The Milwaukee Art Museum has acquired a video work by London-based Contemporary artist Isaac Julien. Western Union: Small Boats (2007)
Isaac Julien, The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats Series No. 7), 2007. Fujitran in lightbox, 120 x 120 cm. Courtesy of Isaac Julien, Metro Pictures, New York and Victoria Miro Gallery, London.
Western Union: Small Boats (2007) juxtaposes the grandeur of the Sicilian Palazzo Gangi (made famous by Luchino Visconti’s 1963 cinematic masterpiece The Leopard) with present-day sea voyages from Africa to the Mediterranean.
Western Union: Small Boats is part of Julien’s “Expeditions” trilogy, now on view as part of the Museum’s Currents series, which highlights the work of Contemporary artists.
As with all the works in “Expeditions,” Western Union is presented on three separated projection screens, physically indicating the fragmented narratives of the work.
“We are delighted to have acquired Western Union: Small Boats into our permanent collection and are honored to be the first to present these three works sequentially,” said Brady Roberts, chief curator for the Milwaukee Art Museum. “Julien’s masterful filmmaking and control of the installation environment create an experience that combines the formality of a gallery with an enveloping cinema theater.”
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 30,000 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 as “Best Design of 2001.” For more information, please visit www.mam.org