Incredible Hulk Review

Historic Preservation Commission Meeting

City Hall Room 301A 200 E Wells St Milwaukee, WI 53202 Agenda

Friday Photos Friday, 13. June 2008

The Breakwater DSC03866 DSC03863 Lazy Developer DSC03864

Born to be free

Free the Galazan 5! Inova/Kenilworth June 13 – July 27 Opening reception: Friday, June 13, 6 – 9pm Gene Galazan left Milwaukee years ago and fled to Arizona. I remember him from the way back days when he and his artist spouse were active participants in Milwaukee art events, so I was intrigued to learn that Inova/Kenilworth will be exhibiting five of his Cor-ten steel sculptures in an exhibit titled Free the Galazan 5! (June 13 – July 27). I found images of the 5! online at the antique and art site of Gary Gresl, who owns the sculptures and is offering them for sale. The spin surrounding the exhibit is pinned to the “story” behind the sculptures: that they were left to languish in a warehouse when deemed to be too “dangerous” and too “abstract” for public consumption. The sculptures, fabricated in 1980 for CETA, a federally funded jobs program, were shot out of the saddle. Here’s an excerpt from an article written by Dean Jensen (yes, that Dean Jensen), in the Milwaukee Sentinel March 2, 1982: “The pieces, fabricated from Cor-ten steel and weighing 200 to 250 lbs. each….are gathering dust in storerooms in the old Town of Lake water tower on S. 6th St., and in a Public Works Department structure in the Menomonee Valley.” The article goes on to note that Galazan was planning a demonstration outside of City Hall, “seeking to free the sculptures he claimed were being held by the city.” A friend of mine who attended UW-Milwaukee recalls Galazan’s parents as being “civic-minded trendy art junkies with a big house on Lake Drive.” They were active in Jewish Vocational Services (his mom ran the JVS pottery department) and were as “sweet as can be,” or so remembers my friend. Of course, most artists have tales to tell, particularly those with bones to pick, and Galazan was (like other artists of his era) highly theatrical. That said, Inova/Kenilworth decided these sculptures and their colorful history would be useful in enlightening viewers about the problems of making art for the “public.” A good example of things gone awry is the current flap surrounding the proposed sculpture memorializing the sinking of the Lady Elgin. Most people involved in the arts will also recall when Dennis Oppenheim’s proposal for the Blue Shirt sculpture was hung out to dry. However, the basic question remains: are these five sculptures worth the effort of pondering, let alone building an exhibit around? Inova curator, Nick Frank, first saw the Galazan 5 during a visit to Gresl’s home, where they sat among weeds and high grasses. He listened to the back story and decided to have all five hauled by truck and placed in Inova/Kenilworth’s vast gallery space. The largest sculpture is priced at $2,000. You can view it and the others at www.greslartmarket.com. It’s a shame that the five are being sold separately. They clearly belong together. Prior to writing this and visiting the gallery, I went online to see what […]

Branson Joke Reel

More from Branson (Pt. 5)

After the Deluge

The good news is that nobody appears to have died as a result of the cataclysmic amount of water that fell from the sky on Wisconsin since Friday. So it may be hyperbole to compare this weekend’s natural disaster with the horrible devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as well as the tsunami, the cyclone and the earthquake that took untold thousands of lives around the world in recent memory. But seeing homes collapse in a matter of seconds and hearing people weep that all of their worldly possessions were lost brought to mind the overwhelming force of nature that is common to all of these events. The other theme that connects these disasters is the important role that government plays to anticipate these catastrophes to the extent possible and move quickly and effectively to direct resources to help the people affected and to restore the services necessary to return lives to normal. In a perfect world politics would have no place following such disasters. Certainly, everyone can agree that this is a basic function of government regardless of party or political persuasion. But this is not a perfect world as the image broadcast by ABC World News Tonight last night of Gov. Jim Doyle speaking in Oak Creek with Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker by his side made perfectly clear. Walker’s commitment to shrinking government may be popular on election day but it doesn’t do much good when citizens are desperately in need of help. For Walker to nod in agreement as Doyle called attention to how the rains destroyed property from the Mississippi River to Lake Wisconsin took an amazing amount of gall. Walker has been an outspoken advocate of privatizing government services to the extent that he is open to the suggestion to transfer everything that the county does to local and state agencies and private contractors. Why don’t we just bring in the infamous Mike Brown to manage this cleanup? Brown, you will recall, was President Bush’s appointee to head the federal Emergency Management Agency which was such a phenomenal failure following Katrina. It is important to note that FEMA was an extraordinarily effective agency under President Clinton. Bush came into office pledging to restore dignity to The White House. If only. Under his leadership we have witnessed travesties foreign and domestic. While Republicans made much of Clinton’s personal peccadilloes and his propensity to let contributors bunk in the Lincoln Bedroom, who doesn’t pine for the days when our federal government took its responsibilities seriously? Just today a new report is out detailing how Bush officials bent over to accommodate uberlobbyist, and now convicted felon, Jack Abramoff. They say Wisconsin is a critical swing state and that both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama will be fighting tooth and nail for our 11 electoral votes. They say McCain will be struggling to distance himself from the current occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But what are we to think when he comes to town and Scott Walker […]

Weekly Bookmarks – Monday, 09. June 2008

Document details federal McGee case OnMilwaukee.com Marketplace: Starbucks backs out of North Avenue The difference a little design makes – Mary Louise Schumacher: Art City PrideFest features lots of music, laughs, vendors and workshops Compromise transit plan would move region forward Happy 125th Birthday to the El in Chicago! Commuter buses fill more seats Aggressive tactics urged for city Facilities get back into shape for beach season UWMs campus tug of war Urban Milwaukee Website Takes Off Sykes’ Callers Like Rail; Even Charlie Agrees Some Is Good Little purchasing oversight found Urbanists Unite Design, build communities more intelligently Going green seen as job aid ‘Jury is out’ on future of RiverSplash Taste of Rockies, Milwaukee-style Bar owner defends festival Seattle Transit Blog: Eugene BRT: Rosy Outlook and Harsh Reality MSI General Corp to build new Charter Wire facility Progress at former Pabst brewery City taking steps to attract development to King Drive, Bronzeville sites – Small Business Times Tell your federal Representative to co-sponsor HR6003 for better Amtrak service LTD Board maps course for another bump in fares: The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore. Thorndale the loudest train station? Maybe a dozen times a day Gas taxes buy roads, maintenance and transit! USA National Gas Temperature Map Urban beauty Robert Kern to Win Bravo! Lifetime Achievement Award MSOE engineers arena deal 20 homes could be demolished Condos would cater to artists

Vlogging from Branson, MO (Pt. 4)

Vlogging from Branson, MO (Pt. 3)

Vlogging from Branson, MO (Pt. 2)

Vlogging from Branson, MO (Yakov Smirnoff not included)