Public Lecture: "The Dominy Craftsmen: Who, What, When, and Why?"

Tuesday, November 9, 5:30pm, L140 Elvehjem Building

The Dominy Craftsmen: Who, What, When, and Why? Charles F. Hummel, Curator Emeritus and Adjunct Professor, Winterthur Museum and Garden, will explore aspects of the lives and products of a family of craftsmen who lived and worked in East Hampton Village. For more than one hundred years, ca. 1750-ca.1850, four generations of the Dominy family supported themselves and their families with the products of their craft activity. "The Dominy Craftsmen: Who, What, When, and Why?" explores the social, economic and cultural factors that help to explain why they prospered and the factors that shaped the products of their shops. 

Sponsored by the Material Culture Program.

The Parker Collection Will Temporarily Go Into Storage

Moving in, moving out, and moving back in!

The James Parker Collection of early American furniture, graciously loaned by the Caxambas Foundation to the Chazen Museum of Art since 1993, will go into storage beginning November 1, due to the museum's expansion project, which will double the exhibition space available.  Prof. Ann Smart Martin incorporates the collection into her class, "American Decorative Art and Interiors: 1620-1840".  She asks her students to write as essay comparing two of the objects in the collection, writing object labels in addition.

The collection will in spring 2011 in an expanded form, with more furniture, paintings, and other decorative arts objects, and it will encompass the entire third floor mezzanine gallery.

For more information on the closure and removal of other collections, please see the "South Entrance Closure" news release.

American Ceramics Circle Conference, November 3-7, 2011

The American Ceramic Circle comes to Milwaukee for its annual conference this year.  They have generously agreed to allow UW students interested in ceramics to attend the entire conference for free!  The conference coincides with the Milwaukee Art Museum's opening for "Art in Clay: Masterworks of North Carolina Earthenware".  Kate Smith, a postdoctoral fellow at the Chipstone Foundation will be presenting a paper there.  Other talks will address the Jamestown archaeological site and mid-19th century Parian ware.

Welcome to New Faculty Members!

The program welcomes three new core faculty members:

William Aylward, Classics Department
Lauren Kroiz, Art History Department
Sissel Schroeder, Anthropology Department

Aylward focuses on art and technology in the ancient Mediterranean, teaching a class in the spring entitled "Eureka! Technology and Practice in the Ancient World".  Kroiz studies the visual and material culture of the United States, especially notions of race and gender.  She is currently editing her forthcoming book, Cocktails, Composites, and "Ellis Island Art": The Struggle for an American Modernism, for which she won the 2010 Phillips Book Prize.  Schroeder researches the spatial distribution and sociopolitical identities of ancient Native Americans in the Midwest, working on sites in Kentucky and Wisconsin.

Spring 2011 Material Culture Classes

Here's the list of Material Culture classes for next semester:

Anthropology

ANTH 490: Undergraduate Seminar (Archaeology of Craft Specialization and Trade) (Kenoyer)

W 1:20p-3:50p, Social Sciences 5128

ANTH 696: Archaeological Methods of Curation (Benden)

Hours vary by individual student.

Practicum in the curation of prehistoric stone, bone, and ceramics. Involves handling materials, identification of artifacts, conservation techniques, preparation of materials for storage or display.

Art History

AH 304/704: The Art and Archaeology of Rome (Cahill)

(Meets with Classics 304/704)

MWF 8:50a-9:40a, Elvehjem L140

Explores the art and archaeology of ancient Italy, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire from the Iron Age to Late Antiquity.

AH 431: Topics in Theory (Approaches to Visual and Material Culture) (Phillips)

TR 9:30a-10:45a, Elvehjem L150

Introduces philosophy and theory relevant to the study of art history and visual cultures with a focus on a particular body of theoretical work and an organization in terms of key questions and concepts.

AH 432: Multiculturalism and the New Museology (Mithlo)

TR, 11:00a-12:15p in Elvehjem L140

This course critically analyzes how the museum operates as a social agent in both reflecting and informing public culture.  Students will gain an understanding of historical and current trends in museum studies and how these movements are impacted by shifting professional and popular standards.

AH449: Topics in Architectural History (Frank Lloyd Wright II) (Menocal)

MW 4:00p-5:15p, Elvehjem L150

Assessment of how cultural phenomena help shape a given architectural development.

AH 457: History of American Vernacular Architecture & Landscape (Andrzejewski)

TR 1:00p-2:15p, Elvehjem L150

Survey of American vernacular buildings and landscapes from the colonial period to the present. Emphasis is on acquiring descriptive tools and developing interpretive frameworks to explore the significance that these vernacular environments have had for their makers and users.

AH 525: Proseminar: Italian Renaissance in the Decorative Arts (Geiger)

T 4:00p-6:00p, Elvehjem L170

AH 567: Proseminar: The Conflation of Architecture and Literature: Louis Sullivan (Menocal)

R 4:00p-6:00p, Elvehjem L170

AH 621: Mapping, Making, and Representing Colonial Spaces (Chopra)

T 4:00p-6:00p, Van Hise 1051

Spatial legacy of colonialism; explores important ways in which the population, landscape, architecture, and urban environment of colonies were mapped, made, and represented, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries; theoretical and empirical analyses from diverse disciplines and spatial terrain.

AH 800: Seminar: Vernacular and Outsider Art

W 4:00p-6:00p, Elvehjem L166

Classics

Classics 304/704: The Art and Archaeology of Rome (Cahill)

(Meets with Art History 304/704)

MWF 8:50a-9:40a, Elvehjem L140

Explores the art and archaeology of ancient Italy, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire from the Iron Age to Late Antiquity.

Classics 373: Topics in Classical Culture (Roman Architecture) (Aylward)

MW 2:30p-3:45p, Van Hise 114

This course explores selected aspects of Classical culture (e.g., sports, women, family, and warfare, with emphasis on literary remains).

Classics 379: Eureka! Technology and Practice in the Ancient World (Aylward)

MWF 1:20p-2:10p, Social Sciences 6102

This course chronicles the development of technology and engineering in the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome with attention to earlier advances in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Imparts and appreciation for the legacy of ancient science and technology in modern culture.

Design Studies

DS 355: History of Fashion (Gordon)

TR 4:00p-5:15p, Sterling Hall 3425

Changing form and meaning of costume in the West from the Renaissance to the present.  Dress considered in relation to social/cultural milieu and as an art form.  Includes treatment of the body, ethnic/class variations, couture, and “anti-fashion”.

DS 420: Twentieth Century Design (Boyd)

M 2:25p-4:55p Elvehjem L120; W 2:25p-4:55p, Elvehjem L120

Design, including interior, furniture, graphic and textiles, is viewed through broader social and cultural issues including: an aesthetic to express a new age; processes, materials, and marketing techniques; roles for designers; consumer versus designer initiated production. Visits to local collections.

DS 640: Ethnographic Textiles (Topic: Textiles of the Americas) (Gordon)

(Meets with Folklore 640)

TR 1:00p-2:15p, Sterling Hall 1335

Ethnographic survey of non-western textiles: technological, aesthetic, function and historical aspects considered. 

Folklore

Folklore 530: Cultural Landscapes: Writing, Research, & Conservation (Gilmore)

(Meets with Landscape Architecture 677; 1-3 credits)

TR 2:30p-3:45p

The course begins with discussions of what cultural landscapes are, includes a landscape history resources overview, and spends much of the semester reviewing various landscape preservation types from local to international.  Issues of policy and history of preservation are embedded in the readings, and understanding is deepened through class discussion and individual research projects.  Speakers representing various types of cultural landscape preservation come to class and present on the type of preservation work they do in varied work settings.

Folklore 640: Ethnographic Textiles (Topic: Textiles of the Americas) (Gordon)

(Meets with Design Studies 640)

TR 1:00p-2:15p, Sterling Hall 1335

Ethnographic survey of non-western textiles: technological, aesthetic, function and historical aspects considered. 

Landscape Architecture

LA 677: Cultural Resource Preservation & Landscape History (Gilmore)

(Meets with Folklore 530; 1-3 credits)

TR 2:30p-3:45p

The course begins with discussions of what cultural landscapes are, includes a landscape history resources overview, and spends much of the semester reviewing various landscape preservation types from local to international.  Issues of policy and history of preservation are embedded in the readings, and understanding is deepened through class discussion and individual research projects.  Speakers representing various types of cultural landscape preservation come to class and present on the type of preservation work they do in varied work settings.

LA 720: Critical Inquiry into Landscape Design Expression (Dennis)

WF 11:00a-12:15p, Agriculture Hall 14

Normative design theory as it relates to historical and contemporary aesthetic expression in landscape design. Review of critical theory and meaning associated with a broad landscape architecture typology.

Lecture: "The Architecture of Harry Weese" November 5, 2010

"The Architecture of Harry Weese"
A public lecture given by Dr. Richard Bruegmann
5:30pm, Friday, November 5, 2010
Rm. L150, Chazen Museum of Art

During a career that spanned half a century from the 1930s to the 1980s, Harry Weese (1915-1998) produced a large number of significant designs ranging from small but highly inventive houses, larger institutional structures like the George L. Mosse Humanities building and the Chazen Museum of Art, to massive urban scale commissions like the Washington, D.C. Metro system. Bruegmann’s book on the architecture of Harry Weese takes its place within a fast-growing revival of interest in the work of Weese and a number of his friends and contemporaries with shared assumptions and sensibilities. As important as Weese’s buildings were, though, they were only one part of what almost all his contemporaries recognized as his seemingly inexhaustible creativity. His work was characterized by a deep respect for older buildings and existing urban patterns and a fondness for unexpected, often idiosyncratic design decisions.

ROBERT BRUEGMANN, a historian of architecture, landscape, and the built environment, is University Distinguished Professor of Art History, Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His most recent book is The Architecture of Harry Weese (WW Norton).

Handmade Meaning Exhibit-Get Excited!

Beginning last spring, the Art History department's Exhibitions Class, under the direction of Professor Ann Smart Martin, put together an exhibition on 19th century crafts made by women and the contemporary objects that respond to them entitled "Handmade Meaning: The Value of Craft in Victorian and Contemporary Culture".  Taught with the help of Martha Glowacki, director of the James Watrous Gallery, and Emily Pfotenhauer, Outreach Specialist with Wisconsin Heritage Online, and creator of the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database, the class chose and researched the objects.

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters' publication, Wisconsin People and Ideas, featured an article written about the exhibit, in which Emily lays out the collaborative process used to create this exhibit and some of the concepts found in the show, notably notions of nature, memory, community, and amateurism.  Also in conjunction with with the exhibit is a blog which features more in-depth research on objects, related craft information and events, and the community art project that accompanies "Handmade Meaning".  Thanks to Art graduate student Andrea Miller for coordinating this effort!  Please take a look at the blog, and thanks to Design Studies graduate student Rebecca Keyel for creating and managing it!

Handmade Meaning: The Value of Craft in Victorian and Contemporary Culture
December 17, 2010 to February 6, 2011
James Watrous Gallery, Overture Center for the Arts
201 State Street

A Visit to Metalsmith Fred Fenster's Home and Studio

Fred Fenster with his UW Metals predecessor, Kim Cridler.

A design for a kiddush cup and allen wrenches with golf ball handles for a better grip. 

Fred creating a folding line on his piece of silver through the use of an allen wrench.

A plethora of tools in Fred's studio.

Fred and Kim with Material Culture program director Ann Smart Martin.

Another wall of tools in Fenster's studio.

On Sunday September 26th, metalsmith Fred Fenster graciously welcomed the "Makers: Historic American Studio Craft" seminar class into his home and studio.  To our surprise, he had a table full of snacks and drinks waiting for us, and after settling into his living room, the class sat around while he talked about his long and fruitful career, from his training at CUNY to his graduate work at Cranbrook Academy, and about his long teaching career here at the UW.  After this, we went down to his studio where he demonstrated some of his signature techniques and spoke about the plethora of tools that he owns, many of them intended for other purposes, which bespeaks his creativity and practicality.

UWM Symposium: "Embodied Placemaking in Urban Public Spaces"

Embodied Placemaking in Urban Public Spaces
Friday, October 8th
Curtin Hall, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (beginning at 9:00 a.m.)


A Center for 21st Century Studies one day, interdisciplinary symposium, which focuses on our engagement with the urban environment in its material and social contexts, will include speakers Swati Chattopadhyay, Associate Professor of History of Art and Architecture at UC-Santa Barbara; Jennifer Cousineau, architectural historian with Parks Canada; Charlotte Fonrobert, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford; James Rojas, urban planner, artist, and founder of Latino Urban Forum in Los Angeles; Joseph Sciorra, Associate Director for Academic and Cultural Programs at Queens College's John D. Calandra Italian American Institute; and Karen E. Till, Associate Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech.


Co-sponsored with the Center for 21st Century Studies, UWM Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Initiative, Center for Jewish Studies, Cultures & Communities Program, Peck School of the Arts, Departments of Anthropology and Geography, and the Urban Studies Program.  The symposium organizers Arijit Sen (Architecture) and Lisa Silverman (History) and coordinator Kate Kramer offer a special thank you to Simone Ferro (Dance).

For more information, please visit http://www4.uwm.edu/c21/conferences/2010embodied/embodied_fall.html