Milwaukee Museum Looks At Everyday Objects As Art

MILWAUKEE -- Many people may own a few of the items in the Milwaukee Art Museum's new exhibition.

It includes mass-produced, everyday items like watering cans from Ikea, a Dyson vacuum, a fax machine and forks, along with rare pieces the average person may be more likely to consider art, such as a chair made of rags, a porcelain vase that resembles a sea sponge and two white shirts with light bulbs behind them.

The exhibit, "European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century," presents nearly 200 pieces of furniture, metalwork, glass and other products from about 100 European designers, juxtaposing fine art with everyday items. It runs through Jan. 9.

"This is the first time anyone has ever looked at this body of material from '85 to 2005 and tried to assign it art historical words," said Mel Buchanan, the museum's assistant curator of 20th century art design. "So instead of it all being contemporary art, they are saying like, 'OK, now let's look backward. Let's treat this like historians. This biomorphic, this is neo dada.'"

Organizers hope museum-goers ask, "What leads design, artistic concept or function?"

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This article struck me! It talks about the European Art Exhibit I went to the very first time I went to the High Museum! I remember wandering that day how a vacuum cleaner could be considered art...and this article somewhat addresses that!