I have documented a number of pop up sculptures in Lake Park that are visible from Lincoln Memorial Drive. As I’ve mentioned before they have become touchstones or landmarks for me as I travel from Bay View to the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee campus. But in the late spring and summer they are very very hard to keep track of as the foliage surrounds them.
So it was with a great deal of excitement that I found a brand new one during my recent sojourns to campus. This one is on park property and easy to see. It is just immediately south of the gardens of the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum. One of the other major installations is just immediately north of these same gardens, on private property, but clearly visible from the park…currently just a bit obscured by some of the luscious summer foliage. So here it is (and I apologize for the photos…they are washed out a bit by the mid-day summer sun):
And in the meantime, it seems to me that two of the smaller original pieces have been removed. Whether by the artist, the county parks people, or a vandal I have no way of knowing. But here are the two that I think have now gone missing.
As fall starts to denude the trees and shrubs and puts the vines and undergrowth to sleep for the winter, we all need to watch for new additions to the unseen art in our midst.
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
Since my discovery of a number of related public sculptures in Milwaukee’s Lake Park and my documentation of them here at An Intuitive Perspective, these sculptures have become touchstone landmarks for me as I travel from my home up along the lake front. I am disappointed when traffic volume requires all of my attention and I can’t spot them as I pass. First article from December 12, 2021 and Second from February 12, 2022.
So this past Monday, April 25, 2022, I was unbelieving when one of my favorites had been changed. So on my way home I had to check again and yes indeed, the sculpture had changed. Whether the change was completed by the original artist or another party, there is no way for me to know. I am leaning toward the originator and would hope that it hasn’t been ‘vandalized’ by someone else.
So what am I talking about? Well, here’s the original configuration of the sculpture, as I first encountered it.
As you can see the concrete discs are facing the park and street…but on Monday and on Wednesday April, 27, 2022 when I took the following photographs, we are now viewing them edgewise.
And of course sculpture is a three dimensional art form that should be experienced in the round…and setting these into a tree at the base of the bluff somewhat restricts viewing angles and maybe flattens out the sculpture. But turning the stones that ninety degrees now presents us with an entirely different sculpture and experience. I like it but I will admit to preferring the initial presentation.
So I will continue to enjoy my interactions with this wonderful pieces and see where we and they go from here.
And I am waiting for a warmer day to walk the lake front to see if there are other stealth hidden treasures in the park that I haven’t been able to discover from my car…whether there is more to find or not…it will be a remarkable experience nonetheless to explore Lake Park and environs on foot after too many years absence.
P.S. If anyone knows the artist, I would love to talk with them about their vision and practice.
Back in the day when I attended the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (fall of 1970 through December 1973), Bolton Hall was a free standing class room and office building. It was relatively new having been completed in 1964. It faced the grassy quad area north of Kenwood Boulevard and was north east of the original Student Union. Although not quite a brutalist building, it was certainly a design product of the period.
Today it is connected to the expanded Student Union. And instead of leaving one building to access the other, today you can access Bolton Hall from the Union via a glass enclosed walkway and there’s the rub. The walkway is visible in this contemporary photo of the building taken from the Spaights Plaza, a concrete expanse that replaced the green space during the Union expansion when a two level underground parking structure was built as part of the expansion.
screen capture from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee website
The approach area to Bolton Hall from the south (the Union and Kenwood Boulevard) include a series of what apparently are cast concrete panels with an organic pattern incised into them. These panels appear on the south side at ground level facing the addition to the Student Union (which was completed in 1973 I think but I haven’t documented that at this time) and on the southeast entrance to the building. I have been on campus a bit over the past few years but haven’t walked around the building so I don’t know if this decorative motif adorns other entrance areas.
But here are few views of the southern exposure facing the Student Union. Quite a nice motif at ground level for an otherwise rather faceless building.
These are still outdoors along a little used walkway but clearly visible from the food court seating area in the Student Union. So they are still being seen as they were meant to be seen for the most part. Although of course the space is confined compared to when there would have been open space south of the building back in 1964.
Now there are similar decorative panels at the south east entrance to the building that are enclosed in the glass atrium walkway. So you’d expect them to fair better being out of the elements and maybe they would…if not for the callous intervention of mankind. Here, take a look and you will see what I mean.
These poster frames are simply screwed into the concrete panels, totally disrespecting the integrity of the art work and the architecture. And they don’t really need these posters here. The university posts similar media on the the glass windows of the walkway and the Student Union on a continuing basis and being a high traffic area no one stops to read these anyway. I know, I had to work quickly to avoid including students in my photos…and the quality and focus suffered as a result. The following photo is the northern portion of the series without any disfigurement. I didn’t check to see if the was any sign of previous posters or frames.
I don’t quite get the cavalier attitude that the university has taken in regard to this art work. They have carefully maintained any number of old…including very old buildings on the old Downer campus and of course the venerable Mitchell Hall. So they still work as comfortable classroom buildings. Why the careless disregard for this one…well…particularly the artwork meant to enhance the building and the student experience?
I majored in the visual arts and was urged to attend UWM because of their outstanding fine arts program. I loved my experience there so I don’t understand how this could happen. Was there or was there not any complaints from the art department or art faculty. And UWM also has a world class architecture school. Didn’t they notice the disrespect shown for a key building on their own campus?
I urge UWM to remove the frames and perform any restoration necessary…let these concrete murals speak for themselves…unblemished!…unhindered!
And one more photo from another vantage point. This one is from the north east portion of Spaights Plaza.
screen shot from https://www.emporis.com/buildings/281345/bolton-hall-milwaukee-wi-usa
