Hit the Road

Cora Hardin has a vision for Open Art Studios, the annual event in which artists throughout the Madison area open their workspaces to the public.

Someday, Madisonians will eagerly await OAS posting its line-up of artists online. They’ll flock to the site to see who’s participating and to plan out their route to visit as many artists as possible. And the studios tour will attract art aficionados and novices alike—just as the Wisconsin Film Festival appeals to film buffs and the casual movie watcher, says Hardin, this year’s coordinator of the all-volunteer event.

While OAS is in its sixth year—it takes place Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an exhibition at Overture Center running through October 10—it has a ways to go before reaching this level of buzz, Hardin admits. But she believes it can happen, especially as more people learn about the event and check it out.

This year, 136 artists will showcase art ranging from paintings to pottery, jewelry to glasswork. Because the event is not juried, there are no limits to what the artists can feature. “They can show anything they want,” Hardin says.

The tour affords opportunities to see a wide variety of art, see where the work is created and talk with the artists. Some studios also have activities for visitors.

Visit maoas.com for an artists directory and tour map, Hardin suggests. You may be surprised at how close to home art is being created. “You can go to one or two studios in your neighborhood,” she says. “It’s fascinating because you never would think your neighbor does this.”

And here’s an introduction to four artists participating this year:

Helen Klebesadel 

Why are you participating in Open Art Studios?

The Open Studios creates an opportunity for individuals to meet, talk to and learn about the artists who share their community. I participate in the Open Art Studios to give the Madison community a chance to come in and see how and where I do my creative work. I enjoy having the opportunity to talk about my art with people who are interested enough in it to make the effort to come to my studio. By dedicating one weekend a year to opening the doors of my studio I can share my art and my work space with those who follow my art, and introduce myself as an artist to those who don't know me yet. It also guarantees that I will clean my studio at least once a year.

I have participated in the Open Art Studios every year since they started except for one year when I was teaching art workshops in Alaska.

Tell me about your art.

While I work in a number of mediums the artworks I am best know for are highly rendered, often large scale, representational watercolors with narrative themes. My work often draws on subjects associated with women or the environment or both.

What are three words you’d use to describe your work?

Beautiful, layered, meaningful.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by the creative work of the artists who were not recognized as such, but whose art surrounded me as I grew up in rural Wisconsin: quilters, lace makers, gardeners and other people who made art for daily use. I am also inspired by the natural world and the search to understand ourselves as a part of nature, realizing that what we do to it we do to ourselves and vice versa.

Part of open studios is giving the public a glimpse of the art-making process. What do people commonly misunderstand about your art?

Sometimes people think my quilt paintings are photographs of quilts I've made. I also think some people think of art in general as entertainment while I understand it as representing important intellectual and creative thinking about everything we value in the world represented visually.

What do you hope people get from meeting you or seeing your work?

I hope people come away from experiencing my art and talking to me with several possible reactions. I hope my art gives the viewer a place to pause in deep pleasure for a long time; I hope it makes them stop and reconsider what surrounds them every day through new eyes; I hope they understand art making as an important contribution to our culture and I hope it makes them want to make a larger place in their own lives for the creative process.


Cate Loughran 

Why are you participating in Open Art Studios?

I am the person who originally brought Open Studios to Madison. I lived in California for eleven years, until 2001. In California Open Studios is a way of life. From San Francisco, to the Sierras, to Napa Valley they are established and very popular. I simply created a structure that fit the Midwest and began talking to people about the idea. This was in 2003. Now it is n popular annual art event. This makes me proud. I am participating because I want to use this forum to show the public my new body of art.

Tell me about your art.

I consider myself a visionary. I view my artwork as inspiring, uplifting, and peaceful. I work with nature, both mother nature and the human nature. I paint, photograph, draw and most of the time work in the world of mixed media. I like the freedom to use whatever techniques necessary to create the most perfect image. I like the freedom to work with landscape and portraiture and floral and any other genre I wish.

Generally my process is collecting images, which include my photographs, drawings, paintings, and others as well. An idea strikes me, somehow... I then proceed to find the images that will best illustrate the idea. This part of the process is something like making a collage, but with the computer, via Photoshop. I have used up eleven photographs in one image; sometimes I use one. After I refine the image, I print it on cotton paper, usually Arches hot press watercolor paper. I then go into the piece with soft pastel, sometimes watercolor and even glitter. I spend sometimes days working the image after the print stage. This makes the image one of a kind, even though there is a printing process involved.

What are three words you’d use to describe your work?

Illuminated Realism is a term I coined to describe my work. Sometimes simply beautiful, other times metaphysical, always reverent to nature and the human condition. There is a surrealistic edge to my work, but my message is always straightforward.

What inspires you?

Nature, both human and mother nature, inspires me.

Part of open studios is giving the public a glimpse of the art-making process. What do people commonly misunderstand about your art?

People sometimes don't realize they too can be artists...

What do you hope people get from meeting you or seeing your work?

I want people to feel lighter, more hopeful about life. I want my work to inspire optimism this.


Karen Calkins Ragus 

Why are you participating in Open Art Studios?

I am participating in the MOAS because I think it is important for the public to see how art is made and what the artist goes through to do it. There are hundreds of decisions that an artist makes to complete a work of art.

I have been part of the MPAS before. I was in the first two shows and I participated last year.

Tell me about your art.

I would say that I am an abstract painter and print maker. I work in water media for the paintings and oil inks for the printmaking. I am unlimited in size for the paintings but my etching press limits the size of my prints.

What are three words you’d use to describe your work?

The three words that describe my work are … abstract, mysterious and exciting.

What inspires you?

Shape, line, texture, color and all the elements of design inspire me … not objects, except for the human figure.

Part of open studios is giving the public a glimpse of the art-making process. What do people commonly misunderstand about your art?

There is no accounting for any one’s taste in art or anything else for that matter. The person who might say, “Oh, I could do that” isn't the person who would like my work. For the most part, the average person doesn’t know how the artist gets to abstract. The artist first takes a long road through representational work.

What do you hope people get from meeting you or seeing your work?

I want people to have an experience you can’t get from a book or the media. “Open your eyes and your mind and see what you are not used to.”


Nick Wroblewski 

Why are you participating in Open Art Studios?

I am participating in the Open Art Studios because I am new to the Madison area, recently moved here from Minneapolis. This will be my first time. I am quite excited to show my space and work because I have expanded my operation to a larger studio space, including a 40” x 72” printing press, large drying rack, ink brayers, etc. It is my way of introducing myself and my artwork to Madison.

Tell me about your art.

I make woodcut block prints. The images are usually inspired by the natural world, presently I am very interested in the larger dynamics of nature such as the ways the hydrological cycle churns, the ways that animals move, migrate, and reproduce. I am drawn to forms that express movement in nature: the way a landscape possesses a “gesture” or a stark horizon line defines sky and earth. My prints are multi-colored, large-scale images that contain plants, animals, and landscapes.

What are three words you’d use to describe your work?

I would describe my work in three words as dynamic, vibrant and organic.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by the gradation of the sky during a setting sun. By the way lines of woodgrain mirror the subtle wisps of cirrus clouds. By the way the forces of nature absorb water, purify it, and release it back. By the way the moon draws water not only through the tides but also through the ground and up to the tips of plants. I am also inspired by how nature solves the most complex of problems in the most elegantly simple ways. I am not inspired by the net result (chain stores) of capitalism. One would get the sense driving across America that creativity and imagination have all but dried up. What is so mind-blowing about a Cabela's Super Store? How about the arial dynamics of a hummingbird?

Part of open studios is giving the public a glimpse of the art-making process. What do people commonly misunderstand about your art?

The process that I use to make my prints is sometimes hard to grasp. I generally print the final piece from two blocks of wood. One block is the background (negative space) and the other is the foreground (positive). I also print each color individually from light to dark. I am able to print more than two colors from two blocks because I use a technique called “reduction.” In a reduction print, one carves away the area that was previously printed that is to remain the last printed color. All the texture that is left is then inked and printed on top of the last color and so on down the line until most of the block is carved away. This concept of carving away what you want to keep usually is one of the crazier concepts to grasp when describing my technique. One also has to be very familiar with seeing the negative space around an object as opposed to the object itself.

What do you hope people get from meeting you or seeing your work?

I hope folks who come by the studio are able to get a sense of how a multi-block woodcut is made. They will be able to see the tools, the rollers, and the press and to hopefully see examples of the blocks that were used to make a specific image. Also, I really hope that viewers can see my work and get a sense of the whole, i.e the “spirit” of animals interacting, the "gesture" of a landscape, or the simple beauty of color as a way to define space.

Art Everywhere!

Mark your calendars—Gallery Night is a week and a half away.

The twice-annual event, in which galleries, museums and businesses open to the public to showcase art and offer receptions and demonstrations, is October 3 from 5 to 9 p.m.

This year, fifty-four organizations across town are participating. That number has grown steadily over the years, says Katie Kazan, director of public information for the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, the group that’s organized the event for over twenty years. “I think that’s the clearest indication as to how important this event is to the community,” she adds.

In addition to museums galleries, a unique aspect to Gallery Night is the diversity of businesses that showcase art. Some places, such as frame shops and coffee shops, have a natural connection to the arts, Kazan says. And others are just fun additions.

“Now we have upholstery shops and veterinary services and acupuncture centers,” she says. “We’re really happy that they’re participating.”

And the special events that art part of Gallery Night—from artist meetings to watching demonstrations to listening to live music—attract a broader audience than traditional art events typically do, according to Kazan.

Additionally, a few galleries—such as Absolutely Art and Wisconsin Union Galleries—have artists participating in PhotoMidwest, the biennial photography fest sponsored by The Center for Photography at Madison, with exhibits, lectures and workshops around Madison during the month of October.

Read on for the lineup of organizations taking part in Gallery Night—or find a list and more info on the MMoCA website. Remember, it’s not too early to start plotting your course.

East Side

Absolutely Art
2322 Atwood Ave.

ArtSPACE Twenty-Two-Eleven
2211 Atwood Ave.

Atwood Acupuncture Center
2045 Atwood Ave., Suite 105

Body Conscious PilateSpa
2045 Atwood Ave., Suite 107

Bungalow 1227 1227 E. Wilson St.

Bungalow Pros
229 North St.

Cafe Zoma
2326 Atwood Ave.

Common Wealth Gallery
100 S. Baldwin St.

EVP Coffee
1250 E. Washington Ave.

Lucent Room Studio 305 S. Livingston St.

Morris Altman Studio
1149 E. Dayton St. 


Off-Center Studios 2716 Atwood Ave.

Radiant Glass
100 S. Baldwin St., Suite 100

Reneéglass Factory
100 S. Baldwin St., Suite 100

Spiritual Vibes 2733 Atwood Ave.

The Straight Thread—Furniture Upholstery
2033 Atwood Ave.

Studio Paran 2051 Winnebago St.

Theo Streibel Photography 202 S. Dickinson St.

U-Frame-It Gallery
857 E. Johnson St.

Willy Street Co-op 1221 Williamson St.

Winnebago Studios 2046 Winnebago St.

Downtown

16 Hands Studio
104 King St.

Anthology 218 State St.

Architecture Network, Inc.
116 E. Dayton St.

Broden Gallery, Ltd.
218 N. Henry St.

HYART Gallery 133 W. Johnson St.

Little Luxuries, Inc.
230 State St.

Madison Children’s Museum 100 State St.

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art 227 State St.

Madison Public Library 201 W. Mifflin St.

Raw Materials
408 E. Wilson St.

State Street Gallery 109 State St.

Wisconsin Academy’s James Watrous Gallery
201 State St., 3rd floor in the Overture Center for the Arts

Wisconsin Union Galleries
800 Langdon St., Rm. 507

West Side

The Bohemian Bauble 404 W. Lakeside St.

Century House 3029 University Ave.

Chiripa, Artisan Crafts of the Americas
636 S. Park St.

Douglas Art and Frame
3238 University Ave.

Edgewood College—DiRicci Gallery 1000 Edgewood College Dr.

Fine Earth Studio & Gallery 2207 Regent St.

Gardens Gallery at Independent Living Retirement Community
602 N. Segoe Rd.

Grace Chosy Gallery 1825 Monroe St.

Higher Fire Clay Studio 2132 Regent St.

Hilldale Shopping Center
702 N. Midvale Blvd.

Janus Galleries 2701 Monroe St.

Lakeview Veterinary Clinic 3518 Monroe St.

Ma-Cha Teahouse and Gallery 1934 Monroe St.

Meuer Art & Picture Frame Company 8448 Old Sauk Rd.

Milward Farrell Fine Art 2701 Monroe St.

Orange Tree Imports
1721 Monroe St.

Spirals Antiques & Interiors
1843 Monroe St.

Studio Jewelers 1306 Regent St.

TileArt
1719 Monroe St.

unearthed
 2501 University Ave.


Photos top to bottom are works by Robert Barnes at MMoCA, Paula Swaydan Grebel at Bungalow 1227, Lane Hall and Lisa Moline at the James Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, Connie Frisch-Cherniak at the Wisconsin Union Galleries and Yueh-mei Cheng at Grace Chosy Gallery.

October Artist: Drawn to Create

Robert Schultz became an artist for three compelling reasons: He was good at drawing, always liked it and never stopped.

Perhaps it’s this natural and straightforward progression that imbues Schultz’s drawings, which are showcased starting this Saturday at the Chazen Museum of Art, with such directness and honesty.

To be sure, there’s nothing simplistic about Schultz’s work. Working primarily in graphite, and sometimes in silverpoint, his drawings are meticulously detailed and render the body with scientific accuracy while also revealing the beauty of the human form.

Schultz is represented in galleries in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and has had shows of his work across the country. Yet he calls Madison home. Indeed, it has been since he was three years old, and he also received his art education at UW–Madison and has worked from a studio overlooking State Street since 1981.

It’s from this perch that Schultz sometimes finds inspiration for his work. “You feel everyone around you,” he says. “It’s nice to people-watch here. You never know what you’re going to find and end up drawing.”

Schultz regularly works eight- or nine-hour days in his studio, stopping only to eat a quick lunch, take a ten-minute break or go teach his life-drawing class at MATC. He likes having an entire day to work, to bring an idea out in a drawing. “Most days I never leave here,” he says. “It’s really fulfilling. The day just goes right by me.”

What Schultz does within those days at the studio can result in drastically varied drawings. One day it could be an anonymous nude with a long strip of cloth wrapped around his leg. And on another, it’s a study of a girl with a tough, confident expression, a ribbed tank top and lots of metal jewelry.

Such concepts for drawings didn’t always come easily for Schultz. The first year and a half out of graduate school was rough as he struggled to find ideas and the right way of expressing them. “Then once I got it, I really got it,” he says. “It just clicked and one idea would lead to another would lead to another.”

His greatest period of change occurred in the late 1980s as hard edges gave way to more gradation of light and shadow. He also began incorporating more texture, particularly in his depictions of skin, he says.

One thing that never changed, however, was Schultz’s dedication to drawing. He never regarded it as a means to become a better painter, as some artists do. Painting always seemed messy and felt like work, he says.

Over the years, Schultz’s drawings have been showcased in over twenty-five solo exhibitions. He’s finished and framed over four hundred pieces and creates about twelve to fifteen a year now.

Despite the work that goes into each drawing, Schultz doesn’t have a problem saying goodbye. If someone purchases a piece, that means the work resonated with the buyer, and the transaction helps validate the art, he says. “If they don’t sell, I feel like they’re failures,” he says.

And selling work is simply one step in a work’s journey. “They’re always mine,” he says. “It’s just that they’re on someone else’s wall.”

Schultz believes he’s at his peak, technique-wise, in creating art. The challenges now are to not repeat ideas and to get even better.

“You end up competing against yourself,” he says.


Robert Schultz Drawings, 1990–2007 runs September 20 to November 16 at the Chazen Museum of Art. An opening reception is Friday, 6–7:30 p.m. And on September 27 at 1 p.m., Schultz will present a studio talk and drawing demonstration.

Photos are courtesy of the Chazen Museum of Art.

Global Grooves

A Hungarian ska group. A Bulgarian wedding band. An Indian electric guitarist.

To say the least, offerings at the Wisconsin Union Theater’s fifth World Music Festival are eclectic. But they’re also stylistically and culturally diverse, and representative of the festival’s goal.

“We have a mission, which is to bring music that is unfamiliar to Madison,” says Esty Dinur, chair for artistic selection. “We’re part of the university, so we see what we do as educational—but in the most fun way.”

Held September 12 to 20 at the Memorial Union Terrace and other venues across the city, the free music festival draws musicians that might not otherwise perform in Madison. Often, the artists are popular in their own countries but haven’t yet traveled to the United States, Dinur says. But once they perform here, as well as at other festivals in the region, many return—and find enthusiastic and full audiences waiting for them.

While organizers never choose a “theme” for the festival, some connections emerge organically as the event comes together, Dinur says.

This year’s festival boasts several bands from Eastern Europe, including the Plastic People of the Universe, a band from the Czech Republic inspired by the Velvet Underground that formed in 1968 and performed in opposition to the Soviet occupation. “It’s amazing to have them,” Dinur says. “It’s their first time touring in the United States.”

Also performing are Hungarian pop-ska band Little Cow; Reelroad, a Russian folk revival band that started out in 1999 playing Irish folk music; and Kabile, a six-piece traditional Bulgarian wedding band.

Dinur expects electric guitarist Prasanna to be a hit with audiences. “He’s known as the Indian Jimi Hendrix,” she says.

Also exciting are “four acts from the Muslim world,” Dinur says. She’s looking forward to presenting Mamak Khadem of Iran, Gaida Hinnawi of Syria, Baba Zula of Turkey and Etran Finatawa of Niger.

Through these and other acts, the festival does more than simply bring good music to Madison, Dinur believes.

“It’s kind of a political statement—make music, not war.”

Concert Schedule:

Friday, September 12
Memorial Union Terrace (rain: Wisconsin Union Theatre)
• Dragon Knights and World Percussion Ensemble, 5 p.m.
• Prasanna, India, 5:30 p.m.
• Dragon Knights, 7 p.m.
• Mamak Khadem, Iran, 7:30 p.m.
• Dragon Knights, 9 p.m.
• Nation Beat, Brazil/USA, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 13
Memorial Union Terrace (rain: Wisconsin Union Theater)
• Dragon Knights, 4 p.m.
• Little Cow, Hungary, 4:30 p.m.
• Dragon Knights, 6 p.m.
• Plastic People of the Universe, Czech Republic, 6:30 p.m.
• Dragon Knights, 7:15 p.m.
• Reelroad, Russia, 7:45 p.m.
• Dragon Knights, 9:15 p.m.
• Maraca, Cuba, 10 p.m.

Sunday, September 14
The Annex
• Weapons of Mass DeFunktion, 6:30 p.m.
• Little Cow, Hungary, 7:30 p.m.
• Plastic People of the Universe, Czech Republic, 9 p.m.

Thursday, September 18
Memorial Union Terrace (rain: Der Rathskeller)
• Student and Community Showcase, 5 p.m.
• Kabile, Bulgaria, 8:30 p.m.

Friday, September 19
Memorial Union Terrace (rain: Wisconsin Union Theater)
• Gaida Hinnawi, Syria, 5:30 p.m.
• Dya Singh, India, 7:30 p.m.
• Baba Zula, Turkey, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 20
Willy Street Fair
• Chiwoniso, Zimbabwe, 1:45 p.m.
• Zazhil, Mexico, 3:45 p.m.
• Etran Finatawa, Niger, 5:45 p.m.
• 17 Hippies, Germany, 7:45 p.m.

Visit the World Music Festival website for recent additions, musician bios, and a full schedule of events including classes and workshops.

Photos of Reelroad, Prasanna and Baba Zula are courtesy of the Wisconsin Union Theater.

Going for It

In these anxious days when nearly everyone’s feeling a financial pinch, a trip to the theater might be just the thing to take our minds off our troubles. Better yet would be to see a musical about a group of down-on-their-luck guys who turn unemployment into unexpected opportunities.

Mercury Players Theatre kicks off its season with The Full Monty, a musical about six British men who lose their job in a steel mill and take inspiration from Chippendale dancers to raise some cash.

Director Pete Rydberg offered some insight into his—as well as music director JS Fauquet and choreographer Cindy Severt’s—plans for the production. 

How does the musical fit into the types of productions your company typically takes on—or how is it a departure?

Full Monty is one of the most mainstream productions Mercury Players has done in a long time, and it was certainly a discussion topic at our artistic committee meetings. First and foremost we put the artistic integrity of any possible production, and all three of us (myself, JS and Cindy) felt we could make a really exciting production of the show, and the company has the people and material resources to pull it off. It is without question the largest budget and one of the largest casts Mercury has had in a long time. And while it is a more recognized title than most of our other productions, it is still a new opportunity for area theatergoers who are likely only familiar with the screen version, which is a horse of a very different color. We also have a twelve-year-old lead—and Mercury rarely chooses pieces with young actors (last year’s Pillowman is the only other instance I know of, and the role in that show was fairly small).

What’s your approach to Full Monty?

It’s musical theatre, not a play—as I continually remind my actors. I like to direct “straight” theatre, but musical theatre is a completely different style of performance, so training actors to think outside of “realistic acting modes” is challenging. There is a technical precision that absolutely must be there in a musical that is not always as necessary or even desired in non-musical performances. There is more artifice, a demand for larger suspensions of disbelief, and the proscenium space does not allow for as much on audience-performer intimacy.

We began choreography workshops in May, and then focused June on music and choreography—both of which are extremely challenging for this particular production. Musically this is a huge challenge for both actors and musicians. There are times when all six of the leads will be singing their own line of melody creating a dissonant sequence—which is electrifying to hear in the audience but for performers on stage can sound “off” or “wrong” because, of course, it is dissonant.

As for the larger scope of the play, it is all about regular people finding ways to transcend their day-to-day—the six male leads transform from pathetic, antagonistic jerks and losers to a unified group of friends who, with the bond of their friendship behind them and the opportunity of doing something truly daring, achieve the improbable. The women in the show have a challenge as characters in charge of the household incomes and traditional male social roles. They must find a way to balance their relationships with these men who feel they have nothing to give back. The men feel like losers, and treat their respective partners poorly because of it. And the women need to find a way to overcome their significant others’ personal obstacles.

Most importantly, I have worked on making sure that while the show has many intensely dramatic moments, that it remained a musical comedy, as intended.

How close are you sticking to the original musical or the 1997 film?

I watched the film about ten years ago and not since. The musical adaptation takes a lot of liberties with the original film—resetting it in Buffalo as opposed to Sheffield or wherever it was in Britain, and adding/deleting a couple characters, but the basic storyline remained the same. As for the differences with the original production of the musical, I always throw those considerations out the window. The original was a multi-million production with hydraulic settings, etc etc. The Bartell demands different considerations, and I only have thirty grand—and I say “only” as comparison; again, it’s the most expensive show Mercury has ever produced. That is not to say that throwing money at a production makes for a good show—that is where Cindy, JS and I come in. The three of us discussed dozens of potential follow-ups to Reefer Madness [a musical Mercury Players produced last fall]. It had to be a fit for Mercury Players, and more importantly it had to challenge the music director, choreographer and myself. I have steered a couple scenes that played fairly realistically in the original production into more “fantasy” sequences, which ties in well with the overriding themes of hope, dreams and impossible situations. It has proven to be an immense challenge, but a very rewarding one.

Are there parallels to be drawn between the challenges the characters of the play face and what it’s like to work in the arts in the current economy?

I would say there are parallels to be drawn between the challenges of the characters in the play and the challenges we all face trying to live in the current economy. Who doesn't have a friend out of work? Who doesn’t know someone who has been laid off because their job went overseas? We are at a low time in our economy, which is the story of those in the musical. We have chosen to set it in 2008, as opposed to ten or fifteen years ago because of that resonance. This is a story we will all be able to relate to—and have a laugh at the same time.

What are your goals for the show and what do you hope audiences get from seeing the production?

I want the audience to be standing on their feet cheering for these characters at the end of the show. I want them to see the men go from losers to winners, to see and feel that regular schmoes like you and me can be more than we ever dreamed of if we just have the bravery to do so. I want to give that to the audience in a polished production—which is a lot to achieve with a twenty-plus-person cast and a two-hour show. But we are well on our way. The set looks fabulous, all my little bells and whistles are falling into place, and the choreography and music are almost ready to go. I want people to leave the theater feeling uplifted and humming the music as they walk away from the Bartell. The largest sell in Madison is audience word of mouth, so I hope if we do our job and deliver a polished, entertaining evening of theater, that people will come again, and tell their friends to check it out as well.


The Full Monty runs September 4 to 27 at the Bartell Theatre, 113 E. Mifflin St. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $20, $15 for students and seniors, and $12 for groups of ten or more. 661.9696 x 5, mercuryplayerstheatre.com

Photos courtesy of Colm McCarthy. 

All in the Family

The start of the university’s fall semester means one thing to a very musical Madison family: the annual Karp Family Concert, the performance that kicks off the UW School of Music’s Faculty Concert Series.

“We’ve been doing the opening concert since 1976,” says Parry Karp, a professor of cello at the School of Music and cellist with the Pro Arte Quartet.

The Karp family of performers includes Parry on violoncello, as well as his wife Katrin Talbot on viola, brother Christopher Karp on violin, and parents Howard and Frances Karp on piano.

The series started in 1976 when Parry began teaching at UW, the school his father was already at teaching piano. Howard Karp is now professor emeritus of piano at the School of Music.

Labor Day weekend—the days before the fall semester begins—was chosen as the performance date because it meant students were in town but wouldn’t be busy with homework yet.

As impressive as a family that’s been able to work and perform together for over three decades is the fact that they’ve always played different works.

“We haven’t repeated a piece in thirty-two years,” Parry says.

They choose pieces that feature the instruments family members play and also “pieces we believe in,” according to Parry. “I’d say we’ve played everything from Bach to things being written today,” he says, adding that they’ve done a good deal of Beethoven and Brahms.

Changing the repertoire keeps the family concerts exciting, Parry says, and it’s a good creative challenge to come up with a new program each year. One general guideline that’s been maintained over the years is to play masterpieces as well as works by “unjustly neglected” artists.

This year’s opening concert—which features Linda Bartley on clarinet—is a good example. It combines works by Beethoven (Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 70, No. 2) and Tchaikovsky (Andante cantabile for cello and piano, Op. 11) with music by lesser known Robert Kahn (Quintet in C minor for clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano, Op. 54) and Charles-Marie Widor (Sonata for cello and piano in A major, Op. 80).

Kahn, a disciple of Brahms, is a relatively unknown artist, but Parry’s been playing his work in the roughly three years since discovering him. And Widor was a French organist who was prolific in a lifetime that stretched from the 1844 to 1937, he says.

Parry looks forward to presenting the music selections to audiences. “We hope they enjoy the music and that it’s a nice way to start the school year and faculty series,” he says. 

The concert takes place September 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Mills Hall in UW–Madison’s Humanities Building. Advance tickets are recommended, though may also be purchased at the door. Tickets are $11 general admission, $8 for seniors and students, and free for UW–Madison students with valid ID. The School of Music hosts a reception following the concert for the audience in the Humanities Courtyard.

The 2008–2009 Faculty Concert Series is as follows:

• Stephanie Jutt, flute, and Christopher Taylor, piano: September 13, 8 p.m.
• Linda Bartley, clarinet, and Friends: September 18, 7:30 p.m.
• Pro Arte Quartet: September 20, 8 p.m.
• Martha Fischer and Bill Lutes, piano: September 27, 8 p.m.
• Wisconsin Brass Quintet: October 4, 8 p.m.
• Paul Rowe, baritone, and Christina Lalog, piano: October 18, 8 p.m.
• Anthony Di Sanza, percussion: October 23, 7:30 p.m.
• Tyrone Greive, violin, and Ellen Burmeister, piano: October 25, 8 p.m.
• Mark Hetzler, trombone: November 1, 8 p.m.
• Marc Vallon, bassoon: November 6, 7:30 p.m.
• Parry Karp, violoncello, and Eli Kalman, piano: November 8, 8 p.m.
• Uri Vardi, violoncello: November 13, 7:30 p.m.
• Pro Arte Quartet: November 16, 7:30 p.m.
• Wingra Woodwind Quintet: November 20, 7:30 p.m.
• John Stevens, tuba, and Friends: December 6, 8 p.m.
• Christopher Taylor, piano: January 22, 7:30 p.m.
• Julia Faulkner, soprano, and Martha Fischer, piano: January 24, 8 p.m.
• Marc Fink, oboe, and Friends: January 29, 7:30 p.m.
• Javier Calderon, guitar: February 5, 7:30 p.m.
• Wingra Woodwind Quartet: February 12, 7:30 p.m.
• Parry Karp, violoncello, and Howard and Frances Karp, piano: February 14, 8 p.m.
• Jessica Johnson, piano, and Friends: February 19, 7:30 p.m.
• Pro Arte Quartet: February 21, 8 p.m.
• Paul Rowe, baritone, and Christina Lalog, piano: February 26, 7:30 p.m.
• Wisconsin Brass Quintet: February 28, 8 p.m.
• Les Thimmig, woodwinds: March 26, 7:30 p.m.
• Pro Arte Quartet: March 28, 8 p.m.
• Mark Hetzler, trombone, and Martha Fischer, piano: April 9, 7:30 p.m.
• Marc Vallon, baroque bassoon: April 16, 7:30 p.m.
• Suzanne Beia, violin, Parry Karp, violoncello, and Eli Kalman, piano: April 17, 8 p.m.
• Sole Nero, Jessica Johnson, piano, and Anthony Di Sanza, percussion: April 23, 7:30 p.m.

The Faculty Concert Series is only one component of the School of Music’s annual offerings. Says concert manager Richard Mumford, “The School of Music presents more classical music concerts than any other arts organization in Madison. With more than thirty faculty concerts, ten to fifteen guest artists, three opera productions, several orchestras, five bands, seven choirs, specialized instrumental ensembles and student recitals, there’s more than enough to keep even veteran concert-goers busy.”

Visit music.wisc.edu for a full schedule of events, call the Concert Line at 263.9485 for a weekly recorded message, or send your email address to music@music.wisc.edu to be placed on the weekly Digest email summary.

Photo, courtesy of the School of Music, features (clockwise from left) Christopher Karp, Katrin Talbot, Parry Karp, Howard Karp and Frances Karp.

September Artist: Flower Power

Anyone who thinks a flower’s just a flower hasn’t seen Mary Kay Neumann’s art—or heard her philosophy on painting works of nature.

“Flowers have feelings too,” she says. “Sunflowers, poppies and all of the other flowers in my paintings emerge as friends that you would want to invite to dinner.”

Neumann, who is a psychotherapist as well as an artist, believes flowers have distinct personalities and sees them as a reflection of the human experience.

Talk to Me: The Emotional Life of Flowers is a solo exhibition of Neumann’s watercolors running through October 31 (hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at the office of Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton at the State Capitol.

Neumann recently took time to talk about her background, approach to art and special subject matter.

You are a licensed psychotherapist. How and why did you also become an artist?

I have been making art and studying art history most of my life. I find great joy in the act of painting. Fifteen years ago, I was drawn to the intensely colorful watercolors of the German Expressionists. Their emotionally charged paintings led to my focus on watercolor. I began exhibiting my paintings in 2005, and the responses I have received have been very gratifying.

Why do you choose flowers and landscapes as your subject matter?

I paint what inspires me. As an avid gardener, I adore flowers. I am fascinated with the structures, colors and personalities of sunflowers, poppies and tidepools. An annual trip to northern California’s rugged coast has given birth to a passionate curiosity about tidepool environments and seascapes. I am also drawn to the strange, arid landscapes of the Badlands and Utah’s canyons and moonscapes. The connection between these subjects is intense color and unusual texture, which allows me to convey drama and emotion.

How do psychology and art intersect?

Creativity and emotional openness are the common threads between my work as a psychotherapist and as an artist. When I do my best work in either role, it is when my heart is open to the creative flow. It all comes from the same place inside … of love, curiosity and compassion. In my work with survivors of trauma and abuse, I am inspired by the great courage I witness. The resilience and tenacity of the human spirit to push through horrid experiences is truly amazing.

Finding my own voice through art led to the realization that self-expression is a powerful tool in healing. As a therapist, I encourage my clients to seek their own truth and uncover their own unique way of expressing themselves. Discovering what is meaningful to each of us is the key to a rich life, good mental health and is the basis for most art.

Why do you use watercolor as your medium?

I love the process and visual results of working with wet-into-wet watercolor. This style of painting is highly interactive; a true partnership where I start with ideas, and the water, saturated paper and liquid paint make their own claims on where the painting is headed. One must trust the process of giving in to being both in and out of control when working with such a dynamic medium. I enjoy exploiting the boundaries of what watercolor can do. I push for vibrant color and delicacy, while developing interesting textures. This unique method lends itself to emotional expressiveness.

Why did you decide to showcase your work at Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton’s office?

As a feminist, it is a great honor to have an exhibition at the office of the first woman elected to the state’s second highest constitutional office. Lt. Governor Lawton is a strong and progressive advocate for all of the things I feel most deeply about: women’s rights, social justice, access to mental health and the arts. Our state capitol building is a beautiful and inspiring asset to Wisconsin, and I am proud to have my paintings displayed in this magnificent setting.

What are your goals for the show?

I want to expose a new audience to my work that may never have seen it. I intend my paintings to communicate joyfulness, and possibly inspire others to make their own art, in whatever form that may be. Make a garden, teach your child, raise a puppy, demonstrate for peace … being artful means bringing your soul to bear on whatever you are doing. It brings meaning and joy to life.

I hold the vision in my heart of Glen Hansard (from the movie once) accepting this year’s Academy Award for best song. Full of gratitude, he shook his statue at the audience and said, “Make art, make art!”

What’s next for you?

I plan to continue with the themes of gardens and tidepools. I have had several solo shows in the past three years and look forward to a stretch of time in my studio that is solely focused on developing my next body of work.

Photos top to bottom are Double Fantasy, Every Breath You Take, Naked Truth and Moondance, courtesy of Mary Kay Neumann.

IN THE MAGAZINE: The September issue of Madison Magazine comes out tomorrow. Here’s some of the arts content you’ll find within the pages:

• An Overtones profile on Andy Moore, host of Wisconsin Public Television’s 30-Minute Music Hour.
• A poem on a fall garden by Andrea Musher. (And listen to a podcast of the poem online.)
• A House of the Month home filled with contemporary artwork.
• The monthly Overtones events calendar with picks on the can’t-miss performances, concerts, exhibitions and festivals taking place in September. (Check the full calendar online.)