Kohler Arts Dispatch

sheboygan boat

To help research content for our project as artists in residence at Kohler Arts Center, one of the students at Etude School in Sheboygan has created a website to document and archive all things related to the culture of non-motorized transportation in the region. Working collaboratively under the direction of wowhaus, a team of high school students will be taking pictures and video, making interviews and mapping anything relating to bicycles, walking, skating, surfing, boating, etc., with emphasis on the potential to develop DIY alternatives. You are welcome to follow along over the coming months as students and others add content here.


Kohler Arts Dispatch

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Beginning around the middle of the nineteenth century and thriving until about a generation ago, Sheboygan has a rich history as the epicenter of Midwestern circus production, dominated by a handful of family dynasties, many of whose descendants remain in the area. As I continue to explore opportunities and resources for our project as artists in residence with the Kohler Arts Center, I’m inspired by this unique history, particularly as it potentially links non-motorized transportation with community pride and visual identity.

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a ‘break-away’ circus bike

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Kohler Arts Dispatch

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a morning commuter braves the November chill in Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Sheboygan is easily one of the coolest towns I’ve experienced. The people here exude a pragmatic optimism and can-do eagerness that conjure another time, a friendlier America of the past that in many ways has never left this small city on the lake. Clearly, Sheboygan is a model for a future, pedestrian-friendly town worthy of emulation. I know of no other city of this scale that offers a world class art institution, was voted the second most bike-friendly city (after Seattle), was among three counties nationwide to receive federal funding to develop infrastructure for non-motorized transportation, and boasts the best fresh water surfing in the US.

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dusk settles over the Sheboygan River, from the bike path

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I was lent this classic cruiser for the week

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a morning ride along the lake

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Kohler Arts Dispatch

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looking E. over Sheboygan Reef, a geological oddity along Lake Michigan’s shores

A gentle westerly breeze rolls tiny breakers over Sheboygan Reef, a rare protrusion of limestone bedrock extending to Niagra Falls, as I walk along the lakefront bike path before an afternoon of meetings with Kohler Arts Center. I’ll be here for the week, on the initial, exploratory leg of our five week residency with the Center’s Connecting Communities program, and Sheboygan is enjoying a late autumn Indian Summer.

I’ll be meeting with museum staff, partners, students and community members to develop a project related to ‘non-motorized’ transportation, and enjoy being in the sponge mode phase as I gather information and explore the physical and cultural geography of this lovely town. I’m already impressed with  the scale and layout of Sheboygan, whose commercial center is sensibly perched on a hill, the town of 50,000 spreading out comfortably along the contours of Lake Michigan and the Sheboygan River that transects it into a southside and a northside. ???? ??????? I’m even more impressed with the facilities, programming and staff of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center after my initial introductions, and anticipate an inspiring and productive week .

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even the bathrooms of the Kohler Arts Center are inspiring

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The Kohler Legacy

kohler legacyIntroduction page from a 1930 Kohler catalog

Between innings of last night’s final game of the World Series, I was telling my friend Richard Ernst about my upcoming trip to Wisconsin at the invitation of the Kohler Art Center (more info here). Before the game resumed, Richard had fetched a hard bound catalog of Kohler products from 1930 that he had salvaged years ago from a job site in New York. I absently flipped through its pages throughout the remaining game, amazed at the timelessness of many of the products featured, many of which are still in daily use after over 70 years. I was also impressed at the high language and ideals expressed in the catalog’s introductory pages (see above). Written at the height of the Depression, the text positions the Kohler Company as the exemplar of a WPA era work ethic.

From all indications, Kohler has not strayed from its 1930 statement of purpose, and continues to be a model for social responsibility and community development. Please stay tuned as I stage the first leg of our artist’s residency* next week in Sheboygan, from where I will be reporting.

* The residency will be a collaboration between Wowhaus (Ene and me), where we will work with  community members over 5 weeks; the first week will be a solo trip for me next week; the second week will be a family trip in the spring; the final three weeks will be a family trip during the summer.


Boat Slicks and Baseball Bats

boat slicks

It’s probably no coincidence that one of my favorite tools is the ‘boat slick’, a huge chisel whose long wooden handle either resembles, or is made from a baseball bat. I first learned about the properties of wood playing baseball as a kid, carefully selecting the bat with the tightest grain before going to the plate, knowing to orient the bat’s quarter-sawn ash fibers towards the ball when swinging for optimal impact. Watching my hometown team battle it out with the Yankees in this World Series, I’m reminded how much I loved playing baseball, especially hitting. ivermectin online bestellen I get a similar satisfaction from working with wood, and credit baseball with instilling in me a visceral feel for the properties of wood, along with a work ethic that values teamwork, focus and skill. ivermectina melhor horario para tomar

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Update on Furniture for Becoming Independent

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1 of 16 painted panels by the artists at Becoming Independent

Late last week I received the first batch of panels painted by the artists of Becoming Independent, exploring the theme of ‘space’. There will be a total of 16 panels (2 per chair), all painted in acrylic on plywood boards, to be mounted in the backs of chairs I’m making for a children’s playroom at their Santa Rosa facility. It’s been a wonderful collaboration and already has me planning a more robust series exploring the panel-on-frame furniture concept with these artists. buy ivermectin for chickens arkansas As I assemble the chairs, I’ve been researching historical precedent and have found a wide range of influences, from the early 20th century furniture of the Byrdcliffe Colony to the religious icon painting of feudal Georgia, especially the Khakhuli Triptych.

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detail of the Khakhuli Tryptich, 10th-11th century (public domain image)

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