Author: Jane Weinke, curator of collections/registrar
A Cookie a Day
Posted on September 15, 2021
My blog posts have often focused on my baking habit, or as I refer to it: stress baking. Taking a variety of ingredients and mixing them into cookies, bars, bread, whatever, has been a source of comfort my entire life.
A Few of My Favorite Things
Posted on July 28, 2021
I’ve been asked hundreds of times what my favorite artwork is in the Woodson Art Museum collection. My answer always centered on a question: do you have a favorite child?
What I do have are memories, including my first impressions of a work and the stories I conceive in my mind while standing before a work; I’ve always had a great imagination. Many factors influence my opinion of each artwork.
Endless Inspiration
Posted on June 09, 2021
I’ve always been a reader – books, magazines, recipes, and blogs. Typically, I learn something, and frequently I’m inspired to try something new.
The same holds true for a file I started many years ago titled “Exhibition Ideas.” Each time I discover an interesting phrase, an exceptional exhibition title, an artist biography, or sometimes just random articles, they are filed for future reference. When it’s time for a new exhibition, I start there.
Let’s Celebrate
Posted on April 28, 2021
Celebrating milestones has always been part of my culture. As a family, we celebrated religious achievements, sporting events, school programs, and birthdays – any reason to come together for food and fun.
The current Woodson Art Museum exhibition, Beyond Artworks: Artists & Their Stories, on view through June 6, is another reason to celebrate. The exhibition honors nearly forty-five years of thoughtful acquisitions enhancing the Museum’s collection. Not only are the artworks outstanding but the stories offer visitors ways to discover amazing facts about artworks and reasons to celebrate. Follow these links for a virtual tour via images and video and visit soon and often this spring.
The Art of Curating
Posted on March 10, 2021
I’ve seen the word curate used lately in many contexts related to the organization of food stands, merchandise placement in stores, and even selecting songs and musicians.
The term curate has long been associated with the art world. One definition is to select, organize, and care for a collection or exhibition. Certainly, it describes how exhibitions from the Woodson Art Museum’s permanent collection have been presented for decades. As I look at other definitions of the word, I see that merchandise, information, and more can be curated. Why not?
Change Is Good
Posted on December 02, 2020
As the calendar page turns to December, in a typical year I would be preparing for an annual Christmas cookie-baking weekend. A few friends and family would come together for three days to bake dozens of cookies which, ultimately, we give away. It’s my favorite holiday tradition.
This year, thinking positively that change is good, holiday baking will be different. There will be delicious cookies, yet just not as many as in the past. Instead of thirty different varieties of holiday treats, I’ll prepare just a few. I’m thinking of challenging myself with more difficult recipes that might fail, versus the tried and true.
Changing with the Times
Posted on October 07, 2020
The opening of Birds in Art, although missing artists, guests, and events of previous years, was a comfort. It is a delight to walk through the galleries and appreciate the beautifully displayed artworks created by amazingly talented artists. Even though artists were not physically at the Museum, shared emails, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts helped serve as substitutes. Happily, four artists and families did visit, which was a highlight of the subdued opening.
Up to the Challenge
Posted on August 19, 2020
Typically during the summer months, I’m happily organizing exhibitions to install in all the Museum’s permanent collection galleries. Covid-19 prompted rethinking installations to increase safety and social distancing. This fall, the west gallery where visitors usually peruse selections from the permanent collection will instead provide expanded space for Birds in Art so visitors can safely enjoy the 128 artworks comprising the exhibition.
My next exciting challenge is preparing for March 6, 2021 when all the Woodson Art Museum’s galleries will feature works from the collection.
Art of the Hunt
Posted on June 03, 2020
It’s not a secret; I love working at the Woodson Art Museum. What’s not to love? Each day I’m with fabulous colleagues, in a beautiful facility, surrounded by stunning artworks. Working with the Museum’s collection of thousands of historic and contemporary paintings, works on paper, and sculpture throughout forty years, I’ve curated more than 100 exhibitions.
Where do I get the themes and how do I choose the artworks? That’s the challenge and joy. Rather than a recipe, it’s more like a jig-saw puzzle. The exhibition idea “picture” is there; getting the pieces in the right place is the goal.
Collection Virtual Views
Posted on April 01, 2020
My heart cracked a bit last week after reading Wisconsin Governor Evers’ “Safer at Home” order effective through April 24. I hope Covid-19 is controlled soon.
As for so many others, my routine is no longer, well, routine. I’m all about the comfort of sameness and control, yet that is gone. I know it’s for the best, but the uncertainty is testing me and all of us.
So, what can I share via this blog? The Woodson Art Museum is closed, staff are working from home, and the galleries are filled with dozens of beautiful artworks with stories to tell. Yet the joy of viewing them is available only online now.
