When I first heard of the plans to erect a statue of Fonzie from Happy Days in a prominent downtown Milwaukee location, I was against it.
I have no problem with immortalizing the Fonz in bronze. Milwaukee shouldn't be ashamed of commemorating the Happy Days icon. I just thought a different location for the statue might be more appropriate than a downtown site. (I don't think Fonzie hung out much downtown.)
I question a Fonzie sculpture located near the Chase Plaza office tower. However, I don't object to the statue itself. I don't think it would reflect poorly on the city at all.
A statue of Jeffrey Dahmer would be a different story. That would feed into a negative image of Milwaukee, though it probably would draw loads of tourists.
I don't understand why some people are getting so bent out of shape over the Fonzie monument.
Actually, I do understand. They're snobs, elitists.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Everything in the world clashes with "The Calling."
Gordon doesn't seem to have a problem with that.
There's no question that the whiners are snobs.
What's wrong with a "monument to small town Milwaukee" anyway?
What would be a more fitting monument to Milwaukee? Would a "big city" depiction of gun violence and murder be better? Instead of Fonzie and his trademark thumbs up pose, would a statue of a thug with a gun be a more appropriate representation of the real Milwaukee?
The city would be much better served by embracing small town values than big city blight.
Are Brenner and Barrow so sensitive and so stubborn that they couldn't bear to remain in a city home to a statue of Fonzie?
Really? Is their allegiance to their community that weak?
Consider how many truly offensive things are seen on the streets of Milwaukee. Brenner and Barrow should be troubled by all that stuff, not a bronze Fonz.
If the critics don't like a Fonzified Milwaukee, they should leave and spare us the hissy fits.
The pompous and pretentious Brenner and Barrow can threaten to close their galleries. They can hold their breath until they turn blue and pass out before they pack up and move away.
And Gordon can pontificate about art in the city but I doubt he'll win over many hearts and minds.
Personally, I think Brenner and Barrow and Gordon should take it down a notch. They should go bowling. Bumper bowling would probably be best given their obvious self-esteem issues. Yes, they should rent some shoes and bowl a few games, chow down on brats and beer, snack on beef jerky. They need to loosen up.
I don't really buy the notion that the bronze Fonz will be a major tourist attraction, but it's sure to draw dramatically more visitors to the city than Hotcakes and the Brooks Barrow Gallery.
If Milwaukee residents can live with that ghastly orange monstrosity "The Calling" for all these years, I'm sure the vast majority will manage to survive with a statue of Fonzie and get by without Hotcakes.
As this debate heats up and the rhetoric becomes more extreme, I wonder where Mayor Tom Barrett stands on the issue.
Does he welcome the Fonz with open arms or does he side with the pouty snobs?
I suppose, as is so often the case, Barrett stands on the fence.
I have no problem with immortalizing the Fonz in bronze. Milwaukee shouldn't be ashamed of commemorating the Happy Days icon. I just thought a different location for the statue might be more appropriate than a downtown site. (I don't think Fonzie hung out much downtown.)
I question a Fonzie sculpture located near the Chase Plaza office tower. However, I don't object to the statue itself. I don't think it would reflect poorly on the city at all.
A statue of Jeffrey Dahmer would be a different story. That would feed into a negative image of Milwaukee, though it probably would draw loads of tourists.
I don't understand why some people are getting so bent out of shape over the Fonzie monument.
Actually, I do understand. They're snobs, elitists.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Arts agitator and Hotcakes Gallery owner Mike Brenner threw a self-described "temper tantrum" this week and vowed he'd shutter his gallery and leave Milwaukee if a proposed bronze sculpture of Fonzie, the character from the "Happy Days" TV series, is installed here.
Brenner's hyperbolic rant, made via e-mail and first reported by OnMilwaukee.com on Wednesday, was seconded Thursday by gallery owner Brooks Barrow, who vowed to follow suit.
"If Hotcakes closes, then I too will walk," wrote Barrow, owner of the Brooks Barrow Gallery in the Third Ward, in a post to JSOnline.com's Art City blog.
The Fonz sculpture, an $85,000 project of Visit Milwaukee, according to Brenner and Barrow, is a "monument to small town Milwaukee" and an icon of mediocre public art, something Milwaukee has been plagued with for years.
David Gordon, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum, inspired by the ruckus raised by Brenner and Barrow, weighed in with his own e-mail Thursday, sent to area media. The Fonz sculpture is a harmless novelty, he said, though it may clash with a significant public art project planned for Wisconsin Ave.
Everything in the world clashes with "The Calling."
Gordon doesn't seem to have a problem with that.
There's no question that the whiners are snobs.
What's wrong with a "monument to small town Milwaukee" anyway?
What would be a more fitting monument to Milwaukee? Would a "big city" depiction of gun violence and murder be better? Instead of Fonzie and his trademark thumbs up pose, would a statue of a thug with a gun be a more appropriate representation of the real Milwaukee?
The city would be much better served by embracing small town values than big city blight.
Are Brenner and Barrow so sensitive and so stubborn that they couldn't bear to remain in a city home to a statue of Fonzie?
Really? Is their allegiance to their community that weak?
Consider how many truly offensive things are seen on the streets of Milwaukee. Brenner and Barrow should be troubled by all that stuff, not a bronze Fonz.
If the critics don't like a Fonzified Milwaukee, they should leave and spare us the hissy fits.
The pompous and pretentious Brenner and Barrow can threaten to close their galleries. They can hold their breath until they turn blue and pass out before they pack up and move away.
And Gordon can pontificate about art in the city but I doubt he'll win over many hearts and minds.
Personally, I think Brenner and Barrow and Gordon should take it down a notch. They should go bowling. Bumper bowling would probably be best given their obvious self-esteem issues. Yes, they should rent some shoes and bowl a few games, chow down on brats and beer, snack on beef jerky. They need to loosen up.
I don't really buy the notion that the bronze Fonz will be a major tourist attraction, but it's sure to draw dramatically more visitors to the city than Hotcakes and the Brooks Barrow Gallery.
If Milwaukee residents can live with that ghastly orange monstrosity "The Calling" for all these years, I'm sure the vast majority will manage to survive with a statue of Fonzie and get by without Hotcakes.
As this debate heats up and the rhetoric becomes more extreme, I wonder where Mayor Tom Barrett stands on the issue.
Does he welcome the Fonz with open arms or does he side with the pouty snobs?
I suppose, as is so often the case, Barrett stands on the fence.
6 comments:
just for the record… Hotcakes’ motto is “art for everyone.” i started Hotcakes almost 4 years ago with the intent of making art accessible and affordable for everyone. the idea is not about being snooty or elite, but creating a comfortable environment for all kinds of people to experience art. it’s always free to come see the art and i never put a hard sell on anyone to buy anything. i have been in plenty of galleries where they looked at my shoes and could see that i would never be able to afford to buy anything and ignored me the whole time i was there. if anything, Hotcakes was designed to be the opposite of all those snooty galleries.
my frustration with this statue has more to do with the decisions our leaders are making. Millenium Park in Chicago is a good example of what can be done with public art to get EVERYONE excited about it. all kinds of people from all economic backgrounds and all levels of education about art can go there and be passionate about what they see. love it or hate it they can’t help but be awed by the art that was thoughtfully placed there.
art is supposed to move us, not be PR controversy for a week and then be ignored for the rest of eternity. quality over quantity. forward thinking over whatever the hell Fonzie is.
when Milwaukee looks good and people travel here and companies relocate here and people spend money here, it create jobs and opportunities for people, which lowers crime and grows a community we can be proud of, not embarrassed about.
anyway… i just want my hometown to be a cool fun place to live, not a joke anymore. besides, if you saw my beer gut, you'd know i've eaten MORE than my fair share of brats. it's not about elitism it's about giving Milwaukeeans what they deserve. The Best!
I question the artistic talents of anyone who names a gallery "Hotcakes". Guess I'm a snob too. :)
I bit disappointing to see our rationale so misunderstood.
Fonzie does have a place in Milwaukee's past, albeit a fictitious one. The problem is that it isnt 'art' or anything worthy of placement in Milwaukee's high profile public art areas, Chase Plaza and the River Walk.
There's plenty of other spots in Milwaukee for an industrial casting of a 70's TV icon owned by Viacom.
And snob?hahaha....people who know me would laugh at that but I do understand you've never met me.
Best of luck,
Brooks
Yes, Kate, you're showing your snobbish side. :)
I'm going to assume that these are legitimate posts from Mike and Brooks, owners of the galleries, rather than from some yahoo impersonating them.
Remember, I came out against the prominent downtown location for the Fonz monument.
First, I know what it's like to be misunderstood. Someone glancing at my blog can get a distorted picture of what I'm really like, very one dimensional.
Obviously, I don't know you. I only know your opinions on the bronze Fonz. Based on your comments, I wouldn't have thought that you were a beer and brat type of guy, Mike. I think it's admirable that Hotcakes is meant to make art accessible to all. Similarly, it's interesting to learn that you're not a snob, Brooks.
I believe you both when you say that you want the best for Milwaukee. But people have different ideas of what constitutes "the best."
Some might think Milwaukee is "a joke," but I don't. And I do think it's possible to be sophisticated and cultured without being overly pretentious. Some Milwaukeeans are very comfortable in their own skin. Others are more insecure, less confident, and plagued by their own feelings of inferiority.
Bottom line: I just don't understand how you could feel so strongly about the Fonzie statue that you would abandon your lives here, close up shop, and move. It's that extreme stance that has given me the impression that you think of yourselves as superior and too good for the city. Perhaps Milwaukee isn't the right place for you.
Finally, I'm not sure anyone is claiming that the monument to Fonzie is ART.
Would it be easier for you to stomach it if you didn't think of it as ART and just as a thing in public space, a place for pigeons to sit?
Thanks Mary,
I have no intention of leaving Milwaukee, just redirecting my energies into other forms of arts advocacy should this successfully get passed off as public art with no input from the arts community. If the Bronze Fonz ends up at Chase Plaza or the RiverWalk, then it tells us the visual arts community is having a problem getting its message heard. Running a gallery might not be the most efficient way of fixing that problem.
Best,
Brooks
I know that I latched on to the idea of closing the galleries and leaving the city in response to a downtown Fonzie monument as an indication of snobbery.
I'm glad that you and Mike clarified your opinions on the matter.
I really don't think it's snobbish to take the position that the bronze Fonz doesn't belong at the Chase Plaza or the Riverwalk.
I commend both of you for caring about Milwaukee and being passionate about public art. I wish more people cared as much as you do.
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