From Low Trash to High Art
After TrashFest, I had to give myself an artistic and spiritual enema, and thus my friend Julie and her kid treated me and mine to a lovely Sunday afternoon at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Julie is a member, and on Sunday afternoons the museum has "Drop in Art" -- where you can pop in and work on an art project using either tools, techniques, or subject matter related to either something from the permanent collection or the current exhibit.
I thought it was perfect to see the Warhol exhibit the day after TrashFest, if only because Warhol made a career of turning everyday stuff (often trash -- whether that trash was rich white folk, soup cans or NYC junkies) into high art. And i have to agree with the critics who are saying this exhibit is important because this was probably one of Warhol's best periods, even if it wasn't his most famous or popular. From the first self portrait that almost gleams and glitters, you can see that the final decade of his life was almost a conglomeration of his entire career. The kids were bored, I liked it.
But it was still heartening to know that the kids were excited to go to the art museum. Stella has certain pieces she likes to see, and Sammy took his turn in the infinity room. MAM has quite a good collection of modern/contemporary art, which the kids actaully enjoyed. While they did their art projects, I had a nice time checking out the Haitian art (MAM's collection is extensive) as well as the German impressionists favored by Mrs. Bradley, a major benefactor to the museum. It was all the cultural medicine i needed.
The day before, we accepted it was fall and headed to Swan's Pumpkin Farm to pet animals, go into mazes, and pick our pumpkins. It's not that far out of town, but far enough that the pumpkins are only 19 cents a pound, so we could get some choice big ones. It was a very wholesome way to spend the day before heading for the trash at night. And although I'm usually all about getting from one place to another, I didn't mind getting stuck behind this slow moving vehicle as I left.
I thought it was perfect to see the Warhol exhibit the day after TrashFest, if only because Warhol made a career of turning everyday stuff (often trash -- whether that trash was rich white folk, soup cans or NYC junkies) into high art. And i have to agree with the critics who are saying this exhibit is important because this was probably one of Warhol's best periods, even if it wasn't his most famous or popular. From the first self portrait that almost gleams and glitters, you can see that the final decade of his life was almost a conglomeration of his entire career. The kids were bored, I liked it.
But it was still heartening to know that the kids were excited to go to the art museum. Stella has certain pieces she likes to see, and Sammy took his turn in the infinity room. MAM has quite a good collection of modern/contemporary art, which the kids actaully enjoyed. While they did their art projects, I had a nice time checking out the Haitian art (MAM's collection is extensive) as well as the German impressionists favored by Mrs. Bradley, a major benefactor to the museum. It was all the cultural medicine i needed.
The day before, we accepted it was fall and headed to Swan's Pumpkin Farm to pet animals, go into mazes, and pick our pumpkins. It's not that far out of town, but far enough that the pumpkins are only 19 cents a pound, so we could get some choice big ones. It was a very wholesome way to spend the day before heading for the trash at night. And although I'm usually all about getting from one place to another, I didn't mind getting stuck behind this slow moving vehicle as I left.
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