Stealth Public Sculpture In Milwaukee County’s Lake Park! Part 5: One New Sculpture and Two Disappearing Acts

I have documented a number of pop up sculptures in Lake Park and environs over the years and every time I travel on Lincoln Memorial Drive, I search them out and treat them as landmarks on my journeys. But I hadn’t really traveled that route since the spring semester at UW-Milwaukee ended…but when I headed back that way after a visit to Shorewood, I was amazed to see a new sculpture. Now I am pretty confident that it wasn’t there during the Harley Davidson Homecoming Weekend, July 25 – 28th, 2023. But there it was last Thursday in a new spot just about a 100 yards south of Colectivo Coffee at the Lakefront (1701 N Lincoln Memorial Drive).

It is a classic work in the series using man made and manipulated elements of concrete impaled on steel rod and once again embedded into a fallen tree trunk.

© 2023 Ed Heinzelman

and again, I apologize for the washed out look. I tend to visit in mid-day and the strong sun contributes to a very washed out look and of course the material is very reflective.

© 2023 Ed Heinzelman

But in the meantime, it appears that two of our past examples have been removed. The first one was just north of the tennis courts (north of Colectivo) in the area that older boomers would know as the alternate site. I searched for it on foot thinking that it may have gotten overgrown, but I think that it is gone. Here is a photo from the archive.

© 2022 Ed Heinzelman

and this one along the bottom of the bluff just immediately south of the gardens at Villa Terrace.

© 2022 Ed Heinzelman

Some of the elements from the missing pieces may have been repurposed in the new stealth sculpture. It’s hard to tell but they are very similar in shape and size…and it would make sense to reuse them.

and as always: and if you know who the artist is, I’d like to talk with them. They can remain anonymous if that’s their wish. Or if you see more around town, I’d like to be able to document them…so let me know about them, please: contactaip@anintuitiveperspective.com

AND NOTE: this is the fifth in a series, so please search for stealth and enjoy them all.

PSA: Milwaukee Art Museum’s Lakeside at MAM: Outdoor Arts Events Free And Family Friendly

From my email inbox!

Free Outdoor Fun at the Milwaukee Art Museum 

SAT–SUN, JULY 29–30, AUG 12–13, AUG 19–20 (2023)

Meet up with family and friends to enjoy art making with the Kohl’s Art Studio, a variety of music performances, yoga, and more at this free outdoor event series. Everyone’s invited to the Museum’s east lawn to soak up summertime creativity and culture, weather permitting.

Grab a seat, find a table, or bring your own picnic blanket—and enjoy the outdoors during Lakeside at MAM. Create art, catch live programming, attend a yoga class, and take in the sights on the green space where the Museum hugs Lake Michigan. Weather permitting, Lakeside at MAM is open with free admission; it’s all-ages friendly and easily accessible from the Oak Leaf Trail.

Some highlights are family art making with the Kohl’s Art Studio team, yoga, any number of diverse musical groups, Milwaukee favorite Ko-Thi Dance Company, story reading and games!

For the complete schedule…CLICK HERE!!!

Illuminating America’s Dairyland: Andy Fletcher at Tory Folliard Gallery

[full disclosure: Andy Fletcher is a personal friend]

His Father’s Farm

Andy Fletcher’s paintings have depicted the rural farms of the mid-west and to me are prime examples of the farming heritage of Wisconsin, America’s Dairyland. His paintings feature big sky, gently rolling fields, well used barns and outbuildings, and the stunning colors of rural Wisconsin. And they invoke a feeling of well-being and nostalgia until that bit of melancholy starts to seep in when you realize the homes and barns shown are past their prime and very possibly not long for this world.

House Divided 3

And this latest collection of paintings has turned a bit darker…not in a sinister sense…but literally darker…as Andy paints more late afternoon to sunset to after dark scenarios. Buildings are in shadow with lights aglow inside and shadows are more apparent and gloomier…not the sharply defined shadows of mid-day…some more akin to a storm about to threaten our stage set. And some of them are no longer actually on the farm, but more likely from the small towns that supported the larger surrounding farming community…the banks, the grocers, the hardware store, the town halls, the places of worship.

Doegnitz Hardware Nocturne

And new to me, a series of ‘portraits’. No, not the men and women of the mid-west but rather their tired and well used means of daily transport…vans and pick-ups and such. Fitting companions to the rural farm and town scenes that they share the space with.

My Sweetheart

Simply beautiful and sensitive work that is impossible not to admire or wonder at…and should prove very touching for anyone who grew up on a farm or in their supporting communities.

Andy’s work will be on display at the Tory Folliard Gallery at 233 N. Milwaukee St, Milwaukee WI…Milwaukee’s Third Ward! For more info and hours click here!

House Divided 1