Simply Marigolds

Marigolds

Garden Marigolds © 2008

…sweet and snappy. And filled with pure beauty. And in autumn’s brighter colors, too.

The View from Harbor 550

A View from Harbor 550

 View of Milwaukee Art Museum from Harbor 550 © 2008

This lovely brick patio is right on the edge of Lake Michigan. We visited the Harbor 550 on an early morning, but I want to return for an evening visit so I can sit around the brick fireplaces, which are strategically placed along the shoreline, and look out over Lake Michigan and Milwaukee’s lakefront.

Delicious!

“Biscuit” Amaranth

Biscut Amaranth

“Biscuit” Amaranth © 2008

This ‘Biscuit’ Amaranth was just one of thousands of plants on display at the University of Wisconsin – West Madison Agricultural Research Station as they held their Annual Field Day. Trial fields of annuals, perennials, native grasses, vegetables and fruits were on display. Gardening tips and problem shooting were provided by the Master Gardeners of Dane County.

The gardens are open to the public every day from dawn to dusk. What a wonderful resource for area gardeners!

The Law Troll

The Law Troll

The Law Troll of Northwestern University © 2008

The older Law School building at Northwestern University’s downtown campus has an interior courtyard, full of benches, flowers, mother ducks and their ducklings in spring, and…the law troll. He’s a charming fellow who greets everyone as they enter the outdoor garden.  He has a stern look, but he seems to take a lot of ribbing without moving a  muscle. Rather a charming sort in an old fashioned way.

The Calling – A Point of Debate

The Calling by sculptor Jeff di Suvero

‘The Calling’ by sculptor Jeff di Suvero © 2008

Another one of my visits to Milwaukee produced some photos of one of the cities’ main and oldest streets, Wisconsin Avenue. This huge sculpture is at the top of the street near Lake Michigan, and across the street from the Milwaukee Art Museum.  When it was erected by American sculptor Mark di Suvero in 1982, it overlooked the street and set off a nearby blue building , and of course, complemented the blue/green shadings of Lake Michigan.

Since the addition of the Santiago Calatrava’s addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2001, opponents have occasionally requested that the steel orange sculpture be re-located. Critics claim ‘The Calling’  – which most Milwaukeeans refer to as ‘The Sunburst’ – blocks the view of Calatrava’s movable winged ‘architectural sculpture.’  Some suggest that the industrial sculpture be moved to a sculpture garden on the museum’s site. Others even recommend its movement further east – about 500 feet further east – which would drop it square under the surface of Lake Michigan! Still others advocate leaving it as it is. Here is a view of the entire sculpture and a panoramic view of the sculpture and the downtown buildings overlooking the lake.

Such is the life of a piece of public street art – always up for a strongly contested and opinionated debate. And that is good. People are looking, evaluating, thinking about the art they see in their environment. They are making an effort to decide if they like individual pieces, choosing if what they see they consider art – which is entirely within their rights.

People debating art.Seems like a good thing to me.