August 2011 • Milwaukee, Wisconsin
For those of you who are friends of Caggio-- an art experiment turned community gallery, run by proprietors Joseph Ledger and Kaitlin Rathkamp-- the news of the gallery's closing earlier this month was indeed bittersweet for Milwaukee's East Side. All good things must come to an end, but my connection with Caggio has been more than that of Blog Contributor, and I am sad to see to see it go. For the last year I had the opportunity to interview many of Wisconsin's emerging and established fine artists. I am grateful for my monthly assignments, especially through the winter months. I had the chance to visit artist studios and conduct interviews and see the work and process up close, gaining an in-depth perspective. With that said, I thank Joseph and Kaitlin for the opportunity to partner on this project. I'd also like to thank the many artists I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing: Jim Finnerty, Daniel David Kaiser, Mark Johnson, Brent Oudejans, William Lemke, Charles Dwyer, Stephanie Barenz, Kayla Koeune, Tim Nyberg, Chad Hallblade, and Guy C. Landgraf Jr. Last but not least, I'd like to thank Dax Odom for introducing me to Caggio.
For Caggio's finale last month, Stephanie Barenz was featured artist. Barenz has continually exhibited at Caggio; from the day the doors opened-- poignantly-- to the day the doors closed. Her new work is rooted in Milwaukee's identity as a Midwestern city-- architecturally captivating, gritty, historical-- born out of industry. I had the chance to interview her yet again [my first interview was six months ago] to learn more about her new series of paintings City Middle. I also toured Wisconsin Avenue with her-- inspirational for the new work-- rich in architectural elements. We visited the old brick Coakley Brothers building and Clock Tower [with surrounding industrial buildings], Our Savior's Lutheran, Tripoli Shrine Center, Ambassador Hotel, Neo-Renaissance styled Milwaukee Public Library, St. James Episcopal and Church of the Gesu [the most striking Gothic cathedral with it's iconic rose window]. It was great to be on foot exploring Milwaukee, truly a City of Steeples.
As Barenz prepares to spend a year abroad in China; as Caggio closes it's doors; it seems change-- big change-- is in the air.
Barenz exhibited her new series City Middle at Caggio during July and August. Wisconsin in peak summer is hot, humid, lush with greenery-- and stormy. The day I interviewed her, we sat in the sun-soaked gallery and discussed her new work. Exploring place continues to be integral, as does opposing spacial perspectives and dreamlike imagery. I was curious to learn the motivation for such specific locals in her new work, the evolution of her techniques and processes, and her life now as professor and artist. What I learned is, to Barenz, place is everything. What I also learned is that to create the most compelling work there needs to be a certain level of uncertainty. One of Barenz's favorite quotes is by Philip Guston, "When you're in the studio painting, there are a lot of people in there with you-- your teachers, friends, painters from history, critics-- and one by one if you're really painting, they walk out. And if you're really painting YOU walk out."
Wisconsin and North Avenues provide a backdrop for imagery in Barenz's new work. Three components show up time and time again in her work: telephone poles, row housing, and church steeples. To anyone who is familiar with Milwaukee's surrounding neighborhoods, it is not hard to imagine its bygone past. Vintage brick industrial buildings, bridges, water towers and smokestacks abound with vestiges of old signage; telephone poles with miles of cables connect linear landscapes; churches on almost every corner boast steeples dotting skylines; and tree lined streets frame quaint row housing. Interestingly, the artist chose these two main thoroughfares in Milwaukee to explore, as she started to investigate alternative routes during freeway construction this year. Surprisingly, she found an immense amount of material to inspire her work-- and thus took to photographing and exploring on foot. Steeples-- iconic to the many churches in this part of the country-- hold significance for Barenz, the daughter of a minister. For her, the church is a positive experience-- an important lifelong Third Place-- and therefore central to imagery in her work. The Third Place in this context is a place that is warm and glowing, consisting of both memories and existing in real time. It is an environment of visceral emotions. Within this narrative the artist explores her own sense of place, developing the idea of home, bringing to the forefront not only figures-- anonymous and familiar-- but the idea of moving between locations. Furthermore, churches in the Midwest are living symbols of art and architecture, historical markers that continually intrigue the artist as she is a self described architecture lover. Oftentimes in economically depressed neighborhoods, they provide outreach and hope, which is yet another important aspect to the artist's investigation into place-- as well as the "sanctity of knowing one's neighbor, the importance of locality and the elevation of the commonplace to the remarkable."*
As Barenz evolves her techniques and process, there is a recurring theme in the new work. That is repetition: Repetition of place, form, structure and palette. She also uses cloud cover to create tension; to be the active element that shows potential for change. Her meticulously tried-and-true process has taken years to perfect. Taking hundreds of pictures-- documenting the world around her-- Barenz starts a composition with photographic imagery that intrigues her. The artist prefers navigating her surroundings on foot, experiencing the environment in infinite detail, as only interaction in this proximity can provide. In terms of technique, the painting begins to take form only after the initial idea is chosen. Each painting has a spontaneous start: the artist throws Sumi Ink and acrylic paint down on a wood panel indiscriminately and lets the paint drip. The composition is entirely abstract in this phase. Next, the artist chooses several images, lays them out on the surface, shifting and rearranging until a focal point comes forth. Oftentimes the focal point is a sort of portal: an arch, alley or doorway. Only then does she begin sketching, using a combination of drawing, drafting, and painting. Vignettes emerge of urban landscapes-- juxtaposed and collaged like short stories-- architecture, trees, interior rooms, neighborhoods, and figures at rest or in motion. A narrative presents itself, captured unselfconsciously in a moment in time. Pushing her process further, she has recently partnered with Design Fugitives and had her images carved on large wood panels with a CNC Milling Machine. Although the finishing work on wood panels is quite labor intensive, this new direction opens up endless multi-dimensional possibilities. Collaborations with key artistic partners are gaining importance; whether it be with an architect to produce wood panels; or with a musician to explore how paintings influence song-writing and composition. Local talents Tuan N. Tran and Matthew Robert Eich provide integral partnerships as her work evolves.
Barenz leaves the US shortly to teach at Hangzhou Dianzi University in China. As artist and professor, she is indeed venturing into a new and exciting chapter. It is such a fitting move for the artist, venturing to a new place with it's own close-knit communities-- presenting a whole new language of symbols, relationships, locations, history and architecture-- with dreamlike parallels to the familiar but existing in real time. As Milwaukee represents a city that is becoming-- evolving-- but retaining its roots; may Hangzhou be an amazingly inspiring counterpart. Place is everything.
With gratitude,
Maureen
*title quote by Garrison Keillor
*quote from Stephanie Barenz bio
painting titles [in order]
City of Steeples
The Ma Bells of Milwaukee
Out of the Fire
The Ambassador
Sign on North
*all images copyright Stephanie Barenz
photo location [in order]
Coakley Bros. Clock Tower
Industrial area near Coakley Building
Utility poles near Coakley Building
Our Savior's Lutheran
Tripoli Shrine Center
Ambassador Hotel
Milwaukee Public Library
St. James Episcopal
Church of the Gesu Rose Window
Church of the Gesu
*photos taken on Wisconsin Ave. by Maureen Mulhern
