Frozen Gallery Ice Cream
I was running errands Saturday afternoon when I came upon the river looking like the ice cream freezer had just been opened but the cold didn't hit me until later. I was still quite warm from an otherwise chilly winter gallery night the previous evening, where I saw lots of cream of the crop.
And cream it was -- from popping in on a lark last week, I was actually humbled by the art at the Borg Ward Friday night -- humbled and honored to be a part of it. What a diverse show it was! Lots of emerging talent in there. Don't even go to see my two pieces -- go to see some terrific fresh art. Paintings that depicted "Last Day of School Execution" to sculpture that incorporated panty hose (and you had to look close to see it). There was a wonderful wall installation that appeared to be wax castings of somebody mouthing the alphabet, and a floor installation that took me a few minutes to really sink in. Of course there were some clunkers (there always are in a show like this), but they were very few and far between. What seemed like a random show somehow, through some kind of karmic synergy, actually gelled into a cohesive unit. The show is up for two more weeks, and I can't wait to see what these guys put together next.
I then braved the parking nightmare that is the Third Ward (especially on Gallery Night) so I could stop into the basement of the Marshall Building to see fellow Flickerites at the Light Ideas Gallery show their stuff. This was a formerly open space (that Luckystar used to have giant group shows in) but is now occupied by a few galleries and studios. The PHOTOMKE group put together a really nice show: each of 10 photogs showed five pieces, and I daresay my favorites were amongst my flickr friends. Hey_Mando turned out to be a gentleman named Armando (hence the nickname, for people who speak too fast to get his full name in!) and he had his signature long exposure night shots. Mr. Michael D had wonderful shots at the lakefront, John December threw a little streetlife into his lake scenery shots, and Great Laker put up some great stuff too. Out front was a giant blowup poster of The Milwaukee Mass Portrait that was shot in the Miller Valley last fall, and it was fun to see people looking for themselves and people they knew in it. All in all, a good night.
Since I parked, I took in a few more of the galleries in the Marshall Building. Elaine Erickson's place never gets as much press as it might, but I'm going to make it a point to always put it on my gallery night tour: every time I stop in I'm intrigued. I know she has clients amongst corporadia, where her more modern clients might appreciate something interesting like this but she also has lots of stuff that you wouldn't put in a welcome room but it definitely needs to be seen somewhere. This particular piece was the keystone of a series of figures that incorporated little plastic skeletons, brass, and various found objects that kept me stairng a long time. The aforementioned sculpture might have been cliche in its phallic reference, except that as a whole, it made (literally) its point.
I braved the cold, and headed home, because I had personal things to ready for Saturday.
Oh, do we have to discuss the game?. Especially since it's two days past, and we officially took down the Christmas tree? Remember, our family's tradition is to leave the tree up until the Packers are "out of it." And frankly, that means I should have started removing ornaments after halftime. On the bright side, maybe we can all get back to our lives now.
And cream it was -- from popping in on a lark last week, I was actually humbled by the art at the Borg Ward Friday night -- humbled and honored to be a part of it. What a diverse show it was! Lots of emerging talent in there. Don't even go to see my two pieces -- go to see some terrific fresh art. Paintings that depicted "Last Day of School Execution" to sculpture that incorporated panty hose (and you had to look close to see it). There was a wonderful wall installation that appeared to be wax castings of somebody mouthing the alphabet, and a floor installation that took me a few minutes to really sink in. Of course there were some clunkers (there always are in a show like this), but they were very few and far between. What seemed like a random show somehow, through some kind of karmic synergy, actually gelled into a cohesive unit. The show is up for two more weeks, and I can't wait to see what these guys put together next.
I then braved the parking nightmare that is the Third Ward (especially on Gallery Night) so I could stop into the basement of the Marshall Building to see fellow Flickerites at the Light Ideas Gallery show their stuff. This was a formerly open space (that Luckystar used to have giant group shows in) but is now occupied by a few galleries and studios. The PHOTOMKE group put together a really nice show: each of 10 photogs showed five pieces, and I daresay my favorites were amongst my flickr friends. Hey_Mando turned out to be a gentleman named Armando (hence the nickname, for people who speak too fast to get his full name in!) and he had his signature long exposure night shots. Mr. Michael D had wonderful shots at the lakefront, John December threw a little streetlife into his lake scenery shots, and Great Laker put up some great stuff too. Out front was a giant blowup poster of The Milwaukee Mass Portrait that was shot in the Miller Valley last fall, and it was fun to see people looking for themselves and people they knew in it. All in all, a good night.
Since I parked, I took in a few more of the galleries in the Marshall Building. Elaine Erickson's place never gets as much press as it might, but I'm going to make it a point to always put it on my gallery night tour: every time I stop in I'm intrigued. I know she has clients amongst corporadia, where her more modern clients might appreciate something interesting like this but she also has lots of stuff that you wouldn't put in a welcome room but it definitely needs to be seen somewhere. This particular piece was the keystone of a series of figures that incorporated little plastic skeletons, brass, and various found objects that kept me stairng a long time. The aforementioned sculpture might have been cliche in its phallic reference, except that as a whole, it made (literally) its point.
I braved the cold, and headed home, because I had personal things to ready for Saturday.
Oh, do we have to discuss the game?. Especially since it's two days past, and we officially took down the Christmas tree? Remember, our family's tradition is to leave the tree up until the Packers are "out of it." And frankly, that means I should have started removing ornaments after halftime. On the bright side, maybe we can all get back to our lives now.
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