Blinded by the Light

Welcome to Chapter 17 of my Book Passages series. This image is an interpretation of a passage from a yet untitled novel by Mary Dally-Muenzmaier. Mary is the voice behind the words at a wonderful news and review blog for art and culture in Milwaukee called Crickettoes. From the brief passage that she provided to me for my Book Passages series I cannot wait to someday read her finished novel. Until then, we have this brief passage and my accompanying images. Enjoy and always think and act by sharing your thoughts on the images. Some behind the scenes images are also available by stylist Addie Kidd. Thanks to both Addie and model Kristin Sutter for creating such an enjoyable photo shoot.

"Untitled Novel" by Mary Dally-Muenzmaier:

"There are some who view the world through a very small lens and though they live in three dimensions they perceive only two. Armed with this outlook, they operate daily with a fundamental conviction that all that exists does so solely in relation to their own existence and all that happens serves a purpose of meaning.

She is not a small lens viewer, but lying there on the floor, unaware of her surroundings, her subconscious mind begins to replay a scene from her childhood. It was a time long before she had wholly grasped the truth that she was just one on a planet populated by billions, before she had fully realized that the culture she was growing in was just one in an enormous, divergent sea of traditions and beliefs. It was a time when her lens was very, very small and she needs to be back there again, if only for a moment.

Proposed Budget Cuts to Milwaukee Arts Board

If you believe in the value of ART in Milwaukee please send Mayor Tom Barrett an informed letter/email on why he should reconsider such a hefty slashing of the Art's Budget. 75% is not a cut it's a massacre. mayor@milwaukee.gov

Below is a letter by Alderman Michael J. Murphy:

Dear Members of the Milwaukee Arts Board and fellow Arts Organizations,

As you may already know, under Mayor Barrett’s proposed budget for 2010 the Milwaukee Arts Board will lose approximately two thirds of its funds. The Mayor has recommended cutting $110,000 from the 2009 allocation of $160,000. The subsequent result of this action will also be a loss of $25,000 matching grant dollars from the Wisconsin Arts Board.

I am clearly opposed to such a cut; the largest reduction in any department. This proposal would result in a total loss of almost 75% of the board’s funds. I thus encourage you to attend the Joint Public Hearing being held by the Common Council and the Mayor on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 6:00 PM in the Common Council Chambers, Third Floor, City Hall, 200 E Wells Street, to share your concerns. As many factors are taken into consideration when determining the next year’s budget, it is important that the Common Council hear your voices in opposition to the Mayor’s budget.

I look forward to seeing you at the hearing to support art in the City of Milwaukee. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to call me at 286-3763.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Murphy

Alderman, 10^th District

Eddee Daniel, Accidental Art

Eddee Daniel is an outstanding photographer that is at the forefront of environmental issues through his fine art photography and activism on these very contemporary issues. While working on his book Urban Wilderness: Exploring a Metropolitan Watershed, Eddee began to notice that the fences put up for various construction projects often created "Accidental Art". He used his creative eye to compose a body of work with these construction fences that are at times abstract and other times more documentary in nature. He didn't stop there. Eddee turned what could have been a traditional photography exhibition into an installation exhibition by bringing the construction fences into the gallery. These fences create unique shadows through the light streaming in from the sky light windows of the gallery by suspending them above the exhibition space. Additional fences are used as a backdrop to frame the photographic prints. The viewer is reminded of the purpose of fences and their ability to divide, keep out and partition people and things. Check it out before it closes.

Eddee's Accidental Art Installation Exhibition is on display at Carroll University through October 11. A closing reception will be held on October 10 from 10am to 12pm.