New & Improved: Milwaukee Art Museum's Expansion

 

Yesterday, I finally got to see the Milwaukee Art Museum's expansion & remodel which opened to the public on November 24.  This expansion has added a lot of space as well as an entrance on the east side of the museum, which can be seen from Lake Michigan:

 



Work was started on the expansion earlier this year, and then the rest of the museum was closed for a couple of months to connect the old with the new and put back all of the art, most in new and unique ways, into new and existing galleries.

To promote the re-opening, the museum placed crates at locations all over Milwaukee county.  The "uncrated" art included many pieces that visitors haven't seen in years as well as new acquisitions.

There was even one in front of my favorite restaurant in Wauwatosa:

The museum dates back to 1888, when local businessman Frederick Layton opened his own gallery.  The museum itself was designed by Eero Saarinen and built in the 1950's.  The Layton exhibit at the museum re-creates how his collection looked in the original gallery.

My favorite part of the museum has always been its contemporary art section which included sculptures:

 

Pop art, including a few of Andy Warhol's:

And mid-century furniture and accessories:

 

I love seeing some of my old favorite pieces of art, including their wonderful gallery of folk art, Haitian art (which I don't think is common in a lot of other art museums), impressionist paintings and historical furniture and pottery.  One new permanent collection I'm excited about features a history of photography, which features a lot of the greats like Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Diane Arbus and Walker Evans.

In addition to the new galleries and exhibits, there is a new "wine bar" where you can rest and refresh yourself with small plate items, and three interactive art spaces where children and families can create art of their own, sponsored by Kohl's.

The Milwaukee Art Museum has always been known as a must-visit spot in the Midwest.  I think with this new expansion, it may soon be known as one of the premiere art museums in the country.  On a side note, I read online this week that Milwaukee may crack Hotwire.com's list of the Top 50 cities to visit in the U.S. due to increased tourism.  It's about time!

My Trip to Savannah, GA

I know I haven't posted in a long while, but since I was finishing school, I haven't had a lot of time to take photos.  But for my graduation, my mom and I took a trip last week to Savannah, Georgia.  We both had wanted to go for years, and the city did not disappoint.  There was gorgeous architecture, friendly people, and lots of walkable streets which surround a series of squares. 

One of the places I wanted to visit most was the Mercer-Williams house which was built for songwriter Johnny Mercer's great-grandfather, but made famous by Jim Williams, who renovated the house with gorgeous art and antiques, and was tried and acquitted for murder right in this house.  That was the basis for the book and film, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.  We toured the house, which was gorgeous.

Below is a statue of Johnny Mercer which sits in City Market on the north side of the Historic District.

The filming of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was not the only one which took place in Savannah.  Cape Fear, Something to Talk About and the Oscar-winner Forrest Gump were just some of the films shot there.  The bench Tom Hanks sits on in Forrest Gump is on display at the Savannah Historical Museum.

The main reason for going was to see all of the architecture, and there was a lot to see.  Did you know Savannah was spared from General Sherman's destruction during the Civil War which destroyed cities like Charleston and Atlanta.  So a lot of amazing architecture from the plantation days still exist.

In many of the squares that make up Savannah, as well as down by the river, there are monuments to many people and groups such as the African-American monument, the WWII monument, a Vietnam Memorial and a statue to Oglethorpe who founded Savannah in 1733.

If you have a chance to visit Savannah, Georgia, go.  It's a safe, fascinating, beautiful city, and I hope to go back there someday.