Around Town With Bones
Milwaukee’s icon, Bob Watt, is 84! And who deserves it more than this Beat poet and painter/sculptor? I mean, it’s an honor to live long enough to be dissed by Pegi Taylor, local art nay-sayer. Jimmy Von Milwaukee hosted a party at his loft (complete with performance art and poetry) for Watt, and down from Manitowoc drove Johny Shimon & Julie Lindemann to capture a few moments. You can see a few of them at their Flickr site, but being photographed and celebrated by Johny & Julie is a big deal, for J & J are photographers of renown, recently having a great retrospective of their work aired at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Stella herself has been photographed by J & J, memorably so when photographed wearing a Packer helmet while sitting on Watt’s ample lap. The closing of Nicholas Grider’s “Men In Suits” exhibit brought lots of ogglers to floor five of the Marshall Building. Crammed into the Portrait Gallery’s two small rooms, and spilling out into the narrow hall, many of the visitors were subjects in Grider’s ‘Men” photographs, so it wasn’t unusual to see Peter Goldberg standing in front of his portrait, holding his stomach in, just like he did for the photograph. Other celebs included others portrayed: Kyle Cherek, Skip Forest, Joe Pabst, and a host of manly men. Three women agreed to be included in the project wall grid. Deb Brehmer produced a slick mini-catalog for the event, and they sold like hotcakes for $15.00. The gallery is open Friday/Saturdays from 1-4pm. Next up? Tender Is The Line. Seven artists & the art of drawing. Allegedly, Wisconsin Visual Artists (formerly known as Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors), is NOT moving on to floor two of the Marshall Building, but Phylis Toburen is exiting from floor one, just so you know. And isn’t it sweet that Bill Delind Gallery is newly installed at Geo.Watt’s emporium, in the space formerly occupied by pots and pans? As I’ve written in prior posts, I can see Green Gallery East from my condo digs. Michelle Grabner’s silverpoint drawings are newly installed, along with a sensational Guest Mobile. It’s hard to believe that this place was recently a dump of a former defunct pizza joint. The smaller “back room” has two Jose Lerma “paintings”(earth mixed with acrylic base), and a whiz of an installation consisting of (to my mind) something creepy concerning the Spanish Inquisition. It’s brilliant. Lerma gave up law school in Madison to become an artist. Lucky for us.
Mar 30th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
Pierre Renee
Give Me a Break Wake up all you elitists! While you are enjoying a pizza at Riverfront Pizzeria on Erie Street, look around at the photographs and see if you can figure out who “Pierre Renee” is… ask your waitperson about the work on the walls, most of it in the small rooms adjacent to the bar area. Gee whiz, I’ve never heard of Pierre Renee, have you? Is he a bona-fide photographer or just some chap with a camera who likes to click click? There’s an 800 number attached to the frames so you can call and find out more should you care enough. Here’s a clue or two: In a recent Milwaukee Magazine article, writer Tom Bamberger raised some issues about the Breakwater condo on Prospect Avenue. Shortly thereafter, a “newsletter” began circulating in virtual space, ostensibly sent from the offices of the architect who brought Breakwater to town. It questioned Bamberger’s “credentials,” and slammed Bamberger’s photographs as not “appropriate for the Breakwater.” But that was a bit beside the point. Read on. So gee whiz, you have to ask yourself, would Pierre Renee’s photographs be more appropriate? They’re pretty awful, but well, go to the pizza place and decide for yourself if big blowsy images would best fit with the big blowsy Breakwater designed by ????? If you’re still in the dark, then so be it. Do you know who Renee is? The answer is hilarious, or so says I.
Mar 30th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
On the surface Edward Albee’s 1951 play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – currently playing at The Alchemist Theater – seems to be nothing more than an intellectual pun on the verse “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?”, having little to do with the author herself. However, the disenchanted couple at the core of the play – Martha and George, performed with supple intensity by Sharon Nieman-Koebert and Mike Webber – exist in a world not so dissimilar to Woolf’s. They live in a world of domestic and academic impotence. Although Virginia and her husband, Leonard Woolf, shared a love and fondness for one another, they lived in separate worlds within their home. This lack of excitement, this confinement, led Virginia and her restless soul to have an open affair, as we see Martha attempting here in front of George with the vigorous and handsome Nick, a newcomer to the university that Martha’s father runs and where George teaches history. Like Woolf, Martha seeks a natural vigor lacking in George. At the heart of the story a couple looks to season the domestic blandness of their life together, and in doing so, deconstruct and reconstitute their love for one another. Kirk Thomsen, who also directs the production, plays Nick with a naive seriousness that is the complete opposite of George’s (and Martha’s) sharp condescension and bitter wit. After a party welcoming the new faculty, Nick and his pretty but innocuous wife, Honey (played by Liz Shipe) venture to the older couple’s home for a nightcap. It’s Martha’s fawning over Nick that sparks the tinder of tension hovering between her and George into an all out fire. Nick and Honey become pawns in the older couple’s power struggle. As they’re being moved from square to square, Martha informs them of her child, to which George pleads to her: “No, Martha. Don’t you bring that up, Martha. Don’t you dare talk about our son, Martha!” With this revelation, shrouded in mystery, dark secrets begin to spill out of both couples, and we see an inversion of the appearance of the younger couple’s happiness. By the end of the night, both couples come face to face with the delusional foundations on which their relationships are built. The most entertaining scene occurs when Martha and Nick – their sexual tension coming to a head – grind and twist to some very hip Surf Rock, while George watches helplessly with a brandy-comatosed Honey from the couch. Think of the scene from Blue Velvet when Dean Stockwell – from his anachronistic, pastel-consumed drug house – sings Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” for a frenzied Dennis Hopper (as George is here) and a group of oblivious and eerily sterile women (as Honey is here) who sit around knitting, unaffected by the storm on hand. For a brief minute the play turns into a musical: Martha and George trade syncopated insults in tune with the music, and level-headed Nick provides the pragmatic chorus, “Jesus Christ you two, enough!” The scene culminates with an impressive […]
Mar 30th, 2009 by Michael Madden
A Bronx Tale
Is it better to be loved or feared? This question gets to the heart of A Bronx Tale, Chazz Palmenteri’s tour de force currently ready to enthrall you at the Marcus Center’s Uilein Hall. The story takes place in the 1960s in (you guessed it) the Bronx and centers around a boy, Calogero (“C”), and his respect and loyalty for two very different men. Lorenzo is the boy’s father, a hard working, well-liked individual who cares for his son a great deal. On the other end of the spectrum is Sonny, a nefarious street boss who commands respect in the neighborhood through intimidation. Both men play an important role in the life of the boy and each one contributes to the boy’s eventual learned values. Conflict ensues when Lorenzo objects to Calogero’s over exposure to the immoral, yet street smart Sonny. Growing up in the Bronx is a concept so far removed from my own formative years spent in the bucolic areas of Racine county, writing this review makes me feel, in a way, like a fish writing about algebra. Or, given my comparative lack of understanding of anything mathematical, it’s like me trying to review algebra. However, love and fear are really the only two emotions that matter in any given situation for anyone. Boiled down, all of our actions, daily, yearly, moment to moment, are motivated by one or the other. Young C learns to balance these two motivators throughout the story. What C learns from Sonny about girls he balances against his father’s prejudice. And in turn, what C learns from his from his father about trust he bounces off Sonny’s paranoia. When the story ends, C has grown into a young man with all the emotional tools necessary to make it in the world that is neither Sonny’s way nor his father’s, but his own way. Chazz Palminteri is a virtuoso stage performer. Forget Bullets Over Broadway, forget The Usual Suspects, basically forget whatever your preconceived notion might be of Palminteri from any particular movie or stage production. Palminteri is a veritable rock star of the theatrical stage. And if you’ve never seen the performance talents of Chazz Palminteri, I implore you: Get to the Marcus Center this weekend and prepare yourself for some riveting entertainment. Using merely his body and voice he creates an entire panoply of characters, each with his own unique vocal and physical quality. Without break he unfolds the story through these characters for an endurance testing hour and forty minutes. Chazz Palminteri being such the powerhouse performer that he is, it’s a virtual breeze to forgive some of the cartoony aspects of the story, especially when you find out the one-man-play is also written by Palminteri. This is not an ego thing. Palminteri deserves to be performing his own work. Some of the characters are there solely for humorous effect and don’t add much to the story: there is a fat man, who was so fat his shadow once killed a dog, and a guy […]
Mar 30th, 2009 by Michael Madden
Episode #3 – Beautiful Noise
Beautiful Noise – This week on the ThirdCoast Cast, Adam Carr describes his experience canvassing for Barack Obama this November, and how he discovered that action precedes change in unusual and unsettling ways. We’ll also hear from Erin Wolf and Adam Lovinus of Fan-Belt Milwaukee as they attempt to explain why noise rock is beautiful in an interview Brian Whitney, a key player in Milwaukee’s noise rock scene. Play Here Subscribe with iTunes Featured Music: The Off Key – www.myspace.com/airontheoffkey The Daredevil Christopher Wright – www.myspace.com/thedaredevilchristopherwright The Goodnight Loving – www.myspace.com/thegoodnightloving ———————————————————————————————————————————————– Next Week: Mark Metcalf with Jonathan West, and Nick Schurk. Hosted by Noah Therrien
Mar 30th, 2009 by ThirdCoast Podcast
Genesis
“Art is at its best when it’s challenging,” claimed the ballet’s Artistic Director Michael Pink after Saturday night’s performance of Genesis at the Pabst Theater. The Milwaukee Ballet’s weekend production featured the three finalists from the International Choreographer’s Competition, which were chosen from over 30 entries worldwide. The results proved to be challenging for the audience and dancers, inasmuch as there was more dance than ballet, more bare bodies than costumes, and more stage smoke than scenery. New Zealand’s Cameron McMillan presented “ESO,” which combined elements of robotics and dance that incorporated angular positions, lifts and arm movements against staccato measures of violin music. While immensely interesting and unconventional, the lyric qualities of ballet were missing as the dancers donned grey boy shorts, T-shirts, and camisoles for this contemporary composition often surrounded by smoke. “City of the Shining Jewel,” apparently a metaphor for the third chakra in Sanskrit, characterized the second selection by American-born Maurice Causey, but required little imagination when the dancers used dialogue and were left standing during the piece in what can best be described as nude undergarments. While the human body is indeed a form of beauty to be admired through the art of dance, this composition pushed the limits of this premise, crossing over into performance art with provocative couplings and movements that were indeed challenging to see on stage. The last performance, “The Games We Play” by Australia’s Timothy O’Donnell, won first place in the competition, which Pink announced at the evening’s end. The female dancers en pointe, dressed with delicately covered arms and torsos but paired again with men in boy shorts, applied the movements of “ballet” to this often-frenetic choreography that may speak to a society with too little time for real relationships. O’Donnell revealed his piece represented people he knew within his life conceived into a story framework that helped create his original composition. Awarding this last piece first place perhaps speaks to the fact that audiences appreciate seeing the stories in life expressed through the art of dance while enjoying the beauty of costumes and musical accompaniment that encompasses classical ballet elements. And while classical and contemporary dance must coexist to invest in the future of ballet, a clear understanding of those defining elements that make ballet unique from other dance forms helps distinguish ballet as a timeless art. A desire to accomplish this together with the quality of the entire company, which the Milwaukee Ballet proficiently showcased when they rose to the challenge of superbly performing these three selections, creates memorable evenings. This will again be demonstrated for the recently announced 2009-2010 season when The Milwaukee Ballet returns to stories and favorite fairy tales that never grow old, including the world premiere of Peter Pan. Holding the promise of regal costumes and ballet choreography that provides family entertainment, these offerings may capture the magic for the future art enthusiast’s attention and interest, another challenge for all the arts in today’s culture. Complete schedule and ticket information for the Milwaukee Ballet can […]
Mar 30th, 2009 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
Weekly Bookmarks – Monday, 30. March 2009
Builders try to break project backlog Wade, Donovan support Ald. Bohl’s recommendation to use TID funds for road repair : The Bay View Compass City, county question UWM land sale Stimulating bike and pedestrian trails – JSOnline Fuller backs new choice regulation – JSOnline 2010 city budget cuts of 15%-20% projected « Milwaukee Rising OnMilwaukee.com Politics: Seeking a sense of balance on the big ballast issue Chancellor says “No” to Common Council to locating Engineering & Applied Science downtown : The Bay View Compass Obama administration targets $37 million more in stimulus for Wisconsin – BizTimes Doyle budget includes help for Bradley Center – JSOnline Cardinal Stritch’s expansion plans hit snag – JSOnline Cardinal Stritch St. Francis expansion plan hits a snag – JSOnline Regional planning group delays 3 road projects – JSOnline New direction needed – JSOnline Stimulus definitions fall short for low-income areas Milwaukee OKs wage rule Cardinal Stritch won’t buy We Energies land in St. Francis – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Milwaukee Council approves wage ordinance for commercial projects – BizTimes We Energies 90 acres no longer part of Cardinal Stritch University expansion plan in St. Francis : The Bay View Compass City planning redevelopment effort for Port of Milwaukee area – BizTimes Walker and county board on collision course over stimulus policy – BizTimes Common Council passes prevailing wage proposal – JSOnline City approves controversial prevailing wage pact – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Milwaukee Talkie: Milwaukee County’s fiscal condition: crisis on the horizon? DCD: wage standards wouldn’t affect most projects – JSOnline Community developers awarded – JSOnline Doyle kicks off I-94 construction – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: UWM engineering college is ‘war’ on Milwaukee – JSOnline Kenosha News | Kenosha proves to be model for Milwaukee streetcar system plan CTA’s bad gas bet :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Transportation City, county question UWM land sale Engineering a Brighter Future – BizTimes Pedestrian Malls: Back to the Future – Room for Debate Blog – NYTimes.com Cardinal Stritch won’t buy We Energies land in St. Francis – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Political non-starter? This makes no sense – JSOnline The Business Journal moving to downtown – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Doyle budget includes help for Bradley Center – JSOnline Citizens Allied for Sane Highways: That $8 million must have been burning a hole in WisDOT’s pocket Buffalo Water Beer is on tap at Friday’s at Miller Park – BizTimes Port officials rip DNR’s proposed ballast standards – BizTimes PCB cleanup on Lincoln Creek, Milwaukee River could begin next year – JSOnline Milwaukee Talkie: Milwaukee County’s fiscal condition: crisis on the horizon? Seafood restaurant to replace Kincaid’s – JSOnline Moore announces $1.1 million in Recovery Act funding for 128th Air National Guard Unit : The Bay View Compass A fix for Highbridge’s leaky, litigious windows – JSOnline
Mar 30th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Upcoming Events for the Week of March 30th, 2009
March 30, 2009 City Plan Commission March 30, 2009 1:30 pm The City Plan Commission (CPC) is the City’s official planning body established under State statute and is responsible for master planning activities. The CPC advises the Common Council on a variety of land development issues including zoning map changes, revisions in the zoning ordinance, subdivision approvals, business improvement districts, street and alley vacations, public land […] March 31, 2009 SARUP Lecture Series: Smart Growth and Urban Design March 31, 2009 12:00 pm to 1:20 pm Speaker: Maria Pandazi, AICP – City of Milwaukee, Department of City DevelopmentSARUP is the acronym for School of Architecture & Urban Planning lecture Series are Free and Open to the Public. All presentations will take place at the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) from 12:00 – 1:20 pm in Room 345. […] April 1, 2009 Public Works Committee April 1, 2009 9:00 am The Public Works Committee is responsible for physical services provided by the city such as street and alley maintenance, waste collection, disposal and recycling, sewer, water and flood control projects, assessments, public buildings, land and waterways.Public Works Committee meetings start at 9:00 a.m. and are held in the Room 301-B, City Hall, unless otherwise noted. […]
Mar 29th, 2009 by Dave Reid
City Plan Commission Meeting
The City Plan Commission (CPC) is the City’s official planning body established under State statute and is responsible for master planning activities. The CPC advises the Common Council on a variety of land development issues including zoning map changes, revisions in the zoning ordinance, subdivision approvals, business improvement districts, street and alley vacations, public land disposition and acquisition, new streets and the approval of development plans in certain overlay districts. City Plan Commission (CPC) meetings start at 1:30 p.m. and are held in the First Floor Boardroom at the Department of City Development, 809 North Broadway, unless otherwise noted. CPC Agenda March 30th, 2009
Mar 29th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Public Works Committee
The Public Works Committee is responsible for physical services provided by the city such as street and alley maintenance, waste collection, disposal and recycling, sewer, water and flood control projects, assessments, public buildings, land and waterways. Public Works Committee meetings start at 9:00 a.m. and are held in the Room 301-B, City Hall, unless otherwise noted. Agenda
Mar 29th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Grand Avenue Mall – A New Implementation
As the retail market struggles nationally and the Shops of Grand Avenue struggles locally, it's time to ask what retail should be in downtown Milwaukee in the next five years. Is it worth investing public dollars in the form of a TIF in Grand Avenue or other mall-like projects downtown, as has been done in the past? Or should the standard be that all retail must interact with the street?
Mar 29th, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
Peepers
So get busy already. You have until Sunday, April 5th to do your Marshmallow Peep Show project and take it to the Sugar Maple smoke-free bar at 441 E. Lincoln Avenue in trendy Bay View. No entry fee; no jury, so hurry. Be there from 2-6pm. No self-respecting serious artists need show their faces, but all others seeking fun can price their peep art, and if it sells, believe it or not Ripley, they won’t have to pay a commission. A suggested donation of $2 at the door will go to the Bay View Community Center and special peep-inspired cocktails will be served by Sugar Maple .Organized by artist Nicole Hauser, a sweet treat herself, she’s back after a two year hiatus with hopes you’ll be inspired by this year’s hatching of those little fowls with beady eyes. And from the artist herself: Hi Friends, As many of you know, I am bringing back the “Peep Show” on Sunday, April 5th from 2-6 pm at the SUGAR MAPLE. However, Cafe Lulu is advertising that they are bringing back the Peep Show – and on the very same day!! They didn’t change the name or make any attempts to contact me first. Please, don’t be fooled by imposters!! Thanks and hope to see you at the ORIGINAL PEEP SHOW – #4. Sincerely, Nicole Reid and Cathrine Friedmann
Mar 28th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
