Photo Credit: Barb Budish
In “Founders & Visionaries: Wisconsin Jewish Artists from the Milwaukee Art Museum,” (on display now through May 31) the Jewish Museum Milwaukee has raided MAM’s archives to highlight the work of four artists—Fred Berman, Joseph Friebert, Aaron Bohrod and Alfred A. Sessler—all of whom were Jewish Wisconsinites that flourished in the mid-20th century.
Fred Berman erupted onto the international art scene in 1956 when, at the tender age of twenty-nine, one of his canvasses was shown at the hyper-prestigious Venice Biennale. Along with the fast company of Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, Berman was representing the vanguard of the American painting and the work shown at the Biennale (from his White City suite) demonstrates that Berman had already cultivated an individual voice within the language of Abstract Expressionism.
Also included in the 1956 Biennale was Berman’s fellow Midwesterner, Joseph Friebert. Born in 1908 to a working class Jewish family, Friebert was the son of a tailor and social activist whose identification with the John and Jane Doe’s of the world is reflected in his artist son’s canvasses. With a sympathetic touch, Friebert renders the hapless unemployed of the ’30s as well as the bustling urban environments in which they scuffled.
Born in 1909, Alfred A. Sessler was a contemporary of Friebert whose artistic inclinations were also largely shaped by growing up in the Depression-era Midwest, as is evident in his many caricatures of Milwaukee day laborers. Sessler worked for the Treasury Relief Art Project from 1935-37 and then for the Federal Art Project from 1937-42 before joining the art faculty at UW-Madison, where he established UW’s groundbreaking graphics program. Sessler continues to be renowned for his lithographs, etchings and innovative approach to woodcuts.
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Like Friebert, Aaron Bohrod was also inspired by the products and processes of everyday life. "Plastic fish, rubber ducks, broken dolls, toy soldiers, souvenirs of every sort find their way into and fill the compositions of Aaron Bohrod,” said gallery-owner Everett Oehlshlaeger in his eulogy for Bohrod, “In doing so, the objects take on meanings far surpassing their original ones, taking on an importance never originally intended for them.” Bohrod’s technical mastery is evident in his trompe-l'oeil (French for “trick the eye”) still life canvasses, which beckon the viewer closer to scrutinize their three-dimensional verisimilitude.
On April 14, the Jewish Museum is hosting a lecture by Dr. Elizabeth M. Matelski of Carroll University entitled “Art at Work: The WPA and the Wisconsin Arts Scene,” which will throw light on cultural and social context of “Founders & Visionaries.” The lecture is free for members and $5 for non-members. RSVP here.
