Eye of the Beholder

When it comes to art, we’re all experts. To paraphrase a wise Supreme Court justice, good art is difficult to define but we know it when we see it.

Here in Milwaukee, where we have an inferiority complex about so many things, nothing seems to incite a contentious debate more than the subject of public art.

The most recent example of the incendiary nature of this topic is, of course, the Bronze Fonz. For those of you who don’t remember or weren’t paying attention, Visit Milwaukee, the quasi-public entity formally known as the Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau, has raised private funds to commission a life-sized sculpture of the Arthur Fonzarelli character from the Happy Days television show to be placed along the city’s Riverwalk.

This ignited a firestorm of controversy throughout the Milwaukee art community. Some arts advocates were outraged that the project circumvented the formal approval process for public art in support of something politely described as schlock.

Dave Fantle, the Visit Milwaukee impresario behind this undertaking, brushed aside these concerns and insisted that the intent of the sculpture was not to create art but to add an attraction that would draw tourists and other visitors who fondly remember the iconic Fonzie and might want to have their picture taken next to it.

My unremarkable reaction to this debate, apparently consistent with my Libran nature, was to sympathize with both sides. What struck me as odd about the proposed sculpture was that it seemed to conflict with Visit Milwaukee’s oft-stated commitment to convince the world that our city had evolved beyond its “Laverne and Shirley” image.

Both Fantle and Dean Amhaus, his colleague at Spirit of Milwaukee, another organization dedicated to promoting the city’s image, stressed upon me this goal when I first met them two or three years ago.

I like Dave and Dean but I never felt that the image associated with the television show was entirely negative. If, however, you want to disassociate the city from its past, then it is best not to refer to it at all. I was amazed that at nearly every ribbon cutting or news conference announcing some forward looking endeavor, some official would proudly declare that the event proved that Milwaukee “had moved beyond its Laverne and Shirley image.” So that quote would invariably show up in the media coverage serving to keep the connection alive.

I love nostalgia and it’s only a television comedy which, you gotta remember, almost always have goofball characters who don’t necessarily represent the essence of the city the show is set in. Do Joey of Friends or George, Elaine or Kramer of Seinfeld make you think that all New Yorkers are shallow and stupid? Or Horshack of Welcome Back, Kotter? Or Ralph and Norton of The Honeymooners? Come on!

Fantle’s reaction is that the Fonz represents cool while Laverne and Shirley and their buddies Lennie and Squiggy are square and lame. Whatever.

Milwaukee, of course, has been through debates about public art before. Remember the Blue Shirt imbroglio. Then there’s that organic, post industrial Stratiformis installation in the Third Ward that Tom Bamberger dislikes so much (see his January, 2007 Milwaukee Magazine article entitled “Brown Smudge” (not online). That’s the thing about art; and politics for that matter. We all are entitled to our own opinions.

I would like to point out that these debates are not unique to Milwaukee. A federal office building in New York installed a Richard Serra sculpture called Tilted Arc in front that generated an uproar back in the early 1980s. Many workers in the building detested the rusty wall that they considered ugly and an obstruction to their ability to walk across the courtyard. It was removed.

And then there’s the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC that has grown to be so revered. When the design was first announced it generated so much outrage that the planners commissioned an additional, more representational sculpture of three politically correct soldiers, one black, one white and one Hispanic. Yale University Architecture Student Maya Lin designed the wall while experienced and talented Frederick Hart was responsible for the three men sculpture.

C’est la vie, c’est la guerre.

So why write about this now, months after the Fonz was so passionately debated? Well I visited Mike Brenner’s Hotcakes Gallery over the weekend. Mike was probably the most outspoken critic of the Fonz sculpture and pledged to close his gallery if it was approved. Mike told me that he is, in fact, closing Hotcakes next month.

This was Gallery Night weekend, after all, and the real message I’d like to leave you with is that art is alive and well here in Milwaukee. Any discussion of local art must begin with the Milwaukee Art Museum, not just for the inspirational addition designed by acclaimed architect Santiago Calatrava but the exhibitions, temporary and permanent, are truly first-class.

But the city is also rich in smaller collections and rotating exhibits at other museums, galleries and schools. My favorites include Peltz Gallery where arts doyenne Cissie Peltz organizes the most wonderful shows. The current one focuses on Wisconsin artist Warrington Colescott’s delightful paintings and prints many of which touch on images associated with New Orleans.

The David Barnett Gallery can also be counted on for fantastic stuff. His current collection features the work of Milwaukee native Reginald K. Gee. Gee’s tribute to Martin Luther King, exhibited by the Smithsonian Institution in 1999, alone is worth a visit but both shows are extraordinary for the depth and engaging nature of the work.

By the way, Milwaukee’s DeLind Gallery has an exclusive relationship with the estate of Frederick Hart and usually has spectacular pieces of his on display.

So the weather’s getting nice and everyone is looking for an excuse to get out of the house on the weekend or go somewhere during the lunch hour. So what do you say? Take in some of the wonderful art in our backyard. You’ll feel better for it.