Eggs Benedict, a portrait of Pope Benedict XVI crafted out of 17,000 colored condoms, is self-consciously provocative. The piece by Shorewood artist Niki Johnson was acquired by the Milwaukee Art Museum earlier this year, but has twisted knickers ever since it was unveiled in 2013. Complaints number in the hundreds and have been voiced by prominent community leaders such as Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki. Supporters say the work does not intend disrespect, but seeks to start a conversation about AIDS, contraception and religion. Detractors see sacrilegious Pope-bashing.
Whether you regard the work as delightfully irreverent or reprehensibly impious, Eggs Benedict has touched a nerve by confronting us with important issues that divide public opinion. While we’re already out of our comfort zones, it’s high time to have a mature discussion about our values and the rationale supporting them. On Thursday, Aug. 20, at 6:15 p.m., there will be a panel discussion entitled “Art, AIDS, Religion and Censorship” at MAM with representatives of the different viewpoints. MAM’s Chief Curator, Brady Roberts, will moderate the conversation between Niki Johnson, a professor of Visual Studies, a theologian and a professor of law.
“Cut / Create: The Endless Possibilities of Paper”
Union Art Gallery
Room W199, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
We take paper for granted. Sure, there are those who bury their faces in the pages of old books like an oenophile in stemware, but usually we’re too wrapped up in words or images to appreciate the beauty of paper itself. “Cut / Create: The Endless Possibilities of Paper” is a paean to the material and its versatility as an art medium. The exhibition features seven contemporary artists working in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan as well as works from Special Collections at the UW-Milwaukee Libraries. “Cut / Create” opens Monday, Aug. 24 and folds on Sept. 11.
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“Strata+Sphere”
Lulu’s Café and Bar
2261-2265 S. Howell Ave.
Juniper 61
6030 W. North Ave.
Ever since Odysseus spent 10 years getting waylaid on his way back to Ithaca after 10 years fighting in the Trojan War, the theme of homecoming has been ubiquitous in art and literature. Native Milwaukeean Rochelle Weiner is a revenant recently returned to the East Side after 20 years of twists and turns in Chicago. “Strata+Sphere” presents a series of abstract works using layered painting techniques to capture memories of growing up on Milwaukee’s East Side. The show straddles two locations with larger canvasses at Lulu’s in Bay View through October and small/medium-sized works at Wauwatosa’s Juniper 61 through January, 2016.
