The upcoming Milwaukee Art Museum exhibition, “European Design since 1985: Shaping the New Century” attempts to balance the relationship between art, craft and design. Mel Buchanan, Mae E. Demmer Assistant Curator of 20th Century Design, discussed how the exhibition came to Milwaukee and what elements excite her about the over 200 objects that will be on display beginning October 9.
Where did the idea for this exhibition originate from?
The exhibition traveled from the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. We traveled to Atlanta to see the exhibition in 2009, to see if this was something we wanted to bring to Milwaukee, and we were excited about the exhibition. The Indianapolis Museum specializes in contemporary design and 85 percent of the exhibition uses their permanent collection. This is new for our museum because the MAM is unable to specialize or collect every type of art. The MAM specializes in modern and contemporary art, not contemporary design, so the opportunity to bring this to Milwaukee and reach a new audience, to connect with something exciting and different, is what we like to do.
In your own words, what does the exhibition represent?
There are approximately 200 objects that range in dates from 1985 through 2005, and represent about 100 artists or designers. R. Craig Miller from the Indianapolis Museum of Art curated the exhibition and he authored a catalogue that will be at the Museum Store. The catalogue is the first time these designs or materials have been comprehensively treated as art history [classified through art history], where someone is trying to put the artwork into context, for the future.
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How did you decide to organize the exhibition in Milwaukee?
The exhibition will be held in the Baker/Rowland Gallery and we opened up the front [of the exhibition] so you will be able to see the entire gallery through the lobby glass. At that point, right front and center, will be two beautiful aluminum chairs that exemplifies the two concepts to the exhibition, a post-modernist and modernist viewpoint. One [chair], is an artwork, a piece of sculpture by Mathias Bengtsson, titled Slice (1999). The other is Jorge Pensi's ToledoStacking Chair(1988), which was created for its design, production, comfort and stackability, to be mass-produced. Yet, they're both beautifully designed chairs. Other than that, we've separated the objects into eight sections.
Eight sections? Could you explain that more completely?
The eight sections discuss the objects though art history, or attempt to. One is “Decorative Design,” and deals with objects as ornament. Two is “Expressive Design,” where the objects become sculpture with more conceptual meaning. Three is “Geometric/Minimal Design,” which “reduces an object to its essence,” in regards to construction, material and proportion. Four is titled “Biomorphic Design,” where the objects are shaped as the [human] body and natural organisms, designed with these forms. Five classifies the “Neo Pop Designs,” which revives popular culture, bright colors and relates to a counter culture approach. Six, these are “Conceptual Designs,” which comments on an idea or makes a particular statement about society that is considered when the object is constructed. Seven, is the “Neo Dada/Surreal Design,” which incorporates the shocking and eerie with a macabre touch. And finally, eight is the “Neo Decorative Design,” which returns an object to ornament, referencing the historical past in a contemporary way.
That's a great amount to cover in one exhibition. What do you hope the public will experience when they view it?
It's a thematic installation with a lot of objects. We don't want anyone to figure out each category or view this exhibition object by object. That could be overwhelming. We just want them to love one or two objects, or artworks, and relate to one or two special works. With over 200 pieces, from IKEA designs to cell phones or Swatch watches [the brand of watch] together with items available for purchase at Target, or the exceptional one of a kind art, these are everyday objects that everyone sees in someway on a daily basis, everyday objects to connect with through a new context.
