MWA Members Show
November 5 - December 28
Sneak Peek: Friday, November 7 (10:30 a.m.)
Opening Reception: Sunday, December 7 (1:30 - 4:00 p.m.)
One of the great benefits of joining and supporting the MWA is the right to exhibit
in our annual MWA Members Show. This long cherished opportunity regularly opens
with entries numbering over one hundred. As each artist member enters a single work,
this guarantees visitors a tremendous spectrum of styles, media and subject matter
– making it our most diverse exhibition of the season.
For artists and visitors alike, no matter what their particular taste in art might
be, chances are good that something will strike a chord, be it photography, painting,
drawing, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry or mixed media. With the exhibition opening
on November 5th and many of the works on display being for sale, this is a good
time to find that perfect gift for the person who appears to have everything. If
you do make a purchase from our MWA Members Show, you can pick it up on December
22, 23 or after December 25 during regular museum hours.
Three artists from the Members Show will be present at our Sneak Peek Friday event,
November 7 at 10:30 a.m. to discuss their art, their training, methods of working
and inspiration. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn the inside story on what motivates
the artistic mind.
With the overwhelming participation of members for the Annual Member’s Exhibition
we have utilized the One from Wisconsin Gallery to accommodate the works. The next
One from Wisconsin exhibit will open January 1, 2009.
A Sense of Place: The Photographs of A.J. Mueller
October 1 - January 4, 2009
Born in Germantown, WI in 1900, Andrew John (A.J.) Mueller’s deep connection to
farming and the land of Wisconsin began early when he went to live with relatives
at the age of thirteen, working the land his grandfather homesteaded; the hard work
and multiple chores cemented the relationship. At age eighteen he bought his first
small box camera and by age 21, he had saved $1,000 to go to the Layton School of
Art in Milwaukee. While going to school, he worked as an artist doing hand painting
of glass lamp shades and also worked in the cabinet shop of Fred Garvens.
Andrew’s first professional job as an artist was with Hoard’s Dairyman in Fort Atkinson
where he was able to combine his love of farming with art and photography. In 1938
he took a job with Badger Printing of Appleton. After a short time, he took a commercial
art position with the Appleton Post Crescent where, within a few years, the newspaper’s
two photographers were called off to service leaving Andrew to take on the responsibilities
of being the paper’s photographer as well as being in charge of the Art and Photography
Department. He remained with the Appleton Post Crescent until his retirement in
1966.
A. J. Mueller’s photographs combine two of his passions: the land and photography.
However, these are not simply documentary photographs as might have been preferred
by newspaper editors. Composing each image using his Graflex 4” x 5” camera, his
carefully crafted pictures reveal a bygone age in Wisconsin taken with an artist’s
eye and tremendous sympathy for those who love and work the land.