Sculpture Milwaukee announced a few months ago that it would return despite the pandemic and on Monday organizers finally released the list of works to be included in the free, outdoor art gallery spread across Downtown Milwaukee, including the Third Ward.
Several of the works have been installed and more are coming online in the next few weeks.
"Art helps us navigate the changing world around us; COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement have transformed our daily lives; public art offers new perspectives, diverse points of view, and opportunities to experience our city in new ways. Sculpture Milwaukee is a thought provoking, family-friendly cultural destination that is free for all to enjoy," said board chair Wayne Morgan, in a statement.
Here are this year’s artists and artworks (asterisked works have been installed):
- Lawrence Weiner's poetically-charged text AT THE SAME MOMENT, 2000*
- Julian Opie’s double-sided LED monolith Natalie Walking, 2016
- Maggie Sasso’s Too Much Sea for Amateurs; Marooned, 2016, a model of Milwaukee’s breakwater lighthouse
- Tony Tasset’s colorful yet menacing Blob Monster, 2009*
- Nari Ward’s Apollo/Poll, 2017 a replica of the famous Apollo Theatre sign enmeshed in urgent political commentary
- Thomas Price’s Within the Folds (Dialogue I), 2020 a nine-foot bronze Black man in contemporary clothing (The piece makes its international debut in Milwaukee.)
- Alex Katz’s cut-out sculpture Park Avenue Departure, 2019*
- Jim Dine’s quasi-autobiographical Jim’s Head with Branches, 2019*
- Anna Fasshauer’s vivid blue Tallulah Rapsody, 2019*
- Paul Druecke’s, Shoreline Repast, 2017, which resembles a historical marker*
- Paula Crown’s, Jokester, 2018, a larger-than-life reproduction of a disposable red cup
- Amy Yoe’s Mobile Animation Unit, 2019/20 a colorful experimental video
- Sky Hopinka’s mesmerizing video, I’ll remember you as you were, not as what you will become, 2016
- Leslie Hewitt’s, Forty-two, 2010 which uses archival images from two (now closed) bookstores- "The National Memorial African Bookstore" and Milwaukee’s, "Reader’s Choice," to create unexpected poetry.
- Carlos RoloÌn’s, bright florals will continue to brighten the Chase Bank lobby with Gild the Lily, (Caribbean Hybrid I, II, III), 2019*
- Roxy’s Paine’s eerily beautiful steel tree remains on view, Cleft; from the series Dendroids, 2018*
- Beverly Pepper’s Cor-Ten steel masterpiece from the 2019 exhibition carries over, Curvae in Curvae, 2013-18*
- Richard Woods’ Holiday Home (Milwaukee), 2019, has been repainted in a soft new color pallet for 2020*
"These extraordinary artworks offer something for everyone- and we mean everyone! Our exhibition is fun for families, a great date-night for couples, and it’s perfect for art-aficionados and novices alike. You can even bring your dog," added Meg Strobel, Director of Marketing and Community Engagement for Sculpture Milwaukee.
"With nineteen works spread out over a mile and a half, social distancing is built into our model. We are confident that our exhibition can be a safe and inspiring destination for all."
Stay tuned for our annual look at where you can find each of the works.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
