A new museum celebrates 'artist-built environments', from rural pubs to urban lofts

Record ID: 1634124

  • Title: A new museum celebrates 'artist-built environments', from rural pubs to urban lofts
  • Date: 27th August 2021
  • Summary: SHEBOYGAN, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES (RECENT - AUGUST 18, 2021) (REUTERS) LAURA BICKFORD, CURATOR OF THE ART PRESERVE, WALKING THROUGH EXHIBIT TIGHT SHOT OF STATUES WIDE SHOT OF STATUE BY ARTIST FRED SMITH TIGHT SHOT OF PIECES OF BEER BOTTLE IN STATUE AS VISITORS WALK BY WIDE SHOT OF BIBLICAL FIGURINES BY ARTIST ANNIE HOOPER AERIAL PAN OF FIGURINES (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAURA BICKFORD, CURATOR OF THE ART PRESERVE, SAYING: "This is the first of its kind. It's the first and only institution dedicated to the study of artist-built environments." VARIOUS OF BOOKS CAST IN RESIN BY ARTIST STELLA WAITZKIN (TWO SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAURA BICKFORD, CURATOR OF THE ART PRESERVE, SAYING: "We're not trying to make an argument here. We're not trying to convince you of something. We're trying to show you our collection and provoke further thought about, sort-of, who gets to make art. Who's considered an artist? Where art comes from; what art looks like - and trust that visitors walking around can sort-of come to some of these conclusions on their own." WIDE EXTERIOR OF THE ART PRESERVE TIGHT SHOT OF WOODEN BEAMS AROUND MUSEUM BICKFORD WALKING PAST WOODEN BEAMS INSIDE MUSEUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAURA BICKFORD, CURATOR OF THE ART PRESERVE, SAYING: "Totally - most of the artists here, you know, weren't thinking about longevity. They were using what was at hand. And for a lot of them that's non-archival material. So they were using house paint from Home Depot on sort-of untreated wood or manufactured wood. They were using Elmer's glue and glitter on sort-of the cheapest version of construction paper you could find." VARIOUS OF HANDMADE SIGNS BY ARTIST JESSE HOWARD (TWO SHOTS) MUSEUM EMPLOYEE WALKING THROUGH "THE HEALING MACHINE" BY ARTIST EMERY BLAGDON AERIAL VIEW OF BICKFORD WALKING UP STAIRS TIGHT BACK VIEW OF BICKFORD WALKING UP STAIRS ROW OF SCULPTURES BY DR. CHARLES SMITH WIDE SHOT OF BICKFORD SPEAKING IN FRONT OF SMITH'S SCULPTURES STACKED ON SHELVES VARIOUS OF SMITH'S SCULPTURES (TWO SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAURA BICKFORD, CURATOR OF THE ART PRESERVE, SAYING: "And then he allows them to go through a process that he calls 'weatherizing' where they live out in the elements and kind of deteriorate, and for him that's them gaining life experience - that they're experiencing what it's like to be Black in the United States, and then he sort of assesses them for weakness, and rebuilds them and strengthens them over time. And that is really part of his process to get this kind of endless cycle of decomposition and then reconstitution." PAN SHOT OF SMITH'S SCULPTURES (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAURA BICKFORD, CURATOR OF THE ART PRESERVE, SAYING: "We really want to kind of continue this ethos that every aspect of your life can be magical, and every aspect of your life can be enlivened by an artistic practice and creativity. And for so many of these artists, I think that is what was important - that it was the act. The act of being alive was so ingrained in the act of creating. And I think that is accessible to anyone." VISITORS LOOKING AT PAINTINGS BY VIETNAM WAR VETERAN AND ARTIST GREGORY VAN MAANEN TIGHT SHOT OF PAINTINGS DEPICTING COLORFUL SKULLS (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAURA BICKFORD, CURATOR OF THE ART PRESERVE, SAYING: "I hope that people that walk through this building, you know, take a second look at their neighbor's fence post. You know, every fence post that someone makes looks different, and I think that if you can learn to find individuality and humanity in these sort-of everyday moments of expression, that the world could be kinder and more generous. And for a lot of these artists, I think that was the goal." WIDE SHOT OF VISITOR WALKING THROUGH MUSEUM TIGHT SHOT OF FABRIC SCULPTURES BY ARTIST NEK CHAND
  • Embargoed: 10th September 2021 19:18
  • Keywords: Art Preserve Laura Bickford Sheboygan artist-built environments
  • Location: SHEBOYGAN, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES
  • City: SHEBOYGAN, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Art,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA001ES2XSGP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A house filled with thousands of biblical figurines adorned with marbles and seashells; a tavern surrounded by sculptures accented with beer bottle glass; and a Manhattan loft lined with leather-bound books cast in colorful resin:
    These are just a few of the uniquely designed personal spaces of artists featured at a new, experimental museum in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
    "It's the first of its kind. It's the first and only institution dedicated to the study of artist-built environments," said Laura Bickford, curator of the Art Preserve.
    While the artists range from classically trained to self-taught, rural to urban, they're bound by one common thread: the joy of creating.
    "We're trying to...provoke further thought about who gets to make art, who's considered an artist, where art comes from, what art looks like," said Bickford.
    "We really want to continue this ethos that every aspect of your life can be magical, and every aspect of your life can be enlivened by an artistic practice and creativity," she added.
    The museum was the dream of Ruth Kohler, who died shortly before its completion. The longtime director of the Kohler Art Center was fascinated by "outsider" artists and overlooked forms of art.
    As a child, her family would go on Sunday drives through the countryside to marvel at so-called bathtub shrines, in which people pitched bathtubs vertically in their front yards to serve as a display case for religious statues.
    Later, Kohler became enchanted with the work of Fred Smith, a retired lumberjack turned tavern owner in northern Wisconsin, who created more than 200 larger-than-life concrete sculptures on his rural property starting in 1948. Several of them are now part of the Art Preserve.
    The museum officially opened to the public in June. Getting it off the ground has not been easy.
    For one, the environments are often composed of hundreds or thousands of pieces that were never intended to exist outside of their native location.
    Nebraska artist Emery Blagdon, inspired by his parent's cancer battle, spent decades constructing "The Healing Machine" - a large shed stuffed with shiny mobile sculptures - incorporating everything from Christmas lights to plastic beads. Its display in the Art Preserve contains more than 400 pieces.
    In addition, some of the materials used by their artists - such as construction paper, Elmer's glue, and glitter - were not chosen with preservation in mind.
    "Most of the artists here weren't thinking about longevity. They were using what was on-hand," said Bickford.
    The wooden beams around the museum, angled to block direct sunlight, provide one layer of protection.
    The building's designers also tried to create an atmosphere in which visitors could feel surprised - stumbling upon hidden nooks as if they were discovering an artist-built environment along a wooded path or on the side of the road.
    In one corner of the museum, the sculptures of Dr. Charles Smith are stacked on shelves awaiting the artist's visit this October.
    Since the 1980's, the Louisiana-based, self-taught artist (he gave himself the title "Dr.") has covered his home and garden with sculptures depicting people and events from African American history.
    "He allows them to go through a process that he calls 'weatherizing' where they live out in the elements and kind of deteriorate," Bickford explained. "For him, that's them gaining life experience…and then...he rebuilds them and strengthens them over time."
    As one of the few living artists displayed at the museum, he is in the unique position of having input into how his work will be presented.
    Bickford hopes visitors to the Art Preserve will be inspired by Smith's and others' artist-built environments.
    "I hope the people that walk through this building take a second look at their neighbor's fence post," she said.
    "I think that if you can learn to find individuality and humanity in these sort-of everyday moments of expression that the world could be kinder and more generous - and I think that for a lot of these artists...that was their goal."
    (Production: Vanessa Johnston)
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