Gallery Night to feature Bridges exhibit on Autobahn construction
| Published: 10/08/2004 |
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Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) will host an exhibition called Bridges during the citywide Gallery Night and Day Oct. 15 and 16. It will feature 16 works portraying the powerful beauty of the design and engineering innovations of the original German Autobahn, which provided a strong influence on other nations to design similar transport systems.
These paintings, by German artists Fritz Jacobsen (1867-1949), Erich Mercker (1891-1973), Wilhelm Dieninghoff (1903-1984), Fritz Müller (1907-1999), portray the requisite monumentality of the bridges set against the natural landscape and a harmonious merging of the built environment with nature The Autobahn bridges constructed between 1933 and 1941 were designed by architects, often as a result of a contest. Girder and suspension bridges are represented in the collection, showing the construction of the bridges using riveted steel, steel-reinforced concrete and stone. The bridges spanned rivers and valleys, representing the most direct route to connect major German cities, and providing breathtaking views to drivers along the way.
In conjunction with this show, MSOE is publishing a color booklet with articles discussing the works and the engineering portrayed in them. Guest curator of this show is Curtis L. Carter, Ph.D., from the Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee.
The paintings in this show are culled from the Man at Work: The Eckhart G. Grohmann Collection at Milwaukee School of Engineering, a collection of more than 500 European and American paintings and sculptures. It is the world's most comprehensive collections to document the evolution of work over the past 400 years, from manpower and horsepower to industrialism's water, steam and electrical power. The artworks were gifted to MSOE from the private collection of Milwaukee businessman and collector Dr. Eckhart Grohmann, an MSOE Regent.
This Gallery Night and Day exhibit will be shown in MSOE's Walter Schroeder Library, 500 E. Kilbourn. The show will be open 5-9 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. A 432-page, full-color book featuring the Man at Work collection will be available for purchase. Gallery Night and Day is free and open to the public. For more information, call MSOE at (414) 277-7501