Art
May 4-12, 2009
It's a splashy week in Milwaukee performing and visual arts: Marvin Hamlisch, old-time radio, The Great Divorce, Beauty and the Beast, 42nd Street, Willy Wonka, Mad Hot Ballroom, Cirque du Soleil and more.
May 3rd, 2009 by Brian Jacobson
April 29 to May 4
We’re adjusting the timing of this weekly preview to give you a better jump on planning your outings. As a result what you see here are the events going on just through this weekend (and one event beyond). Check back Monday, May 4 for a new selection of performing, musical, and visual arts happening in Milwaukee and the surrounding areas. The first days of May (May Day! May Day!) presents new offerings from a wild farce from Windfall Theater (I had seven margaritas!), a Wild Space Dance performance about Jones Island (Kaszubes in ballet shoes!), and a standout from Alverno Presents (Inyembezi Zam!). Comedy Headline Comedian Mike Kosta, JD’s Comedy Café, 4/30-5/2 Also Featuring Josh Alton, Steve Hartman, Geoff LaFleur. Contact: 414.271.5653 or JD’s. The Midnight Show, ComedySportz, 5/2 at 12:00 a.m. (naturally) The hardest working day of the week for this venue is Saturdays, when they regularly host a 3:00 p.m. matinee for kids and then two more shows at 7:30 and 10:00 p.m. But it’s the adults only, must be 18 or older show that takes place late which has the most ribald sass. Contact: 866.512.5233 or ComedySportz. Headlining Comedian Billy Gardell, Jokerz Comedy Club, 4/30-5/2, 8 p.m. Star of Hit TV Series such as Heist, Yes Dear, and the King of Queens, Billy Gardell is the kind of comedian that makes you laugh your ass off. Sort of a mix of a New Jersey guy doing the Redneck Comedy Tour material as Jackie Gleason. See here: _ Dance Map of Memories, Wild Space Dance Company at Studio 1661, 5/1. Back by overwhelming public demand, Map of Memories will return for an encore performance, telling the story of Milwaukee’s Jones Island. Inspired by the lives of Polish, Kaszubian, and Eastern European immigrants who founded the Island’s fishing village in the 1870s, Map of Memories merges expressive contemporary dance with historic images and text. Prior to the evening performances, Milwaukee historian and author John Gurda will discuss the island’s journey from thriving fishing village to harbor hub. Contact: 414.271.0712 or Wild Space. Rhapsody in Blue, Cashiel Dennehy School of Irish Dance at South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, 5/2 A high-flying, powerful performance that combines the traditional, innovative and unique. Rhapsody showcases all that Irish dancing has to offer – there is truly something for everyone in this show. The event features dancers of all ages shining on stage, a raffle, a silent auction and much more. Contact: 414.766.5049 or SMPAC. _ Theater Stations Of The Cross, Boulevard Ensemble Studio Theater, 4/29 Boulevard closes its 23rd season by staging the premiere of local Milwaukee playwright and actress Beth Monhollen’s comedy of waitressing. As an actress, Monhollen has appeared with many companies in Milwaukee (Late-Night Theatre X, Inertia Ensemble) and has consistently won accolades for her work. A founding member of Milwaukee’s WIND-UP DOLLS THEATRE (an all-women improvisational-based theatre company), Monhollen has performed countless times with the feminist ensemble as well as creating many of its pieces. This production marks Ms. […]
Apr 28th, 2009 by Brian Jacobson
Carousel Resurrects the Slide Projector
Last Friday, on the hottest and most beautiful day of the year, it was difficult to stay indoors. But the promise of a quirky and intriguing slide show was tempting enough to bring me in. As I settled into my seat in the back room of Woodland Pattern, I didn't know what to expect from my first Carousel.
Apr 28th, 2009 by Erin Petersen
FREE SCREENING of Wilco Documentary ASHES OF AMERICAN FLAGS Mon 4/20
Monday 4/ 20 (holler): Free Wilco Movie @ Turner Hall (double holler): Pull up a chair and remenise on Wilco's sold out 2 day run at the Pabst at this amazing FREE SCREENING!!
Apr 18th, 2009 by Howie Goldklang
Gallery Night & Day April 2009
There’s no pulling punches when Milwaukee Magazine editor Bruce Murphy writes his weekly “Murphy’s Law” column. A recent one gave a full and lucid explanation about the Janet Zweig saga, i.e., how ideas for that particular public sculpture evolved and where (more or less) the project is going, if anywhere. I laugh when writers “take ownership” of what they deem to be hot stories, and laugh even more when readers are laboriously reminded that a particular writer developed (you read it here first folks!) a particular story. Murphy was correct when he compared much of today’s journalism with kudzu growing rampant. All surface and no depth, with windbags, bozos (Murphy’s word) and other folks who like to see their name in print checking in! And now, wow! A star is born, courtesy of the Haggerty Museum, which put the eccentric works of Peter Bardy on display in Current Tendencies, running through June 14. Eccentricity isn’t a bad thing. In fact, we have several locals who fit that mold: Bob Watt and Jimmy Von Milwaukee are two, but they’ve been stars for years. Bardy shot himself dead last summer, leaving behind a west side home filled with items he’d fashioned from scavenged stuff, and voilà! The formerly unknown is now known. Is the Haggerty making a run to roust the rather exclusive territory carved out by the Kohler Museum in Sheboygan, the realm of Outsider Art? (But don’t call it that, because actually Outsiders are more Insiders these days.) The curator of the Haggerty exhibit, Lynn Shumow, came to Milwaukee from the vaunted Kohler. Every curator loves a good back story, and Bardy’s is apparently hers. But does that make it “art?” Stella thinks that of more import is the possibility of the green ash borer decimating the green ash grove on the north side of the Haggerty Museum itself. It’s frightening to imagine, but a group of In:Site artists (including Mike Brenner) are preparing to present plans on temporary art for the Park East land, long vacant and more or less a cause for concern. This may be an even bigger boondoggle than the Zweig flap and the Lincoln Park sculpture madness, whose flames were fanned by Pegi Taylor, noted for nay-saying everything and everyone but herself. Shameless self-promotion: Stella has a feature story (“Fleecing”) in the current issue of INFO magazine, about how American taxpayers are getting shorn. It looks pretty cool alongside all those hot shots of babes and studs. The taxpayer is wearing a barrel. And as the grandkid of a major rancher of sheep, she’s an expert on the subject. John Riepenhoff and a host of other young artists and Milwaukee-based gallerists are in Cologne, Germany for an exhibition. Painter Peter Barrickman’s work, installed in a booth, made the trip packed in a big suitcase which Riepenhoff lugged along to its final destination. Meanwhile, Green Gallery East and West remain open for action. My personal pick for this weekender, Gallery Night and Day, is a small […]
Apr 16th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
April 17, 2009
Where to go and what to see on Gallery Night.
Apr 15th, 2009 by Erin Petersen
Art and performance 4/15 to 4/21
Visual Art Gallery Night and Day, metro Milwaukee area, Friday evening on April 17 and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 18 (most locations) *See our special section for a preview of this quarterly must-see event. Multimedia Tile, Quilt, Pixel: Paul Berger, UW-Milwaukee, Wed. April 15 at the Arts Center Lecture Hall. Starts at 7 p.m. Paul Berger talks about the trajectory of his composite and collage works over the course of the last thirty-five years. Currently a professor of art at the University of Washington’s School of Art where he founded the school’s photography program, Berger moved from traditional forms to digital manipulation and gained fame throughout Europe plus grants from the National Endowment of the Arts. A retrospective of his work showed at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in 2003. He will be speaking about his work as part of UWM’s 2008-09 Artist Now series. Merengue: Visual Rhythms, Latino Arts museum, now through June 5. Open M-F 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. In this Milwaukee stop on a national tour organized by International Arts and Artists showcases 27 classic and cuurent artists from the Dominican Republic. The focus of the show looks at that country’s national music form through mediums including photographs, sculpture, paintings, and videos by “analyzing the rhythm’s artistic components and environmental contexts”. Admission is free. Theater Last of the Red Hot Lovers! , Broadway Baby Dinner Theatre, now until April 26. Milwaukee’s longest-running dinner theater is putting on Neil Simon’s successful 1969 comedy. The story revolves around a middle-aged and shy man who hopes to join the sexual revolution before it’s over. Lacking experience and chutzpah, he arranges three separate seductions with women of various neuroses — one of whom is his best friend’s wife. The Cherry Orchard, Milwaukee Rep at the Quadracci Powerhouse Theatre, April 14 to May 10. Anton Chekhov’s last play is the newest production by members of the Resident Acting Company and other guest actors. While Chekhov intended this to be a comedy, its first director set it as a tragedy. Directors have been wrestling with what it is ever since. Brooklyn Boy, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre at the Cabot Stage. Opens April 16 running through May 3. The MCT will finish its 34th season with Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright Donald Margulies’s drama about a best-selling author of a loosely autobiographical novel describing growing up Jewish in Brooklyn. But the author also experiences a midlife crisis as he struggles to come to terms with an aging father, a failing marriage and lost roots. Zombies From the Beyond, Cardinal Stritch at the Nancy Kendall Theater. April 17-19 and April 24-26. The school’s Music and Theater Department is premiering this hit Off-Broadway play, adapted for local reference. The original musical comedy by James Valcq skewered American ideals during the Eisenhower era using a sci-fi B-movie structure. The local production sets the play at “the Milwaukee Space Station, where a flying saucer lands, piloted by Zombina, an alien aviatrix”. How I Became a Pirate, Milwaukee First Stage at the Todd Wehr stage. Opens April 17 running weekends until May 17. based on the well-known children’s book by Melinda Long and given new lyrics and notes by […]
Apr 14th, 2009 by Brian Jacobson
surReal World
Garages, labs, cubicles, bars, McDonald’s, courtrooms – we all work somewhere. Most of the time the work place is strictly dictated by the vocation. You’re not going to find the Brewer’s playing at the mall and your doctor won’t be giving you a physical exam on the bus – at least I hope not. Art is an exception; artists set up studios in spare rooms, attics, dank basements, warehouses, barns; plein air artists work where ever they’re inspired; graffiti artists use alleys or more inappropiate spots. Some artists need sterile white walls and some prefer chaos. Brookfiled artist Jeff Sadowski prefers something closer to Oz. Jeff’s environment is truly an extension of his work. Heavily influenced by Dali, and other surrealist, Jeff’s studio is a strange place where Pixy Stiks function as support beams; Holly Hobbie, Thundercats and Rambo vintage lunch boxes hang from the ceiling by a thread; Scrubbing Bubbles and Kiss action figures fill the shelves; a giant cheeseburger on the floor and a small collection of art on the walls. The bulletin board holds pictures of carnival rides, inspirational color combinations, an autographed picture of the Olsen twins, as well as a signed photo of legendary montage artist Winston Smith, who Jeff has been recently collaborating with. Jeff’s studio features nearly has many obscure pop cultural references as his paintings. His most recent work, an homage to sugary sweet breakfast cereal, featuring dozens of reference to the food stuff; including: milk bottles, a tiny portrait of W.K. Kellogg and the trio of elves that pimp for Rice Krispies, to name just a few. What surprises me most is that after being a working artist for over 20 years; painting album covers for obscure metal bands and backdrops for the stage sets for such acts as Santana, the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead; Jeff is just “feeling comfortable enough to do his own thing” – that’s surreal. See Jeff’s stuff at: http://www.jeffsadowskiart.com
Apr 9th, 2009 by Gene Evans
Salad Days
“Smooth” is how Pete DiAntoni describes Turf, the legendary, but now defunct, Milwaukee skate park, “smooth concrete, beautiful curves”. Even a novice, like myself, understands the importance of those simple words when it comes to skateboarding. Pete said that upon walking into Turf, the first time nearly 30 years ago, “my life was changed”. He found the energy and excitement inspirational and starting taking photographs of the skateboarders This documentation is the subject of of the Vans sponsored Salad Days at the Vetter Denk building, 161 Pittsburgh Ave, Friday, April 10, 7-10 p.m. It’s tough to write about a subculture without sounding either nostalgic, or like a poser, so I’ll spare you any attempts to capture what Turf was in a couple words – you had to be there. And if, like me you weren’t, you could check out the exhibit and see why skateboarders across the country were talking about this Milwaukee skatepark. To make the evening complete WMSE DJ Eric Von Munz will be on hand spinning; the Buzzcocks, B-52’s, Sex Pistols, the Cars and more of the new wave and the punk rock that fueled the subculture phenomena. Coincidentally both Pete Diantoni and Eric Von Munz are part of the creative team behind Cog; a magazine dedicated to another subculture; bike messengers – but that’s another story.
Apr 9th, 2009 by Gene Evans
Around town with Bones – 4/8
I can’t figure out why any artist in their right mind would complain “there’s nothing new” in Milwaukee. Balls! I just saw two great Peter Barrickman paintings at Green Gallery, plus at GGWest, the most minimalist piece of art I’ve ever seen: a slender slice of wood painted white and propped in a corner of GGW’s third floor space, which also houses Club Nutz, the world’s smallest stand-up comedy club. You know, when I talk to John Riepenhoff I feel a real burst of hope for the arts. The people around him are smart and young and energetic. What a tonic. It isn’t that I don’t respect artists who are mature (or old like me), but there comes a time when bi-focals have to give way to firm flesh and sharp eyes and keen ideas. Riepenhoff must be like Dean Jensen was in the olden days, and his adventurous mind reminds me much of Jensen, who is, by the way, a big fan of John and company. Deb Brehmer is down-on-her-knees sorting through piles of drawings from various Wisconsin-based artists. My eyes like Paul Caster’s stuff, but you can decide from seven participants when the show (Tender is the Line) opens in the Portrait Gallery (Floor 5) on Gallery Night & Day (April 17-18). Her expanded space now includes TWO galleries, the latter to be known as “Gallery B,” with walls being painted blood red as I write. Down the hall, also on floor five, Catherine Davidson has established a new little office with walls of eggplant hue. Her larger venue is on floor two. Jilan Glynn is curating a GN&D exhibit at Soups On. Does anyone remember Jane Brite, co-founder of Walker’s Point Center for the Arts? Allegedly, she’s the new “art consultant” for the Charles Allis/Villa Terrace Museums. They’ve ground through quite a number of staffers in the last few years, and seem to be very zipped-lipped when it comes to press releases announcing who’s new and who’s not. I’m really saddened that no one has ventured forth with a guess as to who “Pierre Renee” is. His photographs are hanging in the Riverfront Pizza Bat & Grill on Erie St. I guess no one cares but Mr. Renee, hey? Okay, Stella will sweeten the Pierre pot and buy a veggie pizza for the FIRST person who posts the correct answer in the comment section. All the stupefying silly-ness over whether or not alderpersons like the public sculpture proposed for Wisconsin Avenue. It’s sort of a low blow to make comments about Bob Donavan’s missing teeth though. Or is it tooth? It should be even more stupefying when “concerned” artists mass in order to voice their ego-driven agendas about the project’s ix-nayers. Real artists will be home making art, but Pegi Taylor will likely be out and about milling around. Stella says later gator. There’s way more coming …
Apr 8th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling!
Enjoy public scrutiny? Hard work for little or no pay? Willing to sacrifice your time, money and dignity? If you answered yes to all these question you can join an elite team comprised of just about anyone who can afford the supplies. That’s right, you to can be an artist (can’t afford supplies? be a conceptual artist – then all you’ll need is your imagination). In my experience, nothing provokes eye-rolling or makes a usually well mannered person utter a contemptuous “mmm” whilst waving their little finger in the air, more than telling someone “I’m an artist.” I really do try to avoid using the term “artist;” it can sound a little pretentious and does invoke the image of a fancy man wearing a striped shirt and beret, sipping wine and pontificating how “no one gets me.” That’s not me – I prefer beer and don’t even own a beret (not yet). As of late there’s been a call for artists, and advocates of the arts, to “get more involved” and “support the art scene” from various groups and self professed arts leaders. Ignited by the closing of yet another art gallery: Paperboat (the latest of over 30 galleries that have come and gone since 1999) and the uproars surrounding a couple public art projects (Lincoln Park and the Zweig project). Since I’ve been in Milwaukee, and involved in the art scene, for a little over a decade, there’s always something: Blue Shirts, Bronz Fonzies, Beasties, contempt for the Di Suervo Sunburst, etc., and not only is it artists versus public consensus, it’s artists versus artists, gallery versus gallery, and Calatrava versus Godzilla. What will come from the latest debacles? Probably nothing. After this public furor settles down, and the smoke clears, the fine folks in the Milwaukee art scene will get back to normal; complaining, finger pointing, and calling each other names – in private.
Apr 3rd, 2009 by Gene Evans
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
