In the spring of 2021 the renovated Milwaukee VA Soldiers Home, located on the campus of the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, once again housed veterans. The home first opened in 1867 to Civil War veterans and continued to house veterans until it closed in 1989. As part of an Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) agreement with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, The Alexander Company and Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee are leading a team to rehabilitate six of the district’s vacant buildings. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum is pleased to be part of the team that selected artwork for the interior of the Old Main and Administration Buildings.
During 2020-2021, Yvette Pino, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Curator of Veteran Art, reviewed the museum’s collections to find imagery that hints to the military experience but does not overtly disclose it. For this project, it was important to remember that the artwork would be displayed in a residence, not in a museum or a gallery. Therefore, Pino sought pieces that were aesthetically pleasing and also represented the Wisconsin veteran experience. Some images chosen are literal representations of military comradery, and yet most offer a more abstract approach to the documentation of place while in military service. Many of the images would likely never be seen in a military history exhibit because they may not offer anything beyond capturing a moment in time without a specific story attached.
Within the Wisconsin Veterans Museum’s vast collection, use of the creative lens is found beyond the confines of a trained artist hand and into the depths of service member’s scrap books. These selections include improperly cropped photos that make beautiful abstract compositions, mission-based photography that captures surreal landscapes and beautifully composed atmospheres from a surveillance and reconnaissance lens, and finally, images with bursts of color amidst the uniformity of camouflage. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum is pleased to be part of the team that selected the artwork for interior walls of the Old Main and Administration Buildings of the historic Milwaukee Soldiers Home. To lear more about this award-winning project and for more about the museum’s collection and for an extensive look at the Wisconsin veteran experience, please visit the website at www.WisVetsMuseum.com.
From the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Collection: WVM.0129.I038
From the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Collection: WVM.0129.I078
From the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Collection: WVM.0129.I100
WWI Aerial Reconnaissance photos from the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Collection were used to create one-of-a-kind aerial rugs for the three turret areas surrounded by windows. I suggested that since the exterior views function as the artwork for the rooms, we should consider an alternate decorative angle and ask the viewer to look down.
