The Architect’s Dry Bones
I sang a certain song as I skipped along the downtown Milwaukee sidewalk. Alone.
MTM refused to accompany me on my mission to see the Santiago Calatrava addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum. It offended his tender architect sensibilities. But, because of him, this song stuck in my mind:
Santiago Calatrava is a Spanish architect. Famous. A starchitect. He’s designed structures all over the world. They always remind me of the movie Alien, only what it might be like to BE the alien baby, trapped inside its human host, waiting to burst through the wall of flesh and screech to life.
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that his buildings are…….unique. After all, another whacked Spanish architect before him drew multiple dream-like structures that dot the landscape of the city of Barcelona today. Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia may never be finished, but its multiple spires and cranes are a staple of the city skyline.
I bent against the gale from Lake Michigan and ran up the ramp, hoping I would not be dashed to bits of dry bones. The building soared above. A stingray. A fantastical ship. A seagull in flight.
I couldn’t decide. It’s always hard on a girl when she’s dead set against something, when she’s sure she will not like it, and then she walks through the doors and the experience is something else. Something transportive. Something powerful. I tiptoed around the open hall of white and took in how it framed the view of the lake. I noticed how it captured sound. I leaned back on a bench and stared at the sky through the ribs of the ceiling.
I knew what it was like to be in the movie Alien.
And, I didn’t care. I loved dem dry bones anyway.
If you’re in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Art Museum is a must-visit. Their exhibitions are eclectic, and their main collection is varied and manageable.
Milwaukee Art Museum
700 N. Art Museum Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Phone: 414-224-3200
Fax: 414-271-7588
Email: mam@mam.org
Open Tuesday–Sunday, 10 AM–5 PM
Thursday until 8 PM
Closed Mondays (Open Monday, December 31st)
Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 24th and 25th
This post is part of the series Doing It Our Way, an homage to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, birthplace of MTM. If this is your first visit to the series, please check out the other installments:
We’re Gonna Do 2013 Our Way
Cold as a Witches Nipple
A Spew of White Foam
A New Year Moo and a Prize for You
An Orgy of Caloric Consumption
Thank you for reading, for liking my posts, for subscribing and for sharing my blog with your world.
You are right, Andrea. The Milwaukee Art Museum is a must visit because it is so unique.
It is actually a place of pilgrimage for many-a-gardener in these parts come spring when there is a magnificent flower show that occurs. Each entrant – florists, decorators, garden clubs – choose one piece of artwork to interpret: a painting, sculpture, mobile. Flowers and containers become palettes. The placement of the flowers in masterful, not only in the arrangements, but, in how they are situated, and they bring about new discussions and appreciations (or not) of the art. The building lends itself remarkably to the event, which is often on a series of windy days with dramatic clouds there on the lake.
I was hoping you would get a chance to visit the Milwaukee Art Museum – glad you shared.
I’ll have to tell my mother-in-law about that one, Penny. She loves gardening. Maybe I can come up and go with her, and we could meet there.
Because our trip was cut short, I didn’t get to visit the museum this time as I had planned. Luckily, I went the year it opened, and it is true that MTM didn’t want to go with me. He went to visit his brother Jim while I traipsed to the museum by myself.
That would be delightful, Andra! It is usually in April.
It is exciting to see a museum when it is first opened, isn’t I? I sometimes like to go to museums and galleries alone just to be able to see what I want to see without talking and being pulled in another direction, though it is always fun with Tom and with my friend Kathryn. Both bring some real knowledge of art to someone like me, even if she almost got us thrown out of the Art Institute because she kept going up too close to the Wyeth paintings to see his technique.
I love the Art Institute. The courtyard along Michigan Avenue is such a peaceful place.
And, I am like Kathryn. I routinely get scolded for getting too close to paintings.
Ooops. Just saw I called you Andrea. Sorry.
Lots of people do it, Penny.
Ah yes, the tricky, sneaky search for the comment box, I am sure its hidden nature is due to the Shadow Ninja not wanting anyone to even see your post today, let alone comment upon it.
I actually like the place, has a certain sense of soaring off into the wild blue yonder that I like.
Okay, what is the problem with the comment box? Could you not find it this morning?
I don’t know what the problem is with the other thing on my site. I changed the form, and it still goes to that silly photo. I’m going to send the issue to the WP happiness engineers, and they will be able to fix it.
There was nothing wrong with it, I just was looking at the end where it usually is and missed it at the top left. Then I saw a “2 comments” link and clicked and voila, there it be.
It’s my fault. I have to remember to implant an excerpt every time now, and I forgot on this story. It is fixed now.
Never thought about looking at life from the point of view of the Alien. From inside the body waiting to burst out. An interesting corollary to architecture.
MTM often says that my descriptions of architecture are unique.
What a building!
Is that good or bad, Jim?
Good!
I love the emotional appeal of the building, and suspect that might be what holds MTM back. I suspect that he prefers a rational approach to architecture.
It’s important that we remember we are individuals within a marriage and that each of us can have our own likes and dislikes and of course, respect the other. Which I’m sometimes not sure that Bill understands. As you know, we have very different views of the world.
Bill understands, Cheryl. He’s just very direct.
I think MTM’s primary problem with this building, and I’m putting words in his mouth here, is how much it cost to build it. They got one additional room for exhibiting art out of the expense in a city that isn’t huge. The rest of the building is event space, a shop and restaurant, and restrooms, with some meeting room space thrown in.
That makes sense, especially if the entire goal was to enlarge the exhibition space; though if on the other hand the goal was to increase ways to earn revenue, the opposite would be true.
Absolute flights of fancy… Every one of his buildings, bridges, etc. to which you’ve linked appears ready to depart earth at any moment. I’m sure each piece of the whole has some practical, structural purpose, but to the untrained eye they’re magic.
Karen, I like one of his earliest bridges. It’s in Buenos Aires. It totally looks like a slab of upended rib, which is appropriate in a city known for its cow.
I like it . . . it’s graceful and soaring and comes straight to the point.
I agree, Nancy.
I find it hilarious that this particular kind of architecture offends MTM’s sensibilities
If you spend much time around architects, you’ll know they are very opinionated about what they like and dislike. They love to discuss it………..
Remember Citizen Kane? The great towering larger-than life lines which made one feel awed beyond belief? Same effect from your pictures today, Andra. Really beautiful.
Milwaukee is definitely worth a couple of days, Kate, should Phil’s new gig ever take the family to Chicago. It’s a short train ride north.
Wow. That is cathedral-like. Beautiful. Of course, beauty and art are a personal opinion.
They always are that. I have come to appreciate MTM’s taste. That’s probably why so many architects follow my Pinterest board on architecture.
Glorious! Though you can see why a minimalist architect might be offended…
Yep. It’s a little, um, fluffy.
I think this is just gorgeous! It would be impossible to ignore, that’s for sure…even disliking something gives it due attention.
I am sure I would enjoy this museum. Even the idea that the art exhibits themselves have an eclectic nature appeals to me. I think you did an incredible job with your photography. Not easy to capture the essence as well as you did!
Sometimes, buildings that are designed to grab attention bother me, but this one doesn’t.
What an amazing place. So like the atmosphere of “Alien”. Spooky and impressive.
I actually wondered whether Calatrava was somehow inspired by that movie, Roger. MTM says that my associations are entertaining, though.
Oh, I like it!!!!! Where are we going next?
I don’t know, Lori. This series has been fun, some lighter writing while I work on my main project off the blog. Almost done with that. Next Tuesday is my deadline. I’ll see where my mind takes me from there.
In the real world, MTM has a work trip late next week, and I’m tagging along. I’m sure I will write about part of it, because I’m going to visit Cooper.
What a cool building. I’ve been to Milwaukee but not for years; if I go back I’ll definitely have to hit that up.
I really like its place on the water, and there are some other cool things to do around it now.