Milwaukee Art Museum
WORDS BY ROD O’CONNOR
Inspiration Point
The Quadracci Pavilion at the Milwaukee Art Museum is a building unlike any other.
Never has a structure brought a new lease of life to a city quite like the Milwaukee Art Museum’s dramatic Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion. While Milwaukee was previously best known for “Laverne & Shirley” and its blue-collar, beer-brewing heritage, its unofficial symbol is now the Pavilion’s 90-foot-high glass-walled exhibition hall and the attached “Burke Brise Soleil.” The Brise Soleil is a sun-screen and moving sculpture that resembles a giant fl apping fish or a Boeing 737 come to life.
Named Time magazine’s “Best Design of 2001,” the stunning lakefront addition serves as the museum’s grand front entrance and has put Milwaukee on the cultural map in a way reminiscent of how Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum made Bilbao, Spain, a worldwide travel destination.
While the building itself is a work of art worth visiting, in some ways the design has overshadowed the impressive works within. (The museum even has a special viewing area for the daily 10am opening and 5pm closing of the Burke Brise Soleil’s signature “wings.”) Inside the museum, visitors may be surprised to discover what is perhaps the country’s most diverse collection of art. In just a few hours, one can explore 19th- and 20th-century masters, American decorative arts, German Expressionism, Haitian art, contemporary art and more.
“The nice thing about the museum is that on one fl oor you can span 1,000 years,” explains Katie Heldstab, communications coordinator. “You can see what you want to see and not have to go to two different institutions. There’s something for everyone.”
Once inside, visitors
will discover what is
perhaps the country’s
most diverse collection
of art. Upon entering the museum, guests are immediately greeted by the dangling Calder mobile and a massive sculpture from American glass master Dale Chihuly. Its squiggly, multi-colored shapes provide a whimsical contrast to the sleek surroundings. The route to the main-level artwork takes you on a pleasant stroll down the windowed Baumgartner Galleria with inspiring views of Lake Michigan to the east.
The depth of the museum’s collection is immediately visible. In a few steps, one can check out crowd favorites from two different millennia: an Egyptian mummy coffin from 350BC, and “Janitor” (1973), a startlingly real polyester and cast fiberglass figure by Duane Hanson. Hunched over, with his hand defiantly on his hip, this janitor is so real, your first inclination is to strike up a conversation.
In between those extremes, enjoy Lichtenstein’s American pop favorite “Crying Girl” (1964), the photo-realism of Chuck Close, and modern installations, such as Tony Oursler’s creepy yet hilarious “MMPI (Self-Portrait in Yellow).” This 1996 piece from the New York video artist features a video image of Oursler’s face projected onto the face of a doll, while a constant audio stream dishes out answers to a real personality test, such as, “Sometimes, I feel as if the world is pressing down on me.”
The lower-level American collections are heavy on furniture and other functional art and include a true rarity in a major museum: art you can actually touch. The Chair Park encourages visitors to interact with reproductions of classic chair designs, from a 17th-century armchair to a 1922 creation from Frank Lloyd Wright. Take a seat and experience how chairs have changed, how much they’ve stayed the same, and how an uncomfortable chair then is still an uncomfortable chair now.
Perhaps the most impressive section of the museum is the upper-level Bradley Collection of modern European and American art, a gift from a wealthy Milwaukee businesswoman, the late Mrs Harry Lynde Bradley. Peggy, as she was known, was an operator of high-end clothing stores and traveled Europe extensively in search of the latest couture. But she also found time to purchase an enviable assortment of masterworks, from Kandinsky and Picasso to O’Keeffe and Warhol.
After your art tour, head to the sun-drenched Museum Café—a sublime spot for taking a break and enjoying the lakefront scenery. There’s no better way to simultaneously experience the city’s past and future than by savoring an award-winning Wisconsin bratwurst in Milwaukee’s world-class museum.