A Bronze Fonz? A Revealing Tussle over Public Art in Milwaukee
Dave Steele | Wed, Mar 26th, 2008 | Category: Report | City: Milwaukee | Tags: dave steele, milwaukee, downtown, tourism, chicago, art, 1970s, public art, picasso, beer, fonzie, tv characters
We all want great public art in our cities. But we rarely seem to get it.
Art is a transaction between artist and viewer, the interplay of the artist’s vision and the viewer’s perception; in the realm of public art this delicate transaction is often thrown off by the usual Public Art Process, which usually entails an “arts board” charged with codifying and enforcing public tastes. What so often results is art that is trying to be all things to all people, and ends up being nothing to no one—a curiosity that you’re left to try to “explain” to out of town visitors, or, perhaps worse, a permanent part of the “wallpaper” of the cityscape, a fixture so banal as to merit no more mention than a mailbox or a lamp post.
For every great work of public art, a Picasso in Daley Plaza (which, incidentally, was panned when it was first unveiled), there are countless monstrosities like the huge vertical stack of faux footballs standing outside Camp Randall stadium in Madison, Wisconsin:
The artist behind this piece may have been trying to convey something, but clearly the Public Art Process degraded the original vision to the point of nonrecognition.
The sorry state of so much public art begs the question: who decides what is “good?” And why did they get to decide? Is there room for public art that is merely there as decoration, or entertainment?
Every cityscape in America is dotted with public art that doesn’t “say” much: the ubiquitous statues of famous people, the Lincolns, Washingtons and Kings that stand in nearly every Northern city in the United States. The message these statues convey is fairly simple; they honor the people they represent. Milwaukee pays statuary homage to Lincoln, Washington and King, of course, but also Ghandi, Hank Aaron, Frederick von Stueben, Johann Goethe, Cashmir Pulaski, and, one of my personal favorites, three unnamed ironworkers.
This summer, a new name will be added to Milwaukee’s illustrious roster of statuary: Arthur Fonzarelli, most commonly known as “the Fonz.”
When it was announced that Downtown Milwaukee would soon be home to a privately funded statue honoring the Coolest Person Ever, far cooler than the Bob Newhart statue in Chicago or the Mary Tyler Moore statue in Minneapolis, the local arts community had a fit. They fretted about what the statue would “say,” what message it would convey about our city. One prominent local gallery owner, complaining that the Fonz statue would rehash old stereotypes of the city as a beer and brats, Laverne and Shirley, Lenny and Squiggy kind of town, threatened to close his gallery if the statue was approved.
The director of the Milwaukee Art Museum even got involved, insisting that the statue not reside at its intended spot, a prominent Downtown intersection which is slated for a major, “legitimate” public art installation. From the looks of the artist selected for this upcoming “non Fonz” installation, this piece might indeed turn out to be one of those public art pieces that works. The siting of the Fonzie statue was therefore moved, as a compromise, to a spot a little more off the beaten path, where tourists who want to bask in its Cool presence will have to spend a little time trying to find it.
What will the Fonzie statue “say?” There are those who think it will say that Milwaukee is the kind of town that is so deluded as to lionize a fictional character from a stupid ‘70s TV show. I think that it’s not really going to say much of anything, beyond, perhaps, “aaaaaaay!”
Given the visual litter that has too often resulted from the usual Public Art Process, I think there are far worse things for a work of public art to say. The Bronz Fonz will not be great public art. But it won’t be a giant, phallic stack of footballs, either. It will be simply a whimsical tourist attraction that will introduce future generations to the Greatness and Coolness of the Fonz, and might bring a few more visitors Downtown.
The Bronze Fonz on its own won’t be art that “says” anything meaningful, but the uproar over this innocent little statue has said more about Milwaukee than I think anyone intended.
Dave Steele is a planner who lives and works in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He works for a Milwaukee foundation that works to develop and support innovative approaches to urban education.
David George in Pittsburgh
Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 3:24pm
What this statue “says” is that Milwaukee is so devoid of notable locals that it chooses to pay homage to a fictitious, made-in-Hollywood character who personifies some New York writer’s ignorant caricature of a Midwestern mill town, and its most colorful juvenile delinquent.
What are those Milwaukee folks thinking?
Dave Steele
Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 4:56pm
A lot of people here in Milwaukee agree with you, David. It’s a big controversy, but since the statue is privately funded, and will be located on the Riverwalk next to a brewpub, not in a location more suited for real public art, I’m alright with it. I don’t feel that the Fonz or “Happy Days” presents the city in a particularly negative light. It is what it is—a silly TV show honored by a silly little statue that will be a hit with drunks, kids, and tourists. Nothing more, nothing less.
Now, if someone proposes a Laverne & Shirley statue ... that would be taking it too far.
Dave Reid in Milwaukee, WI
Sat, Mar 29, 2008 at 6:18pm
You know I don’t think it is really that big a deal. Especially now that it is being placed near Rock Bottom. Some tourists with stop and have their photos taken with the Fonz but beyond that it will probably soon be forgotten.
Greg Johnson in Nashville, TN
Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 10:23pm
Sounds like Milwaukeans believe that The Fonz belongs on the pages of MilwaukeeUnseen.com. What ever happened to that site?
I agree that “too many cooks” in the public art kitchen can result in watered-down public art with little universal meaning However, I would also argue that an ivory tower public art process can find the same results. Where is the solution? At least a Fonz is a recognizable (as least as long as re-runs exist) pop culture icon that one would expect to see immortalized in downtown Milwaukee. Even a bad statue will create conversation among tourists and residents. The same is true for your fav. statue in Madison. If there’s a football in it somewhere, you can’t go wrong, especially next to the stadium. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on improving the Public Art Process. Online voting?
Maybe the Bronze Fonz will be allowed to gaze at his reflection in the Milwaukee River for eternity. Then, in 40 years, Milwaukee can add Ashton Kutcher’s character from ‘That 70s Show’ next to the Fonz as another Milwaukee sitcom icon.
VisualizeIT in Green Bay
Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 10:57pm
Wait a minute on that Ashton Kutcher “70s Show” statue! According to the official web site, “Point Place”, the locaiton of “That 70’s Show”, is a fictitious suburb of Green Bay, not Milwaukee.
http://www.that70sshow.com/index_faq.htm
Except, I don’t think the creator of this knows geography very well...the site says something about “...nearby towns such as Kenosha”. So maybe they meant Milwaukee. If it means a Fez statue is coming, then it’s Milwaukee for sure.
Dave Steele
Tue, Apr 01, 2008 at 10:17am
Greg, I think you’re getting at a fundamental tension in the Public Art Process (and perhaps even in planning and development in general)… should we leave these kinds of decisions up to “the People,” or “the experts?”
It’s a tough call. I mentioned in the post that the famous Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza was panned as a white elephant when it was unveiled. Had there been onling voting back when the sculpture was installed it would have most likely been shot down, and today Daley Plaza would be home to yet another ho-hum public artwork that looks like it was designed by Committee. The Daley Plaza Picasso was a top-down decision that had happy results.
We want public art that speaks to the Public at large—that’s the whole point. But to try to fit public art into supposed “public tastes” so often leads to mediocrity. Maybe taste in art is one of those things that is so personal and individualized that there’s really no such thing as “public tastes.”
Dave Steele
Tue, Apr 01, 2008 at 10:20am
VisualizeIT:
Not only do the writers of “That ‘70s Show” not seem to grasp Midwestern geography, they clearly have not spent much time in a cold climate: how many times on that show do you see the main characters “hanging out’ in the driveway when it’s supposedly cold outside, weaing light coats, no hats, gloves, scarves, yet acting like they’re totally comfortable. It’s not very realistic.
Dave in Milwaukee
Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 11:46am
Dave, since I’m the guy behind the bronze Fonz, I appreciate your comments. Milwaukee has really gone from Brew City to New City and that means we can celebrate both - from the traditions of beer, brats and “Happy Days” to new Milwaukee embodied in the Calatrava. As to David in Pittsburgh, let me set the record straight. “Happy Days” was not set in Milwaukee by a New York writer by happenstance. The co-creater of the show, Tom Miller, grew up in a Milwaukee suburb and the locations and characters are based on Tom’s real life experiences. So the show, while fictional, has a direct connection to Milwaukee. And as Dave, correctly states, this is a fun, whimsical project that will encourage more foot traffic on our downtown Riverwalk and provide a nice photo opp for visitors. Based on the positive international publicity this has created for Milwaukee, I wish I had five more Fonzie-like projects for the city!