WaterMarks MKE, an initiative that helps educate people on their relationship with water systems, was recently featured on CBS 58 as they continue to set up WaterMarkers throughout Milwaukee.
Over the past four years, UW-Milwaukee has worked closely with WaterMarks MKE to work alongside artists and create visually appealing art that educates. These WaterMarkers are meant to remind people to reduce their water waste.
“When I see these, I know this means the community came together with artists and scientists and residents to talk about water and the water issues in their neighborhood, and the city at large,” said Katie Avila Loughmiller, the WaterMarks manager for programs & engagement.
To watch WaterMarks recent feature, visit the CBS 58 site.
To read more about WaterMarks partnership with PSOA, including the work of recent MFA candidate Corrigan Eckert, visit the PSOA News & Stories page.
Art MFA candidate and WaterMarks grad assistant uses art to amplify the importance of water conservation
Over the past four years, UW-Milwaukee has worked closely with WaterMarks MKE, an initiative that helps people better understand their relationships with the water systems and infrastructure that support their lives.
Started in 2014, WaterMarks hosts a series of public programs, community events, and initiatives that develop community understanding regarding water conservation and environmental activism. This project further pursues its mission by working alongside artists to create visually appealing works throughout Milwaukee that help educate the city.
Art MFA candidate Corrigan Eckert is a Graduate Assistant with WaterMarks in a role that aims to expand her knowledge of using art to provide education on water sustainability.
“I’ve always been really intrigued in art as a vehicle to encourage people to learn and know more about the environment,” said Eckert. “The best art is visually dynamic and can get you to connect or believe. That’s what WaterMarks is doing.”
In 2021, the renowned New York City artist Mary Miss, along with Principal Investigators (PIs) from UWM’s Geography Department, faculty from Art and Design, and colleagues from the Center for Student Experience and Talent, secured a four-year, multi-million-dollar grant from the National Science Foundation. This grant helped expand the WaterMarks project, giving more UWM and PSOA students a chance to be involved.
As a Graduate Assistant, Eckert works with the Center for Student Experience and Talent at UWM. Her focus is on improving community engagement through tabling events, networking with other organizations, and youth outreach.
Eckert’s role at WaterMarks goes hand-in-hand with her research as a master’s student. Centered on human perspectives regarding the wellbeing of animals and plants, Eckert’s process of doing environmental research has been informed by the increase in community involvement that has come from her WaterMarks role.
“It’s important to think about audience and community and how that all comes together to make an artwork,” said Eckert. “You might make something beautiful, but I don’t know if it is fully art until it’s been experienced and interpreted by people.”
WaterMarks strives to build community and reinforce the importance of education. At a time where environmental threats are more pronounced than ever, WaterMarks aims to provide a stroke of positivity.
“There needs to be hope and you need to give people concrete things they can do to help,” said Eckert. “Our hope is to give community members the chance to engage in a way where they know they are not alone… Community is so important to make the impact we want.”
To learn more about how WaterMarks empowers artists, scientists, and community members, visit the WaterMarks MKE website.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25
Art alum’s life and career chronicled in Shepherd Express feature
Evelyn Patricia Terry (BFA 1970; Art MS 1973) was recently interviewed for a feature with Shepherd Express that chronicled Terry’s six-decade-long career in the arts, which has seen her create diverse works and exhibits around the world.
In the Q&A-style article, Terry discusses the beginnings of her career including what brought her to UW-Milwaukee in the 70s.
“I took a class called Related Art,” said Terry in her Shepherd Express feature. “At the end of the class, my teacher said, ‘Evelyn, I think you’re an artist. You should get a degree in drawing.’ I went immediately to the art department in Mitchell Hall.”
As described in the article, Terry’s UWM roots remained influential in the early stages of her career, providing her with connections that led to valuable work opportunities.
“I got two degrees from UWM,” said Terry. “Ruth Milofsky, a UWM professor, hired me to teach residents at the Hillside Public Housing project.”
To learn more about Terry’s life and career, read her feature in Shepherd Express.
Film faculty receives honorable mention for voter advocacy film
Sean Kafer (Teaching Faculty II, Film, Video, Animation, and New Genres) recently received an honorary mention in the Spark the Vote Challenge by the Why Do You Vote? Social Action Campaign. This mention recognized “Don’t Tell Me Your Vote Doesn’t Matter,” a short film directed and produced by Kafer and activist Mariah Smith.
The film merges Kafer’s passion for impactful storytelling, voter engagement, and education advocacy. The work of Kafer and Smith sought to inspire Milwaukee communities to use their vote to promote transformative power in our nation’s future.
How the collaborative magic of theatre makes a ship crash on stage
On Wednesday, the Peck School of the Arts theater department will present its latest production “Pericles.” From the twilight of Shakespeare’s career, this piece chronicles adventure, love, and family through the tragedy of a devastating shipwreck and several extreme storms throughout.
For PSOA’s production, the sensation of the wreck is created through sound and movement, brought to life by the work and collaboration of PSOA theater students.
The Immersion of Sound
Taking the reins of sound design for “Pericles” is Ella Baird (Theater Production BFA, Junior), who is making her solo debut as a sound designer. Through this role, Baird has the difficult task of portraying multiple storms without the use of complex scenery.
To make the storm and wreck feel believable for the audience, actors on stage use practical sounds including a rain machine and thunder sheets. These sounds are slowly complemented by digital sounds that come from speakers throughout the theater, creating a deeper level of immersion for audiences.
Sound designer Ella Baird (center) with fellow production team members. | Photo by Cameron Wise (BFA Film)
Throughout the play, the storms get increasingly intense through a clever use of volume. That work is amplified by the actors on stage, whom Baird describes as “really responding” to the audio they hear.
“At one point, there’s a booming thunderclap that prompts Pericles to cry to the gods to stop the thunder,” said Baird. “There’s a strong element of collaboration there that is apparent through the whole show.”
Baird takes a step away from the sound booth when “Pericles” opens, leaving the work to a sound operator who has been carefully learning Baird’s cues throughout rehearsal.
“I’m glad I get to hand it off to somebody else,” said Baird. “I get to sit down, enjoy the show, and see how audiences respond to it… The show’s theme of familial love really resonates, and I hope audiences appreciate it, too.”
The Physicality of Acting
For this production, the actors create aspects of the set with their bodies.
“We are the boat, we are the waves,” said Natalie Gustafson (Theatre Performance BFA: Acting, Junior), who plays Marina, the daughter of the titular character. “We create the boat by holding hands, making different levels, and rocking back and forth. It’s really beautiful.”
Gustafson explains that this is not as simple as standing still to create a boat shape. Instead, the cast collaborates to move as one.
“It’s not just about being a boat, it’s about portraying emotion,” said Gustafson. “It’s a real bonding experience that takes a lot of work and coordination.”
Natalie Gustafson (left) and Autumn Holmes rehearse a scene from “Pericles.” | Photo by Cameron Wise (BFA Film)
The actors collaborate with the technical crew, reacting to the sounds from Baird and the lighting design, which sometimes creates the illusion of thunder and lightning in the theater.
“We’ve had to be very flexible and collaborative in this production,” said Gabe Rodriguez (Acting BFA, Junior), who plays Pericles. “The way we’re approaching this work is very physical… if there’s a boat on stage, we’re creating the boat with our movement.”
At the height of his acting training with Peck School of the Arts, Rodriguez feels he utilizes movement and his relationship with sound to convey what is happening in the story.
Rodriguez intensively studied “Pericles” and similar Shakespearean works, such as “King Lear,” to prepare himself for the physicality needed to perform his role.
According to Rodriguez, he has been supported by faculty and peers at PSOA who have trained alongside him. One of his most crucial preparations came during “Beach Day,” a once-a-year event when the theater department studies their physical and vocal craft on the beaches of Lake Michigan.
“I jumped in the water and started doing my lines,” said Rodriguez. “Feeling the energy that came from getting crushed by Lake Michigan and trying to fight through it proved really helpful.”
The magic of theatre comes together strongly for “Pericles,” helping students tackle big themes in the play that will resonate with audiences.
“Pericles is a story about fate and learning to live with what happens,” said Gustafson. “I hope audiences walk away appreciating the strength and willpower of human beings.”
“Pericles” opens on Nov. 6, 2024, and runs through Nov. 10, 2024, at the Mainstage Theatre. For more information and tickets, visit the PSOA events calendar.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25
PSOA faculty and alums come together for voting advocacy art installation
From now until November 30th, an art installation about modern politics and voting from Kim Cosier (Professor Emeritus, Art) and the artist collective Art Build Workers is on display at the University YMCA. This piece, entitled This is What Democracy Looks Like, was made in collaboration with Joe Brusky (BS 2006, Education), Nicolas Lampert (Teaching Faculty II, Art), Claudio Martinez (BFA 2007, Art), and Pete Railand (Teaching Faculty II).
Read more about the installation and its creation in Smile Politely.
Viola professor Claudia Lasareff-Mironoff plays Carnegie Hall
Claudia Lasareff-Mironoff (Adjunct Professor, Viola) performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City as principal viola of the Chicago Philharmonic. The October 24th concert featured New York premieres of two works written for the Chicago Philharmonic by American composers Nicholas Hubbell and Jonathan Bingham, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliette Fantasy, and multiple original songs by guest artist Sleeping At Last (Ryan O’Neal).
Actress Rita Wilson was a surprise addition to this performance singing a duet she co-wrote with Sleeping At Last.
Alum and Nohl Fellow returns to campus for film screening
Filmmaker and 2023 Nohl Fellow Janelle VanderKelen (MA 2014, Art; MFA 2016, Performing Arts) will return to campus on November 7 for “Green Imaginaries,” a free event showcasing some of her recent work.
This event, which is presented by Union Cinema and co-sponsored by the Mary L. Nohl Fund Individual Artist Fellowship Program, will feature 45 minutes of short films by VanderKelen followed by a Q&A with students.
Most recent work
The program includes a screening of VanderKelen’s most recent short film “Direction of the Road,” which is based on a short story from science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin. The film is a 3D-modeled animation that revolves around a tree’s perceptions of its experiences.
VanderKelen sat with the inspiration for “Direction of the Road” for a decade before having the technology necessary to bring it to life.
“The film is built using cyan and scarlet 3D imagery,” said VanderKelen. “However, it is not to be viewed with 3D glasses. I think audiences will enjoy this sensation.”
Still from “Direction of the Road” (2023)
During the storytelling process of “Direction of the Road,” VanderKelen drew from her Peck School of the Arts education to ponder how her audience would engage with the material. Additionally, her time with PSOA gave her the drive to pursue technology she was not familiar with.
“My PSOA education fostered a sense of independent risk-taking and continued self-education,” said VanderKelen. “That’s one of the most important things that an arts education can give you… To stay on top of technology and storytelling mores, we need to be flexible… I think PSOA does that really well.”
Other selected films
Another standout work VanderKelen will screen is her 2022 film “Language Unknown.” This David Lynch-inspired piece concerns how plants and fungi may observe human life. While people are often the ones who quantify living things, this film explores whether plants may be smarter than us.
“Language Unknown” was made using stop-motion animation and time lapses. It was also shot entirely on 16mm film. For VanderKelen, shooting on film is an important method to alter viewer perceptions.
“One of the reasons I like working on film is how it renders light,” said VanderKelen. “Often when we film with digital, there is a difference between the human eye and the digital sensor. Film manages to render the natural world in a different way.”
The Nov. 7 screening provides VanderKelen with an opportunity to test some of her in-progress work with an audience that are fans of experimental film.
To take advantage of this, VanderKelen will showcase two excerpts from a feature film that she is currently making centered around 12th-century abbess Hildegard of Bingen. This will be the first time that these are being screened in tandem with some of VanderKelen’s other work.
Still from “Language Unknown” (2022)Still from VanderKelen’s in-progress feature film “The Golden Thread”
A homecoming
VanderKelen no longer resides in Milwaukee, making her Nov. 7 screening an exciting occasion.
“This feels like a homecoming for me,” said VanderKelen. “It feels like an opportunity to reengage with the mindset of current students.”
Since graduating from PSOA, VanderKelen has been an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville teaching Cinema Studies and Time-Based Arts. She is using this screening event to reconnect with the Milwaukee film community that she holds dear.
“It feels important to continue in the filmmaking community,” said VanderKelen. “Maintaining those connections is important for any student who goes on to have a professional career in film. It is important to remember who you know, where you come from, and the environments and spaces that influence you heavily.”
Professor Emeritus Yehuda Yannay celebrated at PSOA Chamber Music concert
Last week, a large crowd gathered to celebrate the late Yehuda Yannay (Professor Emeritus, Music) with a memorial concert presented by UWM Chamber Music Milwaukee.
Professor Bernard Zinck (Associate Professor, Violin; Area Head, Strings and String Pedagogy), the series director, curated a concert featuring five selections of Yannay’s chamber music that highlighted the quirkiness and adventurous creativity that persisted throughout his career.
“What I treasure most about Yehuda was the last two years of his life,” said Jill Sebastian (BA 1973, Art; MFA 1979), a Professor Emerita at Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. “What does it mean to be a creative person in the last days of your life? That was Yehuda… He was grateful for every moment.”
Five musicians performed four chamber works and one solo work during the two-hour concert. Those individuals were Professor Greg Flint (horn), Ravenna Helson (cello), Stefanie Jacob (piano), Stas Venglevski (bayan), and Professor Bernard Zinck (violin).
Left to right: Professor Bernard Zinck, Professor Greg Flint, Stefanie Jacob, Ravenna Helson | Photo by Cameron Wise (BFA Film)
In 1970, Yannay joined the Music Theory and Composition faculty at UWM and served as a Professor of Music until 2005, when he retired. Yannay passed away in December 2023 at the age of 86, following a brief illness.
His legacy continues at UWM as he generously endowed a scholarship to Peck School of the Arts. The Yannay Scholarship Fund is awarded to undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a music composition degree program.
“I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have known Yehuda as a colleague, a friend, and now as a philanthropist,” said Kevin Hartman (Interim Dean, College of Arts & Architecture; Professor, Trumpet). “I’m grateful for Yehuda, his life, and his music.”
The celebration of life began with a 2020 short documentary titled “Yehuda Composed” directed by Daniel Boville (BFA 2011, Film). The film features Yannay’s music and archival footage to showcase his creative process and passion. “Yehuda Composed” also reflected on Yannay’s tenure as an educator, displaying his love for working with his students.
“If I am not learning something from the students, I consider this an absolute failure,” said Yannay in the film.
Four individuals gave speeches reflecting on Yannay’s life. Those individuals were Jon Welstead, Kevin Hartman, Jill Sebastian, and Marie Mellott (BFA 1979, Inter-Arts: Art).
To read more about Yannay’s life and achievements, visit his website.
To watch Boville’s 2020 short documentary “Yehuda Composed,” visit his YouTube channel.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25
Professor Emerita receives Vision Award at Denver Film Festival
Cecelia Condit (Professor Emerita, Film) was recently awarded the Stan Brakhage Vision Award at the 47th Denver Film Festival. This award followed her recent solo show at the Ewing Gallery of Art+Architecture at the University of Tennessee.
Condit was the director of PSOA’s graduate film program for 30 years. Her career featured stories that focused on feminism and the natural world.
Read more about Condit and the full list of award recipients on the Denver Film website.
Professor Emeritus explores the Milwaukee River in new art installation
When it comes to the Milwaukee River, most Wisconsin natives may believe they have seen all there is to see. However, Professor Emeritus Dick Blau, who co-founded the UWM FVANG Department, has presented the city with an opportunity to see the river in a whole new light.
Nightly until February 14, an empty storefront on Wisconsin Avenue projects a slow-moving, abstract loop of the Milwaukee River made up entirely of photos from Blau. The exhibition is called “The Same River Twice.”
The project is a follow-up to Blau’s 2020 project, “Milwaukee Night and Day,” which was similarly presented in the same storefront. Distilling ten years of photographs of the block on which he lives into a single mythical day, Blau made an 18-minute film into a city story that is both a documentary and an experimental narrative.
Both projects reflect Blau’s ability to look at the world through the camera and create art that alters what people would typically expect to see.
“I’m interested in art in which you can use aspects of nature to make something that’s a figment of the imagination and not a document of what’s there,” said Blau. “That expands our sensibility in a way that I find very rich and provocative.”
For “The Same River Twice,” Blau took photos of the Milwaukee River daily for five years, a practice consistent with what he teaches his students.
“To this day, I’m on my students to shoot every day,” said Blau. “I believe in constant production…There’s something about actually working with your craft on a really regular basis. That is what turns you into an artist.”
While The Same River Twice was initially conceived as a silent film, once a week alum Evan Maruszewski (BFA 2005, Film), a long-time collaborator of Blau’s, appears and improvises to the film on his accordion. Blau, a long-time fan of Maruszewski’s work, describes this as a kind of urban surprise that “doubles the experience” of viewing the exhibition.
On select occasions, Evan Maruszewski (BFA 2005, Film), a long-time collaborator of Blau’s, appears and improvises to the film on his accordion. | Photo by Cameron Wise (BFA Film)
“I don’t get many opportunities to improvise musically, so this is a personal treat for me,” said Maruszewski. “‘The Same River Twice’ is a unique partner to perform with. Working with the images as they flow into one another is a fun challenge, but I find the abstract nature of the piece lends itself perfectly to adventurous interpretation.”
“The Same River Twice” is not only a unique experience for those who view it, but it also gave Blau a space to further explore his creativity and passion for art.
“It’s opened up a whole new vocabulary for me and it’s also provided a space, a freedom that’s very, very important,” said Blau. Given the current political situation, I spend a great deal of time using my camera in defense of democracy. That can be quite overwhelming. “It’s the river that saves me.”
“The Same River Twice” runs 24 hours a day at 142 West Wisconsin Avenue, just across from the entrance to the Plankinton Mall. For more information on Blau and his work, check out his website.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25
Students join forces with faculty on summer research projects
This summer, more than a dozen Peck School of the Arts students worked on paid research projects through UWM’s Support for Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) program.
The SURF Program, housed in the Office of Undergraduate Research, gives students an opportunity to collaborate with faculty members on thoughtful and sophisticated projects. Students who engage in SURF projects take what they learned in the classroom and apply it to field experience.
Georgia Didier (Senior, Film BFA) worked alongside Sean Kafer (Teaching Faculty II, FVANG; Program Director, docUWM) on a documentary under the title “The Brady Street Neighborhood Historical Project.” Didier highlighted the tactile, real-world experience as an important part of this project.
“Through fieldwork and collaborative experiences working on the Brady Street Documentary Project, I gained a better understanding of what it takes to work with a crew and as a film editor outside the classroom,” said Didier.
Georgia Didier working on “The Brady Street Neighborhood Historical Project” | Photo by Sean Kafer
Didier and Kafer also worked with Emanuel Zander (Senior, Film BFA)on this documentary. Zander expressed a passion for the project as he got to illuminate the rich and vast history of Milwaukee’s iconic Brady Street neighborhood.
“From this project, I have gained the ability to pull from multiple sources of information and create a retelling of what the Brady Neighborhood was and what it has become today,” said Zander.
Students work on “The Brady Street Neighborhood Historical Project” | Photo by Sean Kafer
Syd Seebach (Senior, Film Studies BFA) worked with Dr. Nathaniel Stern (Professor, Creative Technologies / Mechanical Engineering; Director, UWM Startup Challenge) on an exhibition titled “Generation to Generation: Mother Computer.” Seebach felt it was a fulfilling way of applying her coursework to a larger project.
“PSOA is about the ability to develop an idea, and physically and creatively represent that idea,” said Seebach. “Working with the crew at Stern Studio is relevant to my coursework because it allows me to imagine more creatively.”
Many more PSOA students were involved in SURF projects during the summer term:
Justin Laabs and Cole Lehto working with Adam Hawk, “Digital Technologies in Traditional Craft”
Pavonis Giron working with Yevgeniya Kaganovich, “Divergent Fates: Tree Intuiting Chair Paper, Remembering Tree, That Imagined Being a Chair”
Anthony Zelazoski working with Yevgeniya Kaganovich, “Divergent Fates”
Dakota Galkowski and Drew Talo working with Oksana Kryzhanivska, “Unveiling Posthuman Presence: Investigating Identity Shifts in Extended Reality Realms”
Ang Van Den Eeden working with Geryn Roche, “Undergraduate Ceramic Glaze Research”
Collin Chesak, Ambrose Schulte, Sydney Seebach and working with Nathaniel Stern, “Generation to Generation: Mother Computer”
Sarah Johnson working with Michael Ware, “3D Printing in Colored Porcelain”
Cole Lehto working with Glenn Williams, “Vel R. Phillips Plaza Art Project”
Georgia Didier and Emanuel Zander working with Sean Kafer, “The Brady Street Neighborhood Historical Project”
Aral Nen working with Sean Kafer, “Unity, Progress, and Activism in Milwaukee’s Urban Neighborhoods”
Samuel Schoonover working with Sean Kafer, “Lasting Connections: The Service of Dr. Finlayson to a Community”
Dance department well represented in Shepherd Express feature
InSite: Cycles was a recent collaborative work from Milwaukee’s contemporary dance community that featured four performances across two days at Davidson Park. A recent feature from Shepherd Express highlighted two members of PSOA’s Department of Dance who were involved in the show.
InSite was led by artistic director Dan Schuchart, a graduate of PSOA and current faculty member. Schuchart was the lead choreographer for the opening dance and finale of InSite.
In the ensemble of dancers was current MFA candidate Elisabeth Roskopf, who used research from this show as her thesis.
“I immediately felt that this dance could be part of my personal journey, not just for my thesis but for my life research,” Roskopf said in the Shepherd Express piece.
Read more about Schuchart, Roskopf, and InSite on Shepherd Express
Theater alum’s recent work featured on TMJ4
TMJ4 recently published a feature about the life and career of Dimonte Henning, who studied Theatre at the Peck School of the Arts. In recent years, Henning has been on television, including NBC’s “Chicago P.D.,” and has made a name for himself in the Milwaukee theater community, recently directing a production of “Clyde’s” that opens at Milwaukee’s Broadway Theatre Center next month.
Throughout his career, Henning has strived to be an advocate for diversity in the arts, hoping marginalized community members can get more work.
“I just want to reach my full potential while also connecting Black and Brown artists,” said Henning to TMJ4.
Art alum begins residency in park on Madison’s east side
Jennifer Bastian (MFA 2008, Art) was recently named a 2024-26 Thurber Park artist-in-residence. Bastian will participate in a two-year-long studio residency in Madison’s east side.
This program utilizes an underused park storage shed to provide artists with rent-free studio space. Bastian is only the third artist to participate in this program and plans to use the space to hold weekly open studio sessions, occasional Grief Circle workshops, and develop her personal art practice.
