Dem Bones

Jimminy Crickets

Jimminy Crickets

Some things to consider: Walk. Run. Crawl. Cricket Toes is a new local site with a bit of this and a bit of that, fun and interesting, and so far, devoid of mouthy rants. Go to www.emergeartzine.com, a new quarterly (next issue is January 09) mag showcasing artists from Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa and Indiana. Hopefully, it won’t be a publication disguised as an advertising vehicle. What’s needed is a clear and concise look at the featured artists which seem to be “emerging.” December 1 is the deadline for artists submissions for the January issue, and well, the hook is they’re charging $12 for 3 –10 submissions. I haven’t seen their October 08 debut issue, but it’s said to be in galleries here and there. Rotating “guest jurors” will decide who makes the cut. Ms. Ketarkus, owner and director of Grace Chosy Gallery in Madison will select for January. The mag is being navigated somewhere in Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin. There’s been a strange lack of coverage for the Nohl Fellowship exhibit at inova/Kenilworth, and the usual whine about the decline of female contenders for the title of “established,” and/or “emerging.” All in all, it was a decent show, but wouldn’t have been without the addition of the Black Box section for viewing film & video. Is the tail wagging the dog? The newest batch of Fellowship winners are heavy into those disciplines.

Nohl Rap

Nohl Rap

The gender issue surrounding the annual Nohl Fellowships is a dead issue, but if you must beat it to death, you may as well ask how many racial minorities made the cut? Anyone with disabilities? How about old folks like me? Perhaps fewer women than men applied for the fellowships? You’re chasing your tails folks. Since when should awardees be selected on the basis of anything but what’s in front of the faces of the judges? Get over it. How many of you readers have actually visited the current Nohl event at inova/Kenilworth? I’ve been there three times and never noticed anyone else but the reflection of myself in the windows. Plus a few faces staring at me from the outside of the Prospect Avenue entrance. I even ran out and tried to entice outsiders in, to no avail. But hear tell, the place was packed on opening night, which is party time and schmooze-ville. Nothing wrong with that, but art is more than wine & cheese, or beer & brats. Recently a local gallery dealer sniffed that he didn’t like the show. His nose actually wrinkled as if he was inhaling the scent of Limburger cheese. His lip curled. And while we’re at it, how many gallerists ever visit each others’ exhibits? Can you name three? Two? One? Art sales are at a new low (lower than usual in M’waukee). Auction houses are in a snit. As the scene shrinks, the pressure mounts for more and more coverage of the visual arts. Ad sales plummet, printing costs rise, publications tank in the wake of online coverage. In the 80s, the economy fueled art sales and everything else open to inflationary prices, and then, wow! it all came tumbling down, in a kind of art foreclosure sale. Of course there are still uber-bucks around to purchase the really BIG stuff, and allegedly, “bargain” hunters are swooping in to scoop it u. Vultures.

Breaking News!

Breaking News!

Jimmy Von Milwaukee is, yes he is, hosting his annual Xmas Craft event on December 20th. The site is yet to be announced, but he reveals participants will include the ever-faithful Julie Lindemann & Johny Shimon and perhaps a special showing of Milwaukee’s maker of sculptures fashioned from trash…Mike “Ringo” White. “Ringo was in to recycling years before it became chic,”quipped JVM, who is doing some recycling of his own. He reports that he’s pumping iron these days and morphing flab into abs. Stella will be incognito in Arizona on December 20 and is sorry to miss the gala. One of her fave possessions is a Xmas Craft Shimon & Lindemann photograph of her wearing a Packers’ helmet while perched on the lap of Bob Watt. Just so you know, December 20 is the birthday of Bo Derek, and the anniversary of the Jones Town Massacre. Von Milwaukee likes to build his events around special dates. And isn’t this special? Mike Brenner, artist/writer/former syrup on the cakes at Hotcakes is going to be an art critic for the Onion in their Decider section. If he thinks he had problems running a Riverwest Gallery, just wait until the herds of artists rush forth seeking his attention. Does this mean he’s no longer going to be pursuing a degree in Business Administration at UW-Mil?

Stella’s 2008 Awards for Best & Worst Sculpture

Stella’s 2008 Awards for Best & Worst Sculpture

Best: Milwaukee has hunks of stuff that pass for “art,” but the east lobby of the historic Shorecrest Hotel shelters a bronze worth considering. “Fisherboy Dancing the Tarantella” (Francisque Joseph Duret) is allegedly the only true copy of the original 1832 beauty enshrined in the Louvre. With his six-pack abs, earrings and elegant torso defining a dance derived from the bite of the tarantula, the smiling chap is (perhaps) considering what art isn’t. Worst: The year was 1989. The National Association of Letter Carriers dedicated a memorial to those who carry forth through rain, sleet and snow. Installed on a small plot at Plankington & Wells, convenient to those out dodging traffic while dog walking, once per year someone stops by to clean the motley trio of figures. No one seems to know who gave us this miserable three, but the budget must have been miniscule. The result is a clutch of pint-sized carriers intent on dashing off in different directions.

Hit by an Opgenorth?

Hit by an Opgenorth?

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. An asteroid? No, it’s a piece of art by Harvey Opgenorth. In my office is a hanging light fixture designed by Harvey. Fashioned from an upside down Eames fiberglass chair, it rocks. The light not the chair. So does Harvey. About this sculpture. It will be part of the Armoury Gallery exhibit showcasing Milwaukee’s Own, and Harvey is certainly one of those. A 1999 MIAD grad, he’s part of an event including three other MIAD grads, Kathryn E. Martin (a part time faculty member at both UW-Mil & MIAD), Mary DiBiasio, and lastly but not leastly, Colin Dickson. The grads who stick together seem also to play together. I hope they don’t try to one-up each other. I’ve seen this happen and it isn’t a pretty sight. The show opens at the mighty Fortress on Friday, December 5th (6 – 10pm). The address is 1718 N. 1st St., 3N3. If you’ve never been there, pack a bag lunch. 3N3 isn’t the easiest space to locate. As I re-read the Armoury’s press release, it seems that the aforementioned Harvey sculpture is a “gold” nugget. Okay, so expect a cave by Dickson, clouds of Styrofoam by Martin, and nuggets by Harvey. DiBiasio will check in with “the figure in contour.” For more info go to www.thearmourygallery.com. The press release does not mention the closing date. I don’t know why young gallerists often don’t include closing date info. It drives me bonkers.

A Poem As Lovely As A Tree

A Poem As Lovely As A Tree

The economic crash has hit the world big time, and the world of art is no exception. I found quite a bit of comfort at Dean Jensen Gallery where Joan Backes’ work is on display until November 22. Stroll to the back of the long narrow space and stand in front of her video, “Oak Tree, One Year (2008).” It’s eleven minutes of heaven, as if you were on her property in Massachusetts observing the seasonal changes of a magnificent oak The oak is the state tree of Iowa from whence I hail and there are far fewer now than when I was a kid and sat beneath their leafy confines. For $1,000 the eleven minutes could be mine to take home, just in case the dreaded wilt wipes away the last of the greats. This filmmaking is art at its finest. It marks time, puts the world in perspective, and for delicious moments, made this viewer forget all else. If you are a “tree hugger type,” don’t go to the gallery with expectations of great and grand environmental statements. Her work is subtle; it suggests rather than insists. A trio of trees from 2008 (each referencing New England), are painted on panels, but they are slices of trunks, minutely detailed, and up close the details become wonderful miniature landscapes. Rising 8’ skyward and varying in width, they define the gallery’s entrance and introduce further depictions of trees, including one from this state, “Tree, Wisconsin (2004).” Fifteen photographs make it clear that Backes is multi-talented and determined to explore trees in all their glory. The concept is anything but ordinary. Paper, the by-product of trees, carries her point home, or rather to the “Newspaper House,” a cube for entering. Constructed of diverse folded squares of global newspapers, it is the center piece of the exhibition and is an inside/outside experience, every child-adult’s dream of a magical place perfect for the ultimate escape. I found myself reading the snippets of folded squares (obsessively) plastering the exterior: “the stock market took a beating last week,” “stand-up comedy in America is not, for the most part….,” and (gruesomely), “the deeper sores may have…” The house wears a skin of words (too many to absorb), but inside the sanctum waits another world of tiny dioramas, not unlike those in natural history museums. ”Elm” (light, vellum, laser and hand cut paper 2008), memorializes the elms that were struck down by disease in the 50s & 60s, not only in Milwaukee, but across our nation. They’ve all disappeared in my hometown, but I remember those lofty citadels that shaded our streets, sheltered the birds, and gave substance to each and every day. When they died, time didn’t stop, but it sure did change. The leaves will be gone or clogging our gutters when Jensen Gallery launches their answer to the economic downturn. “Big, Big Bangs/Small, Small Bucks” opens December 5 thru January 24 in the year 2009. Nothing will be priced over $750, and (at this […]

Cheese or Pepperoni?

Cheese or Pepperoni?

Just kidding. The former pizza joint on 15th & Farwell (east side of street) will reopen in mid-January ’09, not as another pizza or tattoo parlor, but as Green Gallery East, brought to you steaming hot by gallerist/artist Riepenhoff who knows how to serve up a satisfying slice of art. The debut event will feature the work of David Robbins, described online as “international,” and a former laborer at the Andy Warhol Factory. He’s more than that, so I’m looking forward to his show. The modest modernist structure Green is re-doing had slipped into severe disrepair, so hey, on the street that developer Boris Gokhman (New Land Enterprises) is holding hostage, an art gallery sure trumps a tanning spa and yet another soaring condo. Across Farwell is the Pasta Tree, and to the north, the fab Maharaja eatery, the Beehive Beauty Salon, and well, a few blocks north of that is Brady Street itself, and even further north, the invova/Kenilworth art mecca. Did I mention “Mr. Shoe?” He’s a neighbor of Green East too. I’m hard pressed to think of a better location for an art adventure. Stroll out my front door, round the corner and there it is, in all of its one-story glory. Because it’s a former drive-up place, the parking should be adequate. This is after all, the eastside where tempers rise during the on-going battle of who gets what. Hoof it, bus it, bike it. We’ll be in a new year with a new president when the gallery opens. Suddenly 2009 seems downright hopeful. Galleries come and go, but Riepenhoff & his youthful crew have devoted fans. It will be interesting to see who actually visits the space, set in a diverse area of the well-heeled and down-in-the-heels, and all points in between. Imagining that uber-condo types will experience it, is a bit of a stretch, but perhaps they’ll stretch their minds and consider something other than boring pretty pictures for their walls, put in place by interior designers who don’t have a clue what art is. One Riepenhoff idea that I hope doesn’t go away, is his “Riepenhoff experience,” a wonderful tree-house style small installation. Climbing up the ladder and peering in, is, in a word, sensational.

Here Pussy, Pussy

Here Pussy, Pussy

Gene Evans made the AV section of the Onion’s August 21-27 edition. You may recall he’s the co-proprietor of Luckystar Studio, formerly of Vliet St. Bridget Griffith Evans, the far nicer and more talented of the two, is moving with her grouchy spouse to a new location on Mitchell St., where they will concentrate on their respective careers. In the Q&A Onion interview, Evans says “They (i.e., artists he has to deal with) can be such pussies,” and goes on to grouse that “they can be prima donnas,” and then adds the words “demanding,” and other snippets indicating he hates being in an art kitchen populated with pussies. Well, this is hardly news. Evans is known for his complaints, though at times, he and Mike Brenner seem to be wrestling for media coverage. That said, Brenner takes the hot cakes when it comes to who sez what, besides which, he’s currently working on his MBA at UWM. After getting lots of media space by claiming they’ll never ever run another gallery, Gene & Bridget were open for October Gallery Night @ their Mitchell St. digs. These two have been around town, that’s for sure. Look for their work to pop up almost anywhere.

‘Memba This?

‘Memba This?

Possibly the last remaining Art Muscle t-shirt in M’waukee? Born at 9th & National in the days when we had a great big beautiful art publication, this shirt is from “Fruit Of The Loom.” At one time, AM’s shirt inventory included long-sleeved versions. Art Muscle also sold pocket protectors, buttons and coffee mugs, and oh yeah, the shirt was available in black with white letters, or white with black letters. Just so you know. Wearing one of these t’s meant you were with it, hip & hot. A fellow blogger wrote that he’d personally order four, if only they were currently available. Actually he bought the last remaining t-shirt before AM closed their doors. “I’d have driven 50 miles to get one,” he admits, though it’s unclear if he still has his. If anyone out there still has an ART MUSCLE shirt, write Stella Cretek pleeze. In the meantime, you might want to consider a Vital Source t. To wear one is to be hip & hot.

You Say Potato, I Say Potatoe

You Say Potato, I Say Potatoe

A few years ago when Whole Foods sprung up on the west end of North Avenue, their PR person put out a call for local artists. What this usually means when a new business materializes, is that artists are expected to hang their work for free. It’s a kind of art-as-wallpaper concept. Anyway, Mike Brenner (the former proprietor of Hotcakes Gallery) took the bait and arranged for a bona-fide exhibit of his gallery artists. They failed to pass muster with the powers that be, i.e. Whole Foods deemed the work a bad fit for their particular product. Susceptibletoimages.com picked up on the story and ran with it. What a difference a few years make. Recently, while shopping for things I don’t need, a group of paintings caught my eye as I was about to take the down escalator to the parking garage. Most folks would never know they were there, tucked in a dead-end corner just beyond a display case hawking hemp hats and plastic water bottles. They looked quite a bit like paintings Mike Brenner might have had in his defunct gallery, though of far lesser quality. In any event, they weren’t paintings of organic tomatoes and green peppers. The tag near the grouping identified them as the work of someone in the store, a “Team” member, who perhaps was laboring in the frozen food department. I couldn’t make sense of the artist’s name, but I swear it translated from Spanish into something akin to “Devil Lobster.” I could be wrong. Okay, so I’m near the parking garage downstairs and a pea-green “Call for Artists” poster catches my attention. It promises the artists that thousands of people monthly would view the artwork, that there would be an opening reception catered by Whole Foods’ in-store chef, and that the exhibit would be promoted in the monthly calendar, etc. It didn’t identify the three areas where the artists would have their work displayed, but I’d seen one of the areas and believe me it wasn’t exactly a high-traffic zone. I was the only one there, and that was sheer coincidence. Artists who want to take this bait can pick up an application at the store’s Customer Service desk or online at www.wholefoodsmarket.com. Just imagine how a show at Whole Foods would look on your resume. It’s not everyone that gets to exhibit near bunches of asparagus and heaps of organic fruit. Oh, I forget to mention that the exhibit opportunities include a chance to sell your pieces directly to the customers as they rush by. On the fun side of life: A late October sign on the inside of a door at the downtown M & I Bank advises: For security reasons, please remove your Halloween mask before entering the bank.

Blog Meat

Blog Meat

In continuing an explanation about the meat of blogs, I’ve been re-reading the November issue of the Atlantic, specifically, Andrew Sullivan’s “Why I Blog.” There’s more online at www.theatlantic.com/blogging. The secret seems to be links, Duh. I’ve been clueless. The other big deal clue is “if you don’t paddle, you’re dead in the blog waters.” Or something like that. This suggests that genuine bloggers, blog at least once daily, and often twice or more, and whoa! there’s a whole generation running around that have never written anything other than blogs, a frightening thought for one who really actually truly believes that writing is way beyond blogging. That said, I’m including a link to Milwaukee artist Tom Kovacich, http://www.thomaskovacich.com. He exhibits at Gallery 218, is a modernist, and from that standpoint, would seem a nice fit for blogging which Sullivan describes as postmodern communication. In a recent email he commented that he had read Judith Ann Moriarty’s vitalsourcemag.com feature about MAM’s Act/React exhibit, and also Dem Bones take on art critics. He sent me a fruit basket as a reminder.

Artsy

Artsy

www.artsyschmartsy.com Go there, then pick up the forthcoming (soon!) issue of INFO magazine, for a feature about artsy, a chap who wears cheaters and is learning about art. Interviewed by Judith Ann Moriarty in her digs overlooking splendid Milwaukee, Schmartsy reveals himself fully. Let Stella hear if you like it. As I write, susceptibletoimages.com seems to be down, but by the time you read this, hopefully it will be up. Who’s making paintings these days worth viewing? Tom Kovacich. kovacich@earthlink.net. See them at Gallery 218. Photographs? Kevin Miyazaki at inova/Kenilworth. Sculptures? Bernini, but he’s dead. Should VS have a sex column, or is sex dead? Can’t seem to locate Nikol Knows which was featured online at Milwaukee Magazine .Oh well, great sex usually doesn’t last forever anyway. I’m thinking of running a blog about “condo rules.” Some of them are hilarious. Here’s one:” If your doggie pees or poops on the elevator carpet, perhaps it needs diapers. It is not the job of the concierge to clean up what doggie does.”