The Curated Object

Exhibitions Milwaukee. Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture for the 21st Century. The Milwaukee Art Museum. The Curated Object

Frank Lloyd Wright, Side Chair for the Gregor Affleck House, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 1940-41, Cypress plywood, 29 3/4 x 28 5/8 inches.

Purchase, with funds from the Margaret and Loock Foundation. Photo credit, Efraim Lev-er

George Mann Niedecken, Combination Writing Desk, Daybed, and Lamp, 1910-11. Designed for Edward P. Irving Residence Decatur, Illinois

Frank Lloyd Wright, Unity Temple, Oak Park, Illinois, 1905-08 © 2010 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona

Taliesin East, photo © Jim Steinhart/Travelphotobase.com

Frank Lloyd Wright, Taliesin I, Spring Green, Wisconsin, 1911© 2010 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona

 

“So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be the modern ideal and the teaching so much needed if we are to see the whole of life, and to now serve the whole of life, holding no ‘traditions’ essential to the great TRADITION. Nor cherishing any preconceived form fixing upon us either past, present or future, but—instead—exalting the simple laws of common sense—or of super-sense if you prefer—determining form by way of the nature of materials...”
— Frank Lloyd Wright, An Organic Architecture, 1939

 

Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture for the 21st Century

February 12- May 15, 2011

 On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, studio and school in Spring Green, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Art Museum will present a major exhibition offering a fresh perspective on celebrated architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright’s seven-decade career. The exhibition will run from February 12 through May 15, 2011.

"Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture for the 21st Century" surveys more than 150 works, including drawings —33 of which have never been exhibited publicly— scale models, furniture, and photography as well as video footage of Wright and several key projects.  Reflecting on Wright’s impact during his lifetime and his significance today, the retrospective will highlight the many triumphs of Wright’s career and focus on his grand opus of suburban planning, Living City (1958) which, though never realized, was the culmination of all his work. This blueprint for Wright’s urban utopia incorporated the natural environment into everyday life.

 

“Wright defined organic architecture as being appropriate to ‘place, people and time’ and designed around those elements. He wanted to connect with new technology and use it to advance his architecture,” said Brady Roberts, chief curator for the Milwaukee Art Museum. “Wright’s design for suburban communities integrated nature, affordable homes, enlightened workspaces, parking, and other aspects of daily living, all in a repeatable model.”

 

Examining major projects including Unity Temple (Oak Park, Illinois, 1905), Fallingwater (Mill Run, Pennsylvania, 1936), Johnson Wax (Racine, Wisconsin, 1936, known today as the SC Johnson Administration Building), Taliesin (1911–59), and Taliesin West (Scottsdale, Arizona, 1937–59), the exhibition will analyze Wright’s objectives and illuminate the pioneering vision of the man known as America’s greatest architect.

“Wright was a prophetic thinker, decades ahead of his peers. In many ways, key aspects of his career relate to issues and practices of architecture today, including sustainability and efficiency,” said Roberts. “In examining Wright’s concern with material and space efficiency, economical use of manufactured materials, attention to local environment, and use of natural light, we see his profound contribution as a visionary for architectural practice in the twenty-first century.”

Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture for the 21st Century is organized by the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Phoenix Art Museum in conjunction with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale. The exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum celebrates the centennial of Taliesin in 2011, which is also the 10th anniversary of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion. The exhibition will travel to the Phoenix Art Museum in 2012.

For more information please visit: The Milwaukee Art Museum

Exhibitions Milwaukee. Theaster Gates, Jr. To Speculate Darkly. The Milwaukee Art Museum, Decorative Arts Gallery. The Curated Object

Storage Jar, Lewis Miles pottery, 1858. Alkaline -glazed stoneware. H. 25 5/8".  (Courtesy, Arthur Goldberg; photography, Gavin Ashworth.)

To Speculate Darkly, Theaster Gates, Jr.

April 16-August 1, 2010

"O my body, make of me always a man who questions!" 

"Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn't fit in with the core belief." — both quotes from Frantz Fanon (Black Skin, White Masks)

Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates Jr. has reached out to area craftspeople and the African American community to reinterpret for the present day the legacy of Dave Drake, a slave in antebellum South Carolina who famously adorned his pots with poetic couplets. The installation, titled "To Speculate Darkly," will transform the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Decorative Arts Gallery into an engaging exploration into the significance of craft labor and race in America. 

"To Speculate Darkly" juxtaposes the uniquely spectacular pots of Dave Drake, known as Dave the Potter, with a built environment comprised of a glass lantern slide tunnel, ceramic speakers, and vessels created by Theaster Gates Jr. "Race, craft and labor are at the center of my work on Dave the Potter,” says the artist. Recently selected to participate in the 2010 Whitney Biennial, Gates is a potter, musician, and performance artist who has earned national acclaim for his intelligent commentaries on race, the city, and the museum. “As the show was starting in Wisconsin, I wanted Dave's story to engage both craftsmen and the African-American community of Milwaukee. To do this, I worked closely with the Kohler Manufacturing Company and several African-American churches—with Greater New Birth Church being our most amazing collaborator. 

The ambition of "To Speculate Darkly" is twofold: to amplify the life and work of Dave the Potter and to ask new questions about the ‘function’ of craft objects in contemporary art. The installation will feature a music component as well, giving a resounding voice to Dave the Potter and, by extension, craftspeople working today. Drawing on the relationship that Gates has created with Dave’s persona, the artist arranged Dave’s poems to music and engaged a local, two-hundred strong Milwaukee church choir to perform a captivating sound piece. The choir will perform live during the MAM After Dark event that shares the exhibition’s opening."To Speculate Darkly" reinterprets a section of art history that is often ignored. Through this work, Theaster Gates, Jr. reaches out to a wide and diverse audience by making the artwork contemporary and accessible, as well as creating a space where conversations can take place. 

For more information please visit: The Milwaukee Art Museum

Exhibitions Milwaukee. Art and Reform: Sara Galner, the Saturday Evening Girls, and the Paul Revere Pottery. The Milwaukee Museum of Art. The Curated Object

   
Sara Galner (American, born Austria-Hungary, 1894–1982)
Beaker and Lid, 1914.
Earthenware with glaze. 4 3/8 x 3 ½ in. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Gift of Dr. David L. Bloom and family in honor of his mother, Sara Galner Bloom.

Sara Galner (American, born Austria-Hungary, 1894–1982)
Bowl, 1916.
Earthenware with glaze. 2 ¾ x 8 ½ in. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Promised gift of Dr. David L. Bloom and family in honor of his mother, Sara Galner Bloom.

Sara Galner (American, born Austria-Hungary, 1894–1982)
Bowl, Plate, and Mug, 1919.
Earthenware with glaze. Bowl: 2 ¾ x 5 ½ in. Plate: ¾ x 7 ½ in. Mug:L 3 ½ x 4 7/8 x 3 ¼ in. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Promised gifts of Dr. David L. Bloom and family in honor of his mother, Sara Galner Bloom.

Sara Galner (American, born Austria-Hungary, 1894–1982)
Untitled, 1917.
Earthenware with glaze. 6 ¼ x 4 ¼ x ¼ in. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Gift of Dr. David L. Bloom and family in honor of his mother, Sara Galner Bloom.

Art and Reform: Sara Galner, the Saturday Evening Girls, and the Paul Revere Pottery
October 25, 2007 - February 10, 2008
Decorative Arts Gallery

The Paul Revere Pottery (1908–1942) was established in Boston to provide a safe environment in which members of the Saturday Evening Girls Club could work to help contribute wages to their immigrant households. This exhibition features over one hundred works from the early years of the pottery, whose wares were adorned with playful designs of native flowers, barnyard animals, and rural landscapes. Most of the works in the exhibition were decorated by Sara Galner, whose Eastern European parents lived in Boston's North End. The exhibition follows Sara's life and career, offering a unique, personalized view into this turn-of-the-century pottery, the Arts and Crafts movement, and immigrant life in America.

For more information please visit: The Milwaukee Museum of Art
-Joanne Molina