MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM WELCOMES CHAKAIA BOOKER ON-SITE INSTALLATION

MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM WELCOMES CHAKAIA BOOKER ON-SITE INSTALLATION
Edgy, bold, huge sculptures on display through February

Milwaukee, Wis. – As part of its on-going On Site Installation series, the Milwaukee Art Museum welcomes Manhattan-based artist Chakaia Booker September 30, 2010 through February 13, 2011. Chakaia Booker uses cut tires to create relief, free standing, pedestal, and outdoor sculpture.

“Chakaia Booker’s sculptures stem from a tradition in modern art of using found objects and industrially fabricated materials,” said Brady Roberts, chief curator at the Milwaukee Art Museum. “Booker’s work incorporates elements of African dance, weaving, and basketry. The transformation of prosaic materials into spectacular and beautiful forms suggests multiple readings ranging from issues of labor and industry to the human condition.”

The sculptures – some of which appear to be figurative, others abstract – also have an ominous aspect suggesting the proliferation and persistence of industrial waste. Over a dozen works will be presented in On Site: Chakaia Booker.

“Booker began her career making wearable sculpture in the 1980s, and continues to emphasize the connections between life, movement, and her artworks. She is a highly talented artist, working with a difficult, tactile medium. The human-scale, industrious nature of her work in contrast to the pristine, clean white marble of the Museum will be inspiring,” said Roberts. “The sculptures are powerful, large, and starkly contrast the space they will be in. This will be a strong exhibition and invoke strong reactions.”

HOURS AND ADMISSION
The Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults and $10 for students, seniors and active military, and is free for members and children 12 and under. The first Thursday of each month is Target Free First Thursday and admission is free for everyone.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum houses a collection with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, named by Time magazine as “Best Design of 2001.” For more information, please visit www.mam.org.

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