Milwaukee Art Museum senior preparator Joe Kavanaugh
In his 43 years working at the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM), senior preparator Joe Kavanaugh has dealt with many artists while helping to install, set up and take down many installations and exhibits. He retired in August at age 65 and immediately jumped into traveling. A native of Milwaukee’s Northwest Side, Kavanaugh made time in between jaunts to talk to the Shepherd Express about his time at MAM and dealing with artists as diverse as (Wisconsin’s own) modernist artist Georgia O’Keeffe and “plate painter” Julian Schnabel.
What brought you to the Milwaukee Art Museum in 1975?
I went to school in California and Florida, but I always ended up back in Milwaukee. So, I figured I must like it here. A friend of mine was working at the museum and said, ‘I have a great job.’ They had just opened a new building. So, I came here and started setting up [exhibit] walls and building stuff. I was learning so much.
What exactly is a preparator and what do they do?
We take shows apart, and we put them together. We go from a wide-open space to figuring out how every wall is going to be used. I help with the layout, working with the curators and designers. They tell me what they want, and we figure it out in the most efficient way.
Can you tell us about the time Julian Schnabel came to the museum to repair one of his works where the piece of attached ceramic plate had fallen off the canvas? [Claudio al Mandrione (zona rosa), 1985-’86 oil and plates on wood]
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Julian was a force in his own way. He had a suitcase filled with ceramic plates. He pulled out his hammer, smashed a plate and then chose a piece to reattach to the canvas. But he wanted to continue to work on the piece. [Senior conservator] Jim DeYoung told him, “We own that piece, and you can’t touch it after that.”
Were any of the exhibits particularly challenging to install?
Vito Acconci had materials that were all over the board [“Acts of Architecture,” 2002 exhibit]. One piece of material was a cyclone fence [which] was almost impossible to hang, and there were big pieces hanging from that—literally thousands of pounds.
What was Georgia O’Keeffe like?
My recollection of her was an old woman in her 90s sitting next to her friend, Peg Bradley. Most of her work here came from Peg. And Georgia was very nice and said “hi.”
What was a high point of working at the museum?
I got to see the Calatrava go up. It’s been good for Milwaukee. And, as I walk out the door and look back, it’s as good as it’s ever been.
Given your years of expertise, would you ever consider helping out with future exhibits?
I gotta retire first. Then I can talk about coming back.
