Politics and a milkman’s masterpiece

Picture an old time hitched-horse team and driver, but in this instance the horses are a donkey and elephant and the driver is Uncle Sam. “Can anybody do a day’s work with a team like that?” ponders poor Sam, obviously in a quandary. Of course, most of us would shake our heads knowingly given the way democracy has been working lately.

Years ago, from the 1930s though the 1950s,, an immigrant Hollandale dairy farmer named Nick Engelbert created a fantasy land of statues in his yard and embellished his house with found objects stuck in concrete. Known as Grandview, the place still exists and is a sanctuary of sorts, open to the public free of charge. Today many call places like this art environments. You’re surrounded.

There isn’t much left of the Uncle Sam statues. By the early 1990s when restoration began Uncle Sam and the donkey were long gone. Only a lonely elephant remains.

But the mildly veiled message Engelbert intended when he created the tableau is probably more poignant today than when it was built.

Efforts are underway to restore the milkman’s masterpiece. Using photo documentation, restoration experts will recreate Sam and the donkey and spiff-up the elephant, too, all part of a grand plan to fully restore the Grandview site.

If you’re from Wisconsin then you probably understand the bigger picture. Wisconsin people are famous for creating roadside attractions like Grandview, and they dot the state map like freckles. Many were created years ago and today remain as echoes of the voices of Wisconsinites long past.

You can stop by Grandview any time, the grounds are open to the public and the museum is often open on weekends.  There’s never an admission fee. You’ll find the place just west of Hollandale on State Highway 39 in southwest Wisconsin.

If you’re interested in Uncle Sam – visit Grandview’s website at and look for the Uncle Sam link. Of course, restoration is an expensive proposition so the non-profit that manages the place appreciates donations to the project.

In his later years Engelbert painted his Uncle Sam tableau

You can learn about many other similar sites around the state through Wandering Wisconsin.

Rick Rolfsmeyer

Jim Godsil: Rainbow Street Party of “100 Names”

Noon gathering at Riverwest Co-op and Café. Photo © by Lee Matz.

With the assistance of wonderful weather, over 400 nurturing relatives and friends arriving during the course of the day, Milwaukee’s Jim Godsil celebrated his 70^th birthday on August 22. Affirming his uniquely inclusive style, the festivities began with a relaxing bus tour and concluded with Godsil’s festive Southside Rainbow Street Party of “100 Names.”

James Godsil at his 70th year birthday party. Photo © by Lee Matz.

The date chosen honors the following important organizations in Godsil’s life: the 40th year of Community Roofing and Restoration – the main event sponsor, the 10th anniversary of the Milwaukee Renaissance Wiki Magazine, the 5th anniversary of the Sweetwater Foundation and the one-year anniversary of Heart Haus, the tour’s final destination.

Intermingling from “hither and yonder,” guests appeared representing diverse family members, community advocates, gender diversities, artistic professions, religious persuasions, political interests, age and education ranges and class designations.

“All I wanted to do was expand the value of my 70th birthday to include jump-starting a rainbow artist and adventurer boundary-crossing drum-bus party experiment,” Godsil said. “I hoped to introduce European Americans to the wonderful neighborhoods, galleries and studios of African American artists on the North side and introduce African Americans to a south side European American neighborhood. I hoped to mix up all of God’s children with good food, good drink, good music and a street party celebration and it worked!”

Purple Cow Bus at Riverwest Coop. Photo © by Lee Matz.

Starting at noon, Godsil greeted his first round of bus riders as they gathered at Riverwest Coop and Café to board the 71-seat capacity Purple Cow Organics Bus donated for this event by Sandy Syburg. Traveling from all parts of the country, Godsil welcomed the attendance of his children Rachel, Megan, Joseph, and Bridie, as well as grandchildren Kate, Rebecca, Monilola, and Darragh, sons-in-law Jim Freeman and Ok Jeyifous, sisters JoAnn and Jean, and brother-in-law Joe Werth.

Tony Finlayson shared rhythms on the bus. Photo © by Lee Matz.

Bused to the Northside – Part 2

On the bus, Jahmés Tony Finlayson’s adept drumming established a comfortable ambiance. Marquette University’s Bob Pavlik, Riverwest backstreet Mayor Vince Bushnell and Seton Hall Law Professor Rachel Godsil joined 40 Riverwest activists.

The tour’s initial stop was Mother Clara Atwater’s and Toussaint Harris’ Gingerbread Land, which included several brightly colored houses and Atwater’s Love Tabernacle church. There another ten people boarded the bus..

Gathering in Mother Clara’s Gingerbread Land. Photo © by Lee Matz.

The “rainbow” busload proceeded further into Milwaukee’s north side central city to explore additional treasures. The next stop was the Terry McCormick Contemporary Fine and Folk Art Gallery, located in Evelyn Patricia Terry’s two-story home.

Fondé Bridges passing out his Healthy Words sayings as the gallery visitors exit the bus. Photo © by Lee Matz.

Godsil said, “We feasted upon Fondé Bridges’ healing “Healthy Words” performance as Terry’s gallery greeter. The tour party went inside the gallery filled with room after room of beauty and listened to Evelyn’s great stories, which she continued after she boarded the bus to join the tour.”

Two young visitors to terry’s gallery. Photo © by Lee Matz.

Passing by Dep’s Hall of Fade and proceeding west to Lisbon Avenue, the bus unloaded its passengers to view Muneer Bahauddeen’s Ogbe Meji Studio exhibiting his finely crafted ceramic art. Some viewers momentarily slipped into the Amaranth Café across the street to buy a quick treat. Bahauddeen spoke outside to visitors about his vision to create an Amaranth Urban Sanctuary. Everyone participated in Finlayson’s Drum Bus Circle and sang Godsil’s birthday song before boarding the bus with new riders.

Muneer Bahauddeen’s captivating ceramic studio. Photo © by Lee Matz.

Bused to the Southside Finale – Part 3

Introducing Milwaukee’s Southside, the tour bus entered the site of the Old Main Soldiers Home Reef National Historic Landmark. Cleo Pruitt, who met us there, gave a moving tribute to forgotten soldiers of color as founder of the Rebirth of Freedom Project. She explained her vision of a future monument to them. Godsil observed, “The site astonished people with the terrible beauty of that sacred place.” Ms. Pruitt later joined the street party.

Cleo Pruitt explaining her Rebirth of Freedom Project. Photo © by Lee Matz.

As the finale, Ben Kohler’s Heart Haus team impressively hosted the Southside Rainbow Street Party of “100 Names.” “Foolosopher” Sky Schultz, in white cloth, silently greeted enlightened bus riders – arriving an hour late without complaints

Foolosopher Sky Schultz welcomed the riders.  Photo © by Lee Matz.

Poet Christina Zawadiwsky reads poetry. Photo © by Lee Matz.

Joining the party already in progress, the travelers settled in to participate in the merriment. They listened to award-winning Christina Zawadiwsky read poetry within the shadow of a specially constructed street stage. Howard Lewis, Holly Haebig, Dena Aronson and Jay Anderson provided music.

Muneer Bahauddeen on the right offering hands on art lessons. Photo © by Lee Matz .

Internationally collected artist, Della Wells and her great grandson, Momari Dejohnett, visited  the designated inter-generational play area and Bahauddeen’s Peace Post Clay Table.

Tim Green record scratching. Photo © by Lee Matz.

Occupying a corner of the Heart Haus porch, Tim Green skillfully scratched records and played a range of music, welcoming revelers as they gathered “food and drink” from the house. Tables covered with Cheryl Sitzler’s African patterned tablecloths transformed the space.

Scrumptious rainbow entrees came from The Riverwest Coop Café, Juan’s Mom’s Tamale, Curt’s Chicken, Timbuktu and Martha’s Mighty Fine Foods. Janine Arseneau placed her six freshly baked fruit pies on a table in the street.

Janine Arseneau’s delicious fruit pies. Photo © by Lee Matz.

Brad Pruitt, an awarded documentary filmmaker, directed filming of this historical event.

Brad Pruitt speaking during bus tour. Photo © by Lee Matz.

Enjoying every moment, along with his guests, Godsil noted, “A European American retired doctor told me it was the most significant trip he had ever taken. An African American elder said it was a life-changing experience to see 20 and 30 African Americans celebrating with scores of European Americans in a south side residential neighborhood.”

Godsil’s Rainbow Street Party of “100 Names.” Photo © by Lee Matz.

Revelers delighted in the impact of Godsil’s mindfulness as a community and world force. Many openly expressed appreciation for Godsil’s refreshing wisdom, activism, buoyant nature, enthusiasm, supportive language and visionary joyfulness. He plans many more celebrations until his 100th birthday!

Evelyn Patricia Terry Photo © by Lee Matz.

Evelyn Patricia Terry wrote this blog. Jim Godsil’s interest in associating with creatives of like minds from many facets of the community particularly impressed her. Volunteer editors and proofreaders are welcome and needed as artists continue to strive to increase our state’s art profile. Reach her at the email address terryevelyn@hotmail.com with any corrections. Plus, because hacking into websites happened, Terry is reconstructing her website.

It’s gotta be in ya to do it

Wisconsin is well-known around the nation for a proliferation of roadside art. Many of the artists were self-taught, adding to the intrigue, if you will, of farmers and tavern keepers becoming artists because something inside them had to come out. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Statue.

Fred Smith owned a bar near Phillips, Wisconsin, and next to it he created one of the state’s most unique treasures, now known as the Wisconsin Concrete Park. Over the years Fred made more than 200 statues. I can’t imagine how many times people asked him why.

His answer seems simple: “It’s gotta be in ya to do it.” Clearly one could delve deeper than that, for the motivations must have involved heritage, history, patriotism, humor, local culture and scores of other reasons. (In those days bar owner Fred had a lot of glass bottles to get rid of.) For the visitor, the joy is not just the art – but wondering what the motivation was for any particular work.

Saturday, September 26, 2015 is a perfect day to visit the Concrete Park. The Friends of Fred Smith is hosting the Celebration of Arts in Action, a daylong event intended for……well, just about everybody.

Visitors who want to participate are offered an array of instant opportunities to create art in four different mediums: painting on a life-sized mural, glazing and firing raku pottery, decorating the park garage with mosaics, and painting open-air, postcard-sized landscapes. All open-air paintings completed at the park are eligible for entry into the competition for cash prizes. Judging starts at 4 p.m. and awards are given thereafter. All materials for each medium will be provided. That’s a pretty neat deal!

The event runs from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. There will also be a quilt display, live music by the Highland Bluegrass Band, an auction and great food make this a wonderful event for the entire family. I bet kids will love it. If you’re a parent with a carload you know how important that is.

What was going through Fred’s mind?

But back to Fred and the others who seemed to come out of nowhere to create these places. When you visit the Concrete Park take some time to really look at the statues. (My kids love the skunks in the back.) Dedications to soldiers and depictions of country life are more obvious, but other pieces really get a person thinking.

And if you’re more ambitious a lot of information about Fred and other Wisconsin environment builders is just a search engine or a visit to your library away. A good place to start is the Kohler Foundation web site.

The Wisconsin Concrete Park is a Wandering Wisconsin Roadside Art Experience and one of five special art environments hosting a Plein Air Painting event this year.

Wandering Wisconsin is group of nine art environment steward organizations. And I would be remiss not to thank a wonderful public/private partnership for their support of all the events, so a tip of the hat goes to the Wisconsin Department of Tourism and the Kohler Foundation.

Rick Rolfsmeyer, Hollandale, WI (Pop. 288)

Explore Art/Enjoy Music and the Outdoors at Nick Engelbert’s Grandview Plein Air Event on August 16

Wisconsin is rich with roadside art, and many a weekend can be spent tracking down hard-to-find treasures hidden in rural places that seem almost lost. In the next few weeks some of these sites will entice you with great family outdoor activities. It’s a good time to fire up the jalopy and head to the hinterlands.

On August 16th you can enjoy food and refreshments, music, tours, and art making at Nick Engelbert’s Grandview Plein Air Event from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free! Grandview is roughly equidistant between New Glarus and Mineral Point just outside Hollandale in Highway 39, only 45 minutes from Madison.

Take a liking to this Viking at Grandview, just west of Hollandale in Iowa County

Art-making activities will include plein air (outdoor) painting inspired by Engelbert’s sculptures. Art instruction, materials and easels will be available for beginners and young folks. Experienced artists can choose from scores of interesting objects and perspectives to create something unique. Cash prizes will be awarded in both amateur and professional categories.

You don’t need to be an artist to enjoy the day. There will be plenty of time to tour the grounds and see sculptures ranging from historical figures to fairy tale and mythological depictions. Bring a lawn chair and your favorite beverage and enjoy live music from 1 pm – 4 pm. Snacks will be provided, too, and the kids will love the unique setting.

Nick Engelbert’s Grandview Plein Air Event is part of a series of five Wandering Wisconsin Roadside Art Experiences being held during August and September. The events include art making inspired by each site’s creators, entertainment, refreshments, and exploring some of the grandest, most astonishing, and original visions in American art. All activities are free and all ages are welcome. For more information about these events, call (920) 694-4534 or email wanderingwisconsin@jmkac.org. If you have any questions about the Grandview event email marilynr@mhtc.net or call 608-574-7169.

Soon the 2015 Wandering Wisconsin Outdoor art festivities will move to other venues. Come back soon to Portal Wisconsin to get more information.

Even if you cannot make the events, set some time aside to visit all the Wandering Wisconsin sites to experience a unique Wisconsin perspective. With each amazing site comes a great ride in the Wisconsin countryside.

Wandering Wisconsin is a consortium of eight art environments located throughout Wisconsin. The Roadside Art Experience is funded by Kohler Foundation, Inc.

Rick Rolfsmeyer, Hollandale

Take a Drive to Art Outdoors – August 2, 2015

The first of five Wandering Wisconsin 2015 arts events will feature the Painted Forest in tiny Valton, Wisconsin.  The Painted Forest is a very unique environment created in an old Modern Woodmen of America meeting hall.  Itinerant artist Ernest Hupeden painted almost the entire interior of the hall in the 1890s.  The site has been restored, a learning center constructed nearby, and is now owned by Edgewood College in Madison.  It’s truly a remarkable, hidden Wisconsin treasure.

Part of Ernest Hupeden’s amazing mural work

Art Outdoors will provide a number of great activities including an opportunity to learn to paint outdoors, with instruction provided by Edgewood College professor Robert Tarrell.

Guided tours of the Painted Forest will be given every 30 minutes starting at 11 am.  You can snack on some yummy wood fired stove-made pizza from noon until 3, and be entertained by Jake O starting at 1:30.

Check your roadmap or GPS to find Valton.  It is in the far

The Modern Woodmen Hall – it’s astounding inside!

northwest corner of Sauk County, near Cazenovia and about 18 miles west of Reedsburg.  The drive will be beautiful and there will be a lot of interesting things to do once you get there.  Art Outdoors will run from 9 am until 4 pm – drop in any time.

The event in Valton is the first of a series of five Wandering Wisconsin Roadside Art Experiences around the state to be held in August and September.  We’ll keep you updated via the Portal Wisconsin blog.

Rick Rolfsmeyer

Wisconsin art environments host second annual plein-air event

Five fascinating Wandering Wisconsin art environments will host an August weekend of free fun through art making. If you’re not an artist come anyway because there will be plenty of them and they’re fun to watch, especially when they’re painting outdoors at places as unique as these.

Artists in the yard at Grandview, 2013

The events include exploring some of the grandest, most astonishing, and original visions in American art and painting in the plein-air style on a postcard-size canvas. Professional artists, amateurs and children of all ages may also enter their paintings to win cash prizes. If you are an experienced painter you can just have at it; there will be lessons at each site for children and those new to the style.

The sites hosting a Plein-Air Postcard Event are: Ernest Hüpeden’s Painted Forest, Valton (August 2–3); The Paul and Matilda Wegner Grotto, Cataract (August 2–3); Fred Smith’s Wisconsin Concrete Park, Phillips (August 9–10); James Tellen’s Woodland Sculpture Garden, Town of Wilson (August 9–10); and Nick Engelbert’s Grandview, Hollandale (August 16–17).

Art environments are a different animal, and Wisconsin has a lot of them.  One of my favorite definitions can be found online at ITENet – Finnish Contemporary Folk Art: “An art environment consists of works of art, their relations to one another, and it also includes everything else in the living environment such as its architecture, plants and the geography of the area. The light and temperature in the environment vary according to the time of day and the season. The environment gets beaten by the rain and swept by the wind, parched by the sun and covered by snow. The sensual world of contemporary folk art embraces the perfume of flowers and the smell of manure

The 2013 first place adult category winner, by Stacey Lenz, painted at the WI Concrete Park

wafting from the fields, birdsong and sounds of traffic as well as the hum of mosquitoes and horseflies buzzing on the skin.”  These are unique places for art, nature, creativity and fun.

Prizes ranging from $15 to $250 will be awarded at each event. Judges will award three prizes in each of the following categories: children through age 12, youth ages 13 through 18, adult amateur, and adult professional. Award winners from each event will be entered in a statewide competition for a $500 prize.

Plein-air events begin at 8 a.m. Saturdays and end at 4 p.m. Sundays. Judging will take place from 4–5 p.m. on Sundays. Photos of all entries will be taken and photos of award winners will be exhibited on the Kohler Foundation website.

For beginners, there will be plein-air painting instruction from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. All ages and skill levels are welcome.

Valarie Carr’s winning youth division painting, Grandview 2013

Paintings entered for judging must be on postcard-sized canvases/boards (5″X 7″), which will be supplied along with all other necessary materials. Professional artists may bring their own supplies and sell other works while painting at the art environments.

There are no registration or materials fees. For more information, call Emily Bianchi at (920) 694-4534 or email ebianchi@jmkac.org. Wandering Wisconsin is a consortium of eight art environments located throughout Wisconsin. The plein-air events are funded by Kohler Foundation, Inc.

Wisconsin is beautiful in August and the five participating Wandering Wisconsin sites are all around the state.  Maybe there’s one near you.  Bring family and friends for a unique, enjoyable Wisconsin experience.

Rick Rolfsmeyer, Hollandale, WI  (Pop. 288)

Leslie Smith III: I want People to Just Get It

I missed the introduction to the “rapid fire” lecture of UW-Madison professor and painter Leslie Smith III. Smith, in full force, as I entered the dark auditorium, showed little inclination to slow down. Immediately captivated, my senses prompted me to pay very close attention and strive to comprehend every word. I searched for a pen and paper to assist in increasing my chances of taking it all in and to also ” get it.” His choice of words fell on my ears as magic even as I missed chunks of phrases and bits and pieces here and there.

I instantly traveled back in time to my days as a UW-Milwaukee art aesthetics and philosophy student in the classes of Professor Haig Khatchadourian and much later as a student in the classes of Judith Russi Kirshner, then my professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a contributor to Art Forum. Khatchadourian’s and Kirshner’s command of aesthetics and delivery excited and gained my rapt attention. Smith’s command of aesthetics and delivery intertwined with his artmaking, inspired that same awe.

Smith provided glimpses into his educational background, museum exhibitions and assorted processes influencing the thought-provoking abstractions. He shared narrative observations and interpretations of sometimes quirky private dramas and interpersonal relationships. His real life references definitely distinguished themselves in the abstract paintings. Without these associations, the actual connections to pieces like “Piss Chair,” “Hungry Boy” and “You First”  remain with Smith. The uniquely personal references provide insights when the viewer needs them and when the artist desires, in some way, to provide them. Smith’s increasingly asymmetrically shaped canvas paintings, gestural brushstrokes and bold colors stand solidly alone as strong aesthetic images. My notes, following the artwork titles, reveal what I heard as Smith’s aesthetic concepts and welcomed as his references.

“Piss Chair” 96 x 108 inches, Oil on Canvas 2008

“Piss Chair”
In the white lawn chair we ate watermelon and barbeque/Legs and high heel shoes/Psychological aspects/Objects that function with little reference
Emotional Gravitas borrows language/language/isolates it from the language of object/You have to work with what you know. Work has to be more about me/How you tell the truth.

“Hungry Boy” 40 x 40 inches, Oil on Canvas 2011

“Hungry Boy”

Hungry for work, Hungry for time, Hungry for a studio Infatuated with the romance/synthetic life of NY/Find objects that I can re-contextualize -find what I wanted/ I was asked, “Have you thought about Philip Guston?” It helps to organize the canvas/I thought about separating the making of a character from the act of creating the painting/I start out not knowing what they are all about/I’m interested in investigation/all the conditions of a painting/Dealing with the role of color, dealing with narrative/I thought about separating the making of a character/from the act of creating the painting/I start out not knowing what they are all about/I’m interested in investigation all the conditions of a painting/Dealing with the role of color/Dealing with narrative.

“Window” 24 x 24 inches, Oil and spray paint on Canvas 2010

“Window”

What came out of it is collapsing the space/Factor into a larger context/27” x 27” paintings/Infatuated with inanimate objects about the physicality of painting/How to not make it figurative/Make it volumetric/I realize that I just made a window/It reflects light with its metallic under-painting/I enter into an architectural space/Artist – Fra Angelico/He could negotiate space/Investigating Fra Angelico led to windows/Changing ways of studying subtle narratives and suggestion/“How Long has this been going on?/The Morning After”/Red hue is necessary for trying to solve the problem/Hard to quantify the saturation of color/Set within dream space/elements may float or exist in a semi-real space/I am interested in specificity and a certain reality/I want to create a sense of familiarity/I dream too much.

“You First” 26 x 26 inches, Oil on Linen 2012

“You First”

Do you know “Coming to America?”/Jerry Curls, Jheri Curls, Uncle’s/You first integrate multiple characters/Jerry curl juice/sweat.

“Self” 26 x 26 inches, Oil on Linen 2011

“Self”

Annual self-portrait/Gestural characters clouds or a mop/Working around the peripheral/Strike a theme until I exhaust it/“Viennese Waltz”/Relationships with closest friends are closer or more like family than your real family/Dancing with the stars.

“Sticks Stone or Drones” 72 x 96 inches, Oil on Canvas 2012

 “Stick, Stones, and Drones”

It was great, I liked it/But it did not satisfy what else I’m missing/A post-modernist painter/Everything is apologetic/Everything is working together/I wanted to give my painting the same kind of complexity/“Philip Guston at work in his studio”/he did not want to understand what he was painting/I think about the contextualizing/I do want to understand it and demystify things/Canvas/frame/Potent reason to allow the painting shape/once a square/Then disfigure/dis-invigorate it to a hump form/What the contradiction was/Contradicting realities.

“Night Baptism” 42 x 42 inches Oil on Shaped Canvas 2013

“Night Baptism”

I flew to … the east coast to be re-baptized, it happened at night with about/6-7 little bitty people, then I flew back/“Drift Studio” carpentry/ Were all forces and working mechanisms/Equal and opposing-canceling each other out/Cyclical unsolvable realities/ Societal and cultural/Drawings are subsidiaries to the/Building off the idea of/Locked on and found if you lose it.

 

“Best Kept Secret,” 48 x 48 inches Oil on Shaped Canvas 2013

 “Best Kept Secret”

 Under a vail/Broken fractured/Night                 twitch shows up/Things that show up/The  politics of dealing with human  dispositions/All the others become more  complicated/I deal more or less/These  objects/I want to take a more direct  approach/Moved back into just letting things  go. I order two or three shapes at a time because I don’t know what to do with them/A juxtaposing element of form not fitting that way/I just fuss with them until they kind of meld together/Post-minimalism neo-geo/My personal experience, an absence of self/The work becomes lost in the conversation/Big elephant in the room/packed with a certain amount of familiarity.

Untitled work on paper, 26 x 40 inches, Oil on Chromcoat paper, 2014

“Untitled”

Oil on Chromcoat paper/I can’t contextualize it/Something about these gestural painting/ Night Orchestra/Not figured out what that means/I just think it’s cool/Just needed something black to offset the newness/Want to make a painting that lifted those shapes up/The African American Abstract exhibition in Texas/The curator did such a good job of making me see the relationship my paintings had to abstraction in a multi generational context/I don’t believe mine are truly real abstractions/They are personified gestural subtle narrations of painting speaking to one another/I am working on more Chromecoat paper/their likeness helps fortify the shapes/I want people to just get it/A bad idea/My wife has told me no one can read my mind/unrealistic/my titles connect.

by Evelyn Patricia Terry

Terry received one of the Milwaukee Arts Board’s 2014 Artists of the Year Awards (along with Barbara Leigh), please contact Terry for juror, lecture, curator, commission, or workshop requests at terryevelyn@hotmail.com or visit the web page evelynpatriciaterry.com/news for more information.

 

 

 

What high school kids want

Students in the Overture Center during High School Friday 2012. Photo by Jessica Becker

“The first reason why I chose to go on this field trip was to miss school. When I got there, I discovered it was actually super interesting.” So said a 16 year-old high school student in reflecting on her day at High School Friday during the Wisconsin Book Festival.

This year is the third year the Wisconsin Humanities Council, where I work, is sponsoring a free day of programs for high school students at the Wisconsin Book Festival. One hundred and fifty kids will come to downtown Madison on Friday, October 18 for this incredible opportunity to engage in the civic and cultural life of our city. Authors, journalists, poets, multi-media artists, and spoken word artists are bringing their stories and real-world experiences together for a groovy day of exchange, exposure, and memory-making.

The day provides an eclectic mix of voices, perspectives, and ideas that will be thought-provoking and inspiring. I can promise that some of the things said, heard, and seen, will stick in some of those kids’ heads and push them in new, and positive, directions. Humanities experiences make an impact, though the effect tends to ripple and roll and reach into unplanned nooks and crannies of the mind.

We all know that what sticks in one person’s head is not what is going to stick in another person’s head.  Impact is uneven and unpredictable. Some moments, some books, some teachers, some students, and some experiences end up having more impact than others. And that is perhaps the one TRUTH about education.

“The Romans didn’t let people study the humanities, not the people they had conquered. You know that, right?” my husband asked me the other night, out of the blue.

He is one of the most well-rounded, well-read analytical chemists you’d care to meet.  Amazingly, he still remembers so much of what he learned in high school.

He and I proceeded to talk about how the study of philosophy, ethics, and history would be kept from those they wanted to keep subservient for obvious reasons. An educated citizen is a more powerful one, more inclined toward big ideas, more likely to sway opinions, more prepared for leadership roles.

I married a chemist though I somehow got through high school without taking a chemistry class (He is responsible for pouring things in our house!).  I opted instead for languages, art classes, and uncommon experiences. I don’t really remember (m)any of the facts I surely must have encountered along the way, but I grew up to be a true humanist. The humanities in the real world means being intrigued by difference, looking for ways to connect ideas, being curious to hear other perspectives, and staying wary of any fact out of context.

I value those skills and wish them for teens and everyone.

As we crafted the schedule for the annual High School Friday, we were well aware of the Standards that  high school teachers must use to shape their lesson plans. Specifically, the Social and Emotional Learning Standards for grades 9-12:

Respect Others: Students will identify positive ways to express understanding of differing perspectives and use conversational skills to determine the perspectives of others.

Civic Responsibility: Students will evaluate the impact of their involvement as agents of positive change and analyze their responsibilities as positive agents of change in a democratic society.

Yes, bring on the humanities. And the Wisconsin Book Festival! October 17-20, four full days of conversation, inspiration, and opportunity to participate in civil society!

The schedule for High School Friday includes hip-hop and spoken word performers from the UW-Madison First Wave program, female sportscaster and author Jessie Garcia, the dynamic trio of artists/librarians/authors from “The Library as Incubator” project, blog, and book, and multi-media experts from the Madison Public Library media lab. Every participant will go home with a library card and knowledge about how to make the public library a source of continued inspiration, access, and power.

Please contact me by October 1, 2013 if you know some high school students from the Madison area who would like to attend!

by Jessica Becker
Director of Public Programs, Wisconsin Humanities Council

Artists invade environments

Four of Wisconsin’s fascinating art environments have got a great event for artists coming soon.  Actually the Wandering Wisconsin Plein Air Competition has something for everyone, regardless of whether you are an artist, would like to learn or just enjoy the outdoors and unique hidden places.  Spend an August weekend. 

The painting competition is for artists of all ages.  Two sites will host the event on August 10 and 11 and the other two on August 17/18.  For those who’d like to learn or hone their skills, there will be work

Art by Robert Tarrell

shops on painting in the Plein-Air style on the same-size canvas.  For experienced painters, there’s a competition with cash prizes; no entrance fee.  Work must be on postcard-sized canvases/boards (4” X 6”) and feature facets of the host environment.  Artists can bring their own materials and materials will be provided if you need them.

On August 10th and 11th you can visit Nick Engelbert’s Grandview near Hollandale in Iowa County or James Tellen’s Woodland Garden near Sheboygan.  Grandview is a beautiful rural site, almost equidistant between New Glarus and Mineral Point on Highway 39 in southern Wisconsin.  The Tellen site is nestled in the woods in the town of Wilson just south of Sheboygan. 

The next weekend’s events will be at the Painted Forest in tiny Valton in Sauk County and Fred Smith’s Wisconsin Concrete Park in Phillips.  Just the drive to Valton is worth the time – it is a secluded, gorgeous place well off the beaten path (check your Gazeteer!).  The Wisconsin Concrete Park is known to many as the granddaddy of Wisconsin’s art environments, and includes over 200 outstanding sculptures created by lumberjack Fred Smith, who once said, “It’s gotta be in ya’ to do it.”  Isn’t that the truth?

The competition starts at 8:00 am Saturdays and ends on Sunday at 4 pm.  Judging will occur Sunday at 4:00 pm.  Each environment has a slightly different twist in schedules so contact them in advance if you need to be sure of something.

August 10-11

Nick Engelbert’s Grandview, 7351 State Highway 39, Hollandale, WI (Iowa County, 9 miles east of Mineral Point).  Email: grandview@nicksgrandview.com

James Tellen’s Woodland Sculpture Garden, 5634 Evergreen Drive, Sheboygan, WI, Email wandeingwisconsin@jmkac.org

August 17-18

Ernest Hupeden’s Painted Forest, Painted Forest Drive, Valton, WI  (just east of Cazenovia), Email: wanderingwisconsin@jmkac.org

Fred Smith’s Wisconsin Concrete Park, N8236 Highway 13, Phillips, WI, Email: fofs@pctcnet.net

Monkey Tree at Grandview

Each site will award three prizes each for three age groups: Children up to 13 (first prize is $50), young adults 13-18 (first prize – $150) and adults (first prize – $300).  Better yet, photographs will be taken of each event’s winning entries and automatically entered in a statewide competition with the same prize categories and amounts.

Workshop schedules vary a bit so contact the sites.  Grandview will have a workshop in the morning each day – a great experience for the kids.  Two sites offer camping but all have lodging nearby if you want to make a weekend of it.  Grandview will feature the Moo Grass String Band from 4-6 pm on Sunday August 11th – bring a lawn chair and your favorite beverage.  Snacks will be available.

For more information and competition guidelines contact the individual sites or email wanderingwisconsin@jmkac.org.

James Tellen’s Woodland Sculpture Garden

Wandering Wisconsin is a program of the Wisconsin Art Environment Consortium, a group representing nine art environments, including the Carl Peterson Garden, Dickeyville Grotto, Rudolf Grotto Gardens and Wonder Cave, Paul and Matilda Wegner Grotto, and the Prairie Moon Sculpture Garden and Museum.

And it’s all free, how about that?  Thanks to sponsor the Kohler Foundation you can bring a carload to this family event and have the neighbors join you.    

The Wandering Wisconsin Plein Air Competition has something for everyone – fun for the whole family!  And it’s a great way to become acquainted with some of Wisconsin’s unique treasures, which you’ll want to visit again and again.

Rick Rolfsmeyer, Hollandale, WI (pop. 288)

The meaning of life

“The Heart of the Matter” report riffs off recent attention given to STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering and Math) by saying the humanities are the bloom on the stem. Photo by Jessica Becker (via Instagram and facebook)

The humanities world is talking about a new report, released by The Academy of Arts & Sciences, calling attention to the importance of the humanities in 2013. I already believe the humanities are important, but it’s still nice to read editorials and listen to radio talk shows that bring together people who have done the research and given a lot of thought to these things. Like, how many people are working toward humanities degrees (only 7% according to David Brook’s NYTimes piece), what employers are looking for (curiosity, creativity, humility…), and how a humanistic approach is understood to be critical for countries working their way into first-world nation status (like China and Russia). If you don’t have time to read the report itself, there is a 7 minute video here, and after reading Mary Rizzo’s commentary suggesting the new report sounds a lot like the 1964 version, I guess I’d recommend the short-form.

Many of us would prefer the quick version. I mean, who has time for the full report? That reality has me thinking about how things have changed since 1964. I’m thinking of blogs, instagram, pinterest, twitter, tumblr, flikr and, yes, facebook.  I believe people are by nature humanists and we modern humans are on over-drive to keep up with the speed at which our world is spinning. Isn’t it all a huge humanities endeavor? Looking through my facebook newsreel today, I find people:

-reflecting on issues (“These photos are so fascinating and sad at the same time.” responding to the modern ruins in Detroit)

-reminding themselves and others to celebrate the richness of life (“First cherry tomatoes of the season will be in tomorrow’s lunchboxes.”)

-encouraging conversation around ideas (“in case you missed it, an article on what the brain can tell us about art.”).

-building community (A link to  “The City Paper” on Borracho’s new record! “We’re celebrating tonight at RnR Hotel. Come rock with us!”)

-and searching for meaning in the mundane (“This morning, as I’m trying to work at home, all I’ve heard is, “When I get my blog, I’m totally going to write about how you never change your underwear.” “When I get MY blog I’m going to post a picture of you crying like a baby.”)

I could go on, but it’s hard to look at my newsreel without getting sucked in. There is so much to comment on, share, and follow.

“The humanities” are, quite simply, the different ways we as humans have come up with for looking at the world and making meaning of it. The humanities are studied in academic disciplines (like philosophy, literature, linguistics, art history, folklore, anthropology, and history), and the report encourages folks to remember that the distinctions we have more recently (in historical time) made between the sciences, arts, and humanities are detrimental to both a real education and getting a job.

Less public money is being directed toward “the humanities” and that has a lot of us worried since how we spend our money indicates what we value.  However, I have no fear that our search for the meaning of life will wither and die. I see it everywhere in all that we do.

I’m worried that we’ll all drown in our ongoing, non-stop chatter into the e-niverse about how meaningful every little thing is and we’ll forget how to sit still, grow bored, and wonder if life is, actually, meaningless.

The wondering, I know, is worthy.

by Jessica Becker (why not follow me on Instagram?)
Director of Public Programs, Wisconsin Humanities Council