The Wisconsin Project: Wis.

20.3.14

Found: Willow River Falls, Hudson, WI

Found: Willow River Falls, Hudson, Wis. Hand-colored Work E. C. Kropp, Milwaukee, 1906.
Text written in fountain pen on front reads: "I'm afraid it's wet.
Laaks fine though. A.J. Samson, Hudson, Wis." postmarked Hudson, Octobe4 24 1906, 3 PM

The damms built to generate hydroelectric power on the Willow River Falls in the early 20th century, years after the above postcard image showing one man viewing the falls while the other fishes, were removed in the 1990s after a lighting strike according to gowaterfalling.com. Efforts continue to restore the area.

14.12.12

Found: Milwaukee by Moonlight

Found: Milwaukee River Front between Wells St. and Grand Ave. at Night by E. C.Kropp Co. circa 1930s

Found: River Front South From Wells St. Bridge, Milwaukee, Wis. The Milwaukee River,
flanked by stately bank and office buildings, flows through the heart of the city, enabling excursion steamer
to land their passengers within walking distance of theatres, hotels an retail stores. Milwaukee enjoys
the distinction of being one of the most beautiful cities and at the same time one of the greatest industrial centers
in the world by a Kropp Natural Color Card made in Milwaukee, Wis. circa 1930s


Found: .byBoating at Moonlight, Milwaukee, Wis M.L. Annenberg, puslisher, Milwaukee, Wis. postmarked March 11, 1915, 11 PM

Found: Moonlight on Lake Michigan, Milwaukee, Wis. by Raphael Tuck & Sons' Post Card Series
"Milwakee" art publishers to their majesties the king and queen circa 1900s

Found: River View at Night, Milwaukee, Wis. handwritten on front "Very impressionistic. No?"
postmarked July 11, 1907 10 AM

Found: Looking South from Oneida St. Bridge at Night, Milwaukee postmarked Jun3 1, 1909

Found: Music under the Stars, Washington Park, Milwaukee, Wis. With a background of the highest influences...
cultural, social and industrial...Milwaukee was preserved a savory Old World Charm unusual for so large a city.
Prominent as a gathering place for music lovers is the Blatz Temple, a moder n music shell where outstanding
artists perform every year in a full summer schedule of concerts, operas, and cultural programs
by E. C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee postmarked March 5, 1951

The moonlight, water and stars combine to create enigmatic images of Milwaukee, Wisconsin located on Lake Michigan and along significant rivers in these early 20th century post cards.

THE WISCONSIN PROJECT

Our research-driven Wisconsin Project contemplates the rooted-ness and state-of-mind resulting from inhabiting a single place, our native Wisconsin, for a long time. Through critiquing postcard views both made and found, we learn a great deal about past and present Wisconsin. We began making postcard views of the places immediately around our studio and on our drives around Wisconsin in about 2008. We use the vintage postcard film format and print the cards in palladium and cyanotype. By communicating details of a specific place, seeming to register only marginally on the national radar, the project seeks to bring audiences into a Wisconsin mental space. Some in the art world would argue that the Midwest, particularly Wisconsin, makes for banal “fly over” subject matter. Our project challenges that by finding meaning in the ordinary and inviting audiences to examine, dialog, and reflect on the particular emotional quality of the idiosyncrasies of place and the perceptions of those both inside and outside of it. Sometimes distant memories are involved and a longing for a time now gone. Wisconsin’s glacier inflected landscape and proximity to the Great Lakes creates an exotic arena for living that informs our project. The life cycle plays out and rural and urban ruins serve as monuments to existences as people, places, and ideas surface then vanish. Ultimately, we aim to grapple with complex perceptions of Wisconsin ranging from nostalgic, romantic, and idealized--as depicted on myriad real photo postcard and standard tourist postcards--to mysterious, dark, and Gothic as conveyed in works of art and literature such as Michael Lesy's "Wisconsin Death Trip" book and Werner Herzog's "Stroszek" film. The project culminated in a residency with workshops and community collaborations and the installation "We Go From Where We Know" at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center 10.13.2013-3.7.2014 and later the Harvestore Bandshell for Fermentation Fest in 10.2014. The blog continues the exploration of postcards.