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 film 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 Maruszewki’s work, describes this as a kind of urban surprise that “doubles the experience” of viewing the exhibition.

“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