Movement, of our bodies and the world

This week’s art events consider the movement of the body, the influence of environment, and the enduring nature of identity in special events and openings.

Nathaniel Stern on Interactive Art: How does movement perform meaning? 
Interactive Art and Embodiment: The Implicit Body as Performance 
Inova, Kenilworth Building
2155 N. Prospect Avenue
Gallery talk at 6pm

Nathaniel Stern is a Milwaukee-based artist with an international reputation. He will show works in an exhibition this June in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the Wits Art Museum, and has a new book on the way called Interactive Art and Embodiment: The Implicit Body as Performance. 

This evening’s presentation will consider interactive art, the gestures of physical movements, and their role in the practice of art. Stern will demonstrate and discuss with the audience these topics, in addition to presenting his interactive artwork stuttering. 

Shana McCaw and Brent Budsberg: The Vanishing Point. Image courtesy Portrait Society Gallery.

FRIDAY, MARCH 15 

Shana McCaw and Brent Budsberg: The Vanishing Point
White Noise: A Printmaking Collaboration 
Portrait Society Gallery
207 E. Buffalo Street, Suite 207
Opening reception 6-9 p.m.

Milwaukee-based artists Shana McCaw and Brent Budsberg have been on the move lately, with residencies in the West influencing their recent body of work. Followers of their exhibitions will recall sculptures and installations in years past that involve motifs of the homestead, and the artists taking on a pioneer-like guise, facing the stark realities of harsh landscapes.

These sensibilities carry through to their new work, drawn from the experiences of art making in the landscapes of Utah and Death Valley. The exhibition will include photographs, sculpture, and video, and runs March 15 to May 10.

The annual Winter Chapel installation will continue, augmented by White Noise, a collaboration of printmaking by Makeal Flammini, Alyssa Schulte, Jessica Seamans, and Ella Dwyer. The artists will use the uniquely curved exterior of the chapel space for this experimental project.

The Waxwing First Anniversary Party
The Waxwing
4415 N. Oakland Avenue, Shorewood
Anniversary celebration 6-9pm

This art gallery and boutique will celebrate its first year with a celebration of new art, live music by the Thriftones, and other festive activities. The boutique focuses on locally-made pieces with creative flair, including everything from paintings and cards to personal supplies such as shaving kits, soaps, coffee mugs, and baby gear.

Felix Lembersky: Soviet Form, Jewish Context. Image courtesy Jewish Museum Milwaukee.

SUNDAY, MARCH 17 

Felix Lembersky: Soviet Form, Jewish Context 
Jewish Museum Milwaukee
1360 N. Prospect Avenue
March 14-July 14, 2013
Opening reception noon-4pm, curators’ talk at 2pm
Free for members, $5 non-members

The Jewish Museum Milwaukee is the first American venue to show the work of painter Felix Lembersky (b. Lublin, Poland, 1913; d. Leningrad, 1970). Lembersky’s art explores the experience of the Jewish community under Soviet rule in the 20th century. His art combines the sensibility of avant-garde expression with the trainings and tradition of Socialist Realism.

Exhibition co-curators Molly Dubin and Joel Berkowitz will lead viewers through the exhibition Sunday with a discussion of Lembersky’s life and the socio-political context of his time. The show, which opens March 14, runs through July 14.