Dates: August 8 – September 16, 2023
Location: Frederick Layton Gallery, 273 E. Erie St., Milwaukee, WI
Friends, Neighbors & Distant Comrades: Selections from the Moore Collection of ’80s NYC Art
Curated by Alan Moore and Michael Flanagan, this ambitious show centers on relics from the raucous art movements of the late 20th century in New York City. The collection of artwork reflects the counterculture attitudes and creative approaches of a disparate group of bohemian makers living and working in New York City, especially those who united in a variety of co-ops, collectives and art groups. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, sculptures, multiples and video collected by the Moore family of Milwaukee over several decades.
Alan Moore himself was a participant in the art movements as a critic, artist and historian. He has written and published numerous essays and books about that time, as well as writing about the ‘squatting’ movements in NYC and Europe. His book, “Art Gangs: Protest & Counterculture in New York City” (2011), and recent memoir “Art Worker” (2022) are well-researched looks at the times. He is also an archivist by default, in the process of cataloging, preserving and disseminating this extensive collection.
Events
Artist Talk – Seth Tobocman and Susan Bietila
Thursday, August 24, 2023 | 6 p.m.
MIAD Community Hub, Room 160, 273 E Erie St., Milwaukee, WI
Film Screening of Make Me Famous and talkback with James Cornwell
Thursday, August 31, 2023 | 6 p.m.
MIAD Community Hub, Room 160, 273 E Erie St., Milwaukee, WI
Artist Talk – Robert Goldman (Bobby G) and Andrea Callard
Thursday, September 7, 2023 | 6 p.m.
MIAD Community Hub, Room 160, 273 E Erie St., Milwaukee, WI
Performance by Jack Waters and Peter Cramer
Thursday, September 14, 2023 | 11 a.m.
MIAD Union Auditorium, 273 E Erie St., Milwaukee, WI
Closing Reception and Lecture
Friday, September 15, 2023
5 – 6:30 p.m. | Alan Moore and Dr. Mysoon Rizk lecture
6:30 – 8:30 p.m. | Closing Reception
Frederick Layton, 273 E Erie St., Milwaukee, WI
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!
Illuminating America’s Dairyland: Andy Fletcher at Tory Folliard Gallery
[full disclosure: Andy Fletcher is a personal friend]
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.
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.
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.
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!
