Milwaukee Art Museum to Light Iconic Calatrava-Designed Wings Pink
Posted on September 23rd, 2009
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Maggie Baum, 608-438-2814
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Milwaukee's cultural icon shows support for breast cancer awareness in conjunction with premiere of Andy Warhol: The Last Decade
Milwaukee, Wis. – September 23, 2009 – Beginning this evening, the Milwaukee Art Museum, for the first time ever, will glow pink against the stunning backdrop of the September evening sky. The 10-day lighting project celebrates the opening of the Museum's major fall exhibition, Andy Warhol: The Last Decade with a nod to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at the Milwaukee lakefront on Sunday, September 27. With a 217-foot wingspan that opens and closes twice daily, the illuminated wings of the Quadracci Pavilion will offer an extraordinary spectacle along the city's skyline.
"It's wonderful timing that we're unveiling the work of an iconic Pop artist as the 2009 Komen Race for the Cure winds around the Milwaukee Art Museum," said Dan Keegan, the Museum's director. "For the first time ever, we'll fully light the Museum in color – bright pink – to show our support for the race and breast cancer awareness. The lighting project will offer a beautiful visual representation of art as a catalyst for healing and hope, and underscores the Museum's importance as a community gathering place."
In a continuing effort to collaborate with and support an array of community organizations, the Museum exterior will be lit in pink each evening from approximately 7:00 p.m. until 10:30 p.m., starting today through the beginning of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Friday, October 2. The end time will be extended until midnight on Friday, September 25; Saturday, September 26; and Friday,
October 2. For added visual excitement, the Museum's outdoor fountains will also take on a bright pink hue starting today.
"We hope the community, and families, will take the opportunity to drive or walk by the Milwaukee Art Museum to see this spectacular sight," added Keegan.
In an additional show of support, the Milwaukee Art Museum will offer free admission on race day to all cancer survivors participating in the Komen Race for the Care. Survivors will be presented with a certificate for admission in the Survivor's Tent after the race, or can gain admission on race day by wearing their signature pink t-shirt. All other participants will receive a special offer for $2 off admission. The Komen Race for the Cure, the largest series of 5K runs/fitness walks in the world, raises significant funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer, celebrates breast cancer survivorship, and honors those who have lost their battle with the disease.
The lighting is made possible with the support of the Pellmann Center for Medical Imaging.
ABOUT ANDY WARHOL: THE LAST DECADE
Organized by the Milwaukee Art Museum, Andy Warhol: The Last Decade, the first U.S. museum exhibition to explore the work Warhol produced during his late years, premieres in Milwaukee September 26, 2009 – January 3, 2010 before heading on a national tour. Created amidst the bustle of Warhol's Pop celebrity, the works on view illustrate as never before the artist's vitality, energy, and renewed spirit of experimentation during the final years of his life.
Two concurrent special presentations in the Milwaukee Art Museum's Collection Galleries round out the Warhol experience. In Andy Warhol: Pop Star, prints from the Marilyn and Mao portfolios make a rare appearance, alongside works on loan to the Museum from local collectors; and Figurative Prints: 1980s Rewind, (through November 29, 2009) features more than 30 works by contemporaries of Warhol, including Eric Fischl, Susan Rothenberg, and Julian Schnabel.
The Milwaukee Art Museum's far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum houses a Collection with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, named by Time magazine "Best Design of 2001." For more information, visit www.mam.org.