Category Archives: Milwaukee

Panorama of the Panorama!

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Katherine Wikoff

I stopped in this morning to see the Grohmann Museum’s new exhibit. Although it opened May 27, I’ve only been in the building since then during hours when the gallery is closed. Last week was finals, and between holing up to grade … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged depth of field, Grohmann Museum, Michael Newhall, optical illusion, photography | 1 Comment

Blue Skies over the MSOE Campus Center / Blatz Brewery Bottle House

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Katherine Wikoff

It’s been a nose-to-the-grindstone kind of day. Reading lots of student drafts in my two sections of film studies and compiling/composing feedback for the debate teams in my freshman studies class. I got to work shortly after 8:00 this morning and will be … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged Blatz Brewery Bottle House, German-English Academy building, Milwaukee, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Moderne architecture, MSOE Campus Center, Streamline Moderne architecture | Leave a comment

Fallen Petals in Wet Grass

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Katherine Wikoff

When the spring rains come, the litter of magnolia petals and crab apple blossoms somehow reminds me of the Ezra Pound poem, “In a Station of the Metro”: The apparition of these faces in the crowd: Petals on a wet, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, Life, Milwaukee, Nature, Photography | Tagged "In a Station of the Metro", dog paths, magnolia, spring | Leave a comment

A Shining Cross (and why I’m no Ansel Adams)

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Katherine Wikoff

The glint of sunlight reflecting off this cross atop Old St. Mary’s Church caught my eye as I walked back to my office around 9:00 this morning after teaching my first class. Here’s a reverse shot I took a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged Ansel Adams, Downtown Milwaukee, glowing cross, incandescent cross, Moonrise Hernandez New Mexico, Old St. Mary's Church, sun shining on cross | 6 Comments

Signs of Spring

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Katherine Wikoff

You know it’s spring in Milwaukee when lawns throughout the city are taken over by these lovely carpets of blue flowers. Scilla siberica (Siberian squill) is their official name. They make me so happy! Apparently, though, this pretty flower is considered “invasive” because it … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Nature | Tagged flowers, Milwaukee, springtime | Leave a comment

Ghost Sign

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Katherine Wikoff

I’m fascinated by old signs that have long outlived their usefulness. The resolution in this photo isn’t very sharp—I took it with my iPhone while sitting at the Juneau and Old World Third Street stoplight—but it pulls together several eras in … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Art, History, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged Downtown Milwaukee, F. H. Hochmuth, ghost sign, The Moderne | 11 Comments

Norman Rockwell’s The Bookworm Redux

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Katherine Wikoff

There’s a special gallery two doors away from my office in the Grohmann Museum that houses a collection of paintings by a 19th-century German painter, Carl Spitzweg. On the wall outside that gallery is a painting by American painter Norman … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books and reading, History, Milwaukee | Tagged Carl Spitzweg, Danbury Mint, Norman Rockwell, reading, The Bookworm | Leave a comment

Grohmann Museum Rooftop Garden, February

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Katherine Wikoff

If I have a small class, I’ll occasionally take my students up to the rooftop sculpture garden on a warm spring day. We carry benches from all corners to sit together for discussion. To keep track of our time, we need merely glance over … Continue reading →