Dem Bones
BreakWater Controversy
This just in: Milwaukee Magazine has put the full text of The Peter Principle online. It can be found: http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/currentIssue/full_feature_story.asp?NewMessageID=24464 Dear Dem Bones readers: Here’s Architect Peter Renner’s response to Tom Bamberger’s article (The Peter Principle/Milwaukee Magazine/February 2009). From Milwaukee Magazine, “The Peter Principle,” February 2009: The BreakWater doesn’t have a sense of itself. It’s a tall building that looks stout. The spacing, lines and volumes that define the four sides have no rhythm or reason. There is no pattern or any kind of visual gravity to hold it together. Its only defining visual feature is stacks of self- supported decks that look like house- boats docked to the building. None of its constituent parts add up, right down to the sign on the front, whose florid calligraphic font seems out of step with the building’s brutish flatness. On first viewing, The Break- Water is unmemorable; with repeated viewing, it sinks into incoherence. Quality is signified rather than realized. There are slabs of granite inside and out. The lobby is intended to create “the feel of a museum in Rome,” Renner’s Web site declares. The goal “is to build Mercedes quality units and sell them at a Chrysler price.” But even a Chrysler has an articulated exterior. Renner is selling high-class amenities in a vertical Wal- Mart box. Many of Renner’s customers come from the suburbs, and The BreakWater is the vertical urban equivalent to the suburban McMansion.These amorphous homes never look like anything in particular because they are turned inward and are merely containers of the requisite amenities. Similarly, Renner’s high-rise satisfies our needs for immense closets, enormous entertainment centers, vast open kitchens, huge master bedrooms, thick walls, spacious heated parking places and massive decks. The outside is an add-on, an afterthought. Renner isn’t even trying to create a beautiful building. He’s not guilty about leaving a void. And you shouldn’t be either. Don’t kid yourself, he’s saying. Well-designed exteriors are for sissies. And Renner’s response: Whether you have or haven’t read the bizarre and critical article in February’s Milwaukee Magazine, you will probably hear about it. The author is obviously being influenced and/or directed by the `intellectual architectural community’ that locally has a religious belief in the concept that any architecture that doesn’t mimic `modern architecture’ is immoral architecture. The concept of modern architecture was by and large created by two Germans, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, who were instructors in the avant guarde Bauhaus School of Architecture located in Eastern Germany and operated in the 1920’s and 1930’s. This cult of modern architecture is like a religion – a religion I don’t subscribe to. I don’t want to live in a cold sterile building and I don’t think most other people want to either. … When we design buildings like the BreakWater our first priority is to design a living space and unit that best accommodates the needs and desires of the people that are going to live there. Our customers like acoustic privacy, they […]
Jan 29th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
Worlds Beyond
Fare thee well, friend of those seeking something worth reading. Word came today that you departed earth on January 27. Perhaps the essence of you is speeding toward Mars, of which you wrote so eloquently in the December 2008 issue of National Geographic. In describing the various science fiction writers who wondered about Mars, your unfailing humor remained intact, as if you were far below on earth, wryly observing middle class moirés. “Following Burroughs, pulp science fiction, brushing aside possible anatomical differences, frequently mated Earthlings and Martians, the Martian usually the maiden in the match, and the male a virile Aryan aggressor from our own tough planet.” The only thing missing is a round of golf, followed by a dry martini and perhaps a fling or two. In Due Considerations (Essays and Criticism), you wrote in a section titled “This I Believe” that “Cosmically, I seem to be of two minds,” i.e. the scientific, and the religious side of our collective selves, the latter manifested in art and altruism, idealism, and joie de vivre. You wrote this at age 73, three years ago. On my bedside stand is a copy of Due Considerations. When the heaviness of time presses in on me, I read from it before drifting off. Your words comfort. I haven’t yet picked up your final novel, The Widows of Eastwick, but be assured I will. Have a safe trip Mr.Updike.
Jan 28th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
The Bad & The Beautiful
The orangey-pinkish jpeg in my prior posting, was sent to me by Jimmy Von Milwaukee. That’s him standing in the background looking guilty. Perhaps. The piñata in the foreground is his take on performance artist Pegi Taylor. The two have been firing rubber bullets at each other recently. Some of them have bounced around on Mary Louise Schumacher’s Art City blog, but frankly, little harm has ensued except to artist Bob Watt who got dragged into the flak and took a few unfair hits. Yes, it’s true that a strange odor sometimes wafts from his totemic sculptures of Native Americans, but if they’re displayed outside in alleys (say, in JVM’s River Rat summertime soirees), you’d hardly notice the musty odor. You can read quite a sweet tribute to Watt if you go to Julie Lindemann and John Shimon’s website. One of their portfolios features their 2002 photo (Bob Watt with Telephone) of Milwaukee’s icon, a guy with an interesting past, a guy who once ran for Mayor of Milwaukee. Poet, painter, man-about-town, believe it or not Ripley, Watt graduated with a degree in Economics! Bob Watt with Telephone, photo by J. Shimon and J. Lindemann
Jan 26th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
Finally.
Finally. You can track down susceptibletoimages.wordpress.com/ Kat Murrell, former co-owner (with Deb Brehmer) of the Portrait Gallery, is flying solo, and if her initial outing is any indication, this is the place to go for well-written info on what’s going on in art. Move over Art City and make room for a smartly designed win-win. Brehmer soldiers on with her Portrait Gallery, and zounds! has added another space (directly across from the PG). It currently features the works of Rudy Rotter. Apparently, Murrell & Brehmer had an amiable parting, as Brehmer says “we’re still art history chick buddies.” Dean Jensen has been attending the Outsider Art Fair in NY for 16 years. And it ain’t cheap. His booth fee alone is over $10,000, and he emailed me that “I don’t think we did enough business to cover even half of the expenses. “Only three have been disappointing,” he says. One after the dot.com bubble burst in the late 90s, one after 9/11, and this recent one. All in all, we’ve mostly had good years there, and a few of the fairs have been gang busters.” The Milwaukee Art Museum isn’t the only venue cutting costs. The prestigious Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City has turned back their thermostats and cut their hours. Their splendid Steven Holl Bloch Building addition (contemporary American art primarily) opened a few months ago and I was privileged to visit it in December. It’s everything and more with plenty of room for exhibitions. You can catch the Southwest Chief out of Chicago and be in K.C. in seven hours. You owe it to yourself, if only to see the Isamu Noguchi Sculpture Court. Trust me. After a stay in my old hometown, I journeyed on the Chief to Arizona and visited the Phoenix Art Museum which also has a sparkling new addition. It was here I saw the best Franz Kline ever, a great Richard Misrach photo and what has to be the best ever Gregory Crewsdon.
Jan 22nd, 2009 by Stella Cretek
Gift Ideas for 2009
Stumped about what to get your fave artist in 2009? Some ideas from Stella…. Nutcrackers: Jimmy Von Milwaukee is hardly ever around these days, but in days past, he’s been notable for his crafty events, which sometimes featured his outrageous nutcrackers, to wit, figures resembling former Mayor Norquist, Marilyn What’s-Her-Name, and uh oh, Mother Teresa. A recent posting from JVM featured piñatas designed to bash Pegi Taylor. Seems the two are running neck-in-neck in the race for media attention. 12-Hour Heated Socks: Perfect for smoking in sub-zero temps. The Carnival Duck Shooting Game: For Colin Mathes, a Nohl Fellowship winner. A Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor: For gallery dealers who are currently monitoring the fall of the art market, speaking of which, Dean Jensen attended the recent Outsider Art exhibit in NYC. Deb Brehmer went along too, with art from Manitowoc-based dentist-turned-artist, Rudy Rotter. She showed his work at her Marshall Building gallery recently, and it was such a hit that she apparently has rented additional space in a wee spot across the hall from her Portrait Gallery. The Men’s Extended Reach Body Hair Groomer: Dick Bacon is dead or I’d get it for him. Memba Dick? Mr. Nude America and a devoted local model who often posed for figure drawing classes. The Classic Donegal Tweed Patchwork Cap: Poet Eddie Kilowatt, more recently known as Ed Makowski, poet & Riverwest dad. The Remote Controlled Tarantula: Anything to inject a little life into Gallery Night & Day. The Wireless Remote Pan & Tilt Surveillance Camera: Milwaukee Magazine’s editor, Bruce Murphy, might find this helpful for fueling Murphy’s Law. The Maui Pocket Saxophone: For newlywed Folliard staffer, Nicole Hauser, who received her engagement ring on an island in the Pacific. The Best Electronic Chess Game: In case MAM exec. Daniel Keegan can’t figure out his next move in a sagging art economy. The Thomas Kinkade Music Box: Local writer/photographer Tom Bamberger will love it. It’s so Tom. Spring-Loaded Insoles: This for Gallery 218’s Judith Hooks who walks everywhere. 1953 Corvette Pedal Car: Racine Sculptor Bill Reid built the Bee Bomb. Maybe he’d dig this. His work will be featured at Folliard Gallery this spring. The Aviator’s Duck Down Hat: Fockin Rockin for Art Kumbalek Comes with a matching Duck Down hip flask. The Upside Down Tomato Garden: Painter Thea Kovac who continues to endure the terrible looking New Land Enterprise parking garage on Downer. The Best Locating & Tracking Telescope: The Shepherd Express’ Boris & Doris. An assortment of Kyle Cherek stickers in case they forget to mention his name one more time. The Biofeedback Stress Relief Coach: Great for all those journalists hanging on by their thumbs. The Continuously Freshening Feline Drinking Fountain: In case former gallery guy Kent Mueller ever opens another gallery with another cat. RIP Fred.
Jan 16th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
Marcus Aurelius Redux
The first blog I wrote for VS was way back in April of ’08. Titled “Marcus Aurelius Online,” I’ve revived it with new answers to old questions. While ruling Rome, Marcus Aurelius Antonius wrote Meditations, setting down rules for living written in Greek. Stoic to the end (his end came in AD 180), Marcus Aurelius wrote them to himself, and in many ways his twelve books pre-figured the blogs of today. Book 1: “the certainty to ignore the dice of fortune…” Bones: Those who bought tickets on the ill-fated Titanic. Relive the grisly event at our Public Museum with a ticket bearing the name of an original traveler. At journey’s end you get to discover if that traveler survived or died….a gruesome roll of the dice from the world of marketing. Book 2: “Now the flesh you should disdain….blood, bones, a mere fabric and network of nerve, veins, and artifacts. Bones: Okay, cut yourself some slack and disdain the Bronze Fonz, too. Book 3: “Do not waste the remaining part of your life in thoughts about other people, when you are not thinking with reference to some aspect of the common good.” Bones: Advice to sour grapes Republicans and in particular, Mr. William Jefferson Clinton. Book 4: “Remove the judgment and you have removed the thought, ‘I am hurt,’ and the hurt itself is removed.” Bones: Rejects from the 2008 Mary Nohl Fellowship thing. Writers who didn’t make the Cream City Review. Book 5: “If on the other hand harm is done to the city, you should not be angry, but demonstrate to the doer of this harm what he himself has failed to see.” Bones: Developers who insist we need more condos. Book 6: “Some things are hurrying to come into being, others are hurrying to be gone, and part of that which is being born is already extinguished.” Bones: Art galleries, blogs, White House staffers, daily newspapers. Book 7: “The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in that it stands ready for what comes and is not thrown by the unforeseen.” Bones: Broad Vocabulary, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Milwaukee Fashion Week, etc., etc. Book 8: “Everything has come into being for a purpose….a horse, say, or a vine. Does this surprise you?” Bones: Well yeah. What pray tell, is the purpose of bailouts? Book 9: “Enough of this miserable way of life, enough of grumbling and aping.” Bones: Get on with the plan. Print more money. Book 10: “The healthy eye must look at all there is to be seen, and not say ‘I only want pale colors’….this is a symptom of disease.” Bones: All arts organizations that deem themselves deciders of what goes where. Book 11: “No nature is inferior to art, in fact the arts imitate the variety of natures. If that is so, then the most perfect and comprehensive of all natures could not be surpassed by any artistic invention.” Bones: Museums and galleries will ignore this advice. Book 12: “Practice even what you […]
Dec 8th, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Stella, Old Broad
I found this image on the AIG website. Posted in the portfolio of former Shepherd Express designer, James Klobier, is a “Portrait of Stella.” I don’t remember wearing pearls, but hey, I’ll take what I can get, old puss and all. Kloiber left for NYC recently to pursue more design opportunities. When first we met, he was working with INFO magazine. In my cabinet drawer is a framed drawing of Stella (by Kloiber). Years ago (well maybe not so many) he designed images for a kiosk on North Avenue, and yeah, once again he included Stella Old Broad. Stella has also been memorialized in a black/white photograph taken by none other than the great departed Jim Herrington who also fled eastward this year. What this means is unclear.
Dec 3rd, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Not Junk
Big Big Bang for Small Small Bucks, well you can’t beat it. Nicholas Frank is one of many artists exhibiting at Dean Jensen Gallery in a show designed to keep art moving when all else seems constipated in today’s art market. December 5th is the be-there date at the Water Street Gallery. Lots of Wisconsin-based artists plus many who aren’t will show, all carefully selected by Mr. Jensen & staff. No junk here; but much to cheer. You can walk away with a Frank ( “Tondo,” one of a trio defining pure minimalism) or an equally minimalist photograph by Kevin Miyazaki. Re-configured ceramics and abstract meanderings abound in this something-for-every-taste-blast. Gentleman Jensen knows his stuff and you can preview some of it at http://www.deanjensengallery.com.
Dec 2nd, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Waswo India
Concerned about my former Milwaukee friends, Waswo X. Waswo and his partner Tommy, I emailed them in India to see if they were safe during the terrorist attacks in their adopted country. The two moved there several years ago and we’ve kept in touch. Waswo has shaped an excellent career as a photographer/writer in India, but now and then he returns with a new series of work, mostly recently seen at Grava Gallery and at the Haggerty Museum of Art where he had a solo exhibition. Woman with a Cow – Udaipur, Waswo X. “Yes, we are quite safe,” was the welcome answer I received on Thanksgiving Day. “I am in Sri Lanka, and Tommy is in Goa. But the Taj on fire is tragic, and Leopold’s is a haunt for not only us, but many of our friends.” Today came the announcement that our military presence in Iraq will soon be greatly reduced, thanks to an agreement with their government. We’ll see. Time will tell. There’s not much to be thankful for this year, but their safety and the news out of Iraq is a good start.
Dec 1st, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Roofin’ The Green
That’s a guy named Dieter in the foreground. His buddies are working on the flat white roof of the soon-to-be Green Gallery East at 15th & Farwell. Missed filmmaker/writer Mark Borchardt’s event at Green West (on Center St.).
Nov 28th, 2008 by Stella Cretek
MIke Brenner & Hair
This just in from Mike, along with a new-ish jpeg of his pate topped in pink. Yes, he’s still working on his MBA and emails that “The Decider” slot in The Onion will be mostly minimal and mostly previews. It’s hard to imagine him being minimal isn’t it, but certainly not hard to imagine him being part of The Onion.
Nov 26th, 2008 by Stella Cretek
