

Seen in the NY Times: Street Seen - Go Milwaukee!

Well deserved coverage of this excellent show, which closes tomorrow! Congratulations to the Milwaukee Art Museum and to Lisa Hofstetler, who curated it:

New York Times

Louis Faurer, from Street Seen

MARN Treasure Hunt and Anniversary Party at West Side Art Walk

MARN Art Treasure Hunt

(Milwaukee Artists Resource Network)

A fun event that promotes art collecting and supports MARN. Full description below.

All events listed are free and open to the public!

West Side Art Walk
Friday, April 23 and Saturday, April 24

MARN 10-year Anniversary Party
Saturday, April 24, 4-8 pm
7605 W. Harwood Ave.

The party includes action painting by Shelby Keefe,
live Latin Jazz from Terrazzo,
FREE FOOD from some of Tosa's best restaurants,
Silent Auction:

Don't miss your chance to pick up a piece or two from Santiago Cuccullu,
and much more art by MARN members!

Win a Welding Party with Kendall Polster,
High Tea with Katie Musolff,
BBQ at Richard Taylor's studio,
private studio tour with kathryn e. martin followed by Wine and tastes at VIA,
private performance by The M.U.T.E.S.
And SOOOOO much more on the auction table!

BRING YOUR ART LOVING FRIENDS!!!!! It's FREE!!!!!

MARN Art Treasure Hunt

Created specifically to make collectors out of every day Milwaukeeans this event features affordable works by top local artists and rewards participants with a chance at a grand prize.

Twenty-five MARN member artists each donated 25 works of art.

Each artwork is being offered for $25 to $75, prices well below market value. Anyone purchasing 4 pieces will be entered to win the grand prize - a two-night stay at the Grand Geneva Resort with Golf or Lift Tickets for two. By launching this event, MARN hopes to reach art lovers of all economic and educational backgrounds and show how collecting art can be an approachable way to support local artists.

The Treasure Hunt will take place during the West Side Art Walk venues on April 23rd & 24th. The event culminates with a reception from 4-8 pm on April 24th at 7605 W. Harwood Ave. in Wauwatosa. Artists contributing editions of 25 pieces; from photos, to etchings, block prints, paintings, and sculpture include:

Pamela Anderson, Ann Baer, David Barnett, Stef Bartz, Reggie Baylor, Emily Belknap, Fred Bell, Valorie Christell, Terrence Coffman, Dagmara Costello, Eddee Daniel, Raoul Deal, Tim Decker, Melissa Dorn Richards, Virgi Driscoll, Kari Garon, Todd Graveline, Gary John Gresl, Darlene Hagopian, Brooklyn Henke, Mutope Johnson, Frank Juarez, Thea Kovac, Steve Lubahn, Melissa Musante, Patricia Obletz, Ellen Pizer, Kerry Rose Ramsden, Suzanne Rosenblatt, Robert Smith, Jessie Spiess, Tori Tasch, Becky Tesch, and Stacey Williams-Ng.

The works are affordable because the artists donated their time and talent, and because over $6000 in art materials and printing support were donated by area businesses. The Treasure Hunt, in addition to inciting collecting, is also a fund raising event for MARN. Executive Director, Melissa Musante said, “We’re so grateful for the support of our artist members in launching this event. Plus all the other sponsors who have made it possible.”

Additionally, several artists have offered pieces for the silent auction. The auction will also include special “meet the artist experiences” ranging from a private wine tasting with an artist of note, to a special talk-back at the Chamber Theatre to coincide with their timely production of “The Sweetest Swing In Baseball”, to a welding party for 4 with sculptor Kendall Polster, and more.

MARN is a nonprofit art-service organization dedicated to enriching the community by supporting literary, performing and visual artists. MARN empowers artists with access to educational and professional resources and creates a network for communication and collaboration. MARN sponsors arts-related events involving other organizations and businesses, making the arts accessible to people in the community. MARN is able to present this event thanks in great part to the generosity of local business sponsors and members. All proceeds will go to benefit MARN’s continuing education and promotion of the arts in the Greater Milwaukee Area.

"Portal," from the Synecdoche Series
is my contribution to the treasure hunt and auction.