By Dave Riedel, preserveMKE.org
What is deaccession? Until a few weeks ago, I never heard the term. Kind of a quirky word if you ask me. In truth, deaccessioning is a process used by accredited museums to get rid of what they don’t want. When this term leaks out of closed meetings, it could mean Granny, who rocks away on the Streets of Old Milwaukee, is about to lose her chair. It means the Crow warriors who hunt the bison are now the hunted. It means the European immigrants who built Milwaukee are being deported back to the old country. The hard reality is this means the death of what we know as the Milwaukee Public Museum. Deaccession is a term that won’t be mentioned in public–it isn’t easy to wiggle around what it means. Perhaps this is why MPM must vote to go into closed session every time they have a public board meeting.
And you the public? You said you were OK with it, or so they say. More on this subject later.
For clarity, MPM is not the Milwaukee Public Museum. In simple terms, it is a private organization that runs the museum for the County of Milwaukee and protects its valuable items. When I use the term “MPM,” I am referring to this organization; I will use the term “museum” to refer to the building and what is inside of it.
The Bison Hunt
The Crow Indian Bison Hunt pays homage to the hard realities of life on the Great Plains. While it is not the whole story of the Indigenous peoples, it is a story, and a powerful one at that. The tale unfolds in the faces of the Indian people who hunt, and the bison who flee. The taxidermy is world-class; the warriors’ faces reflect the weathering effects of wind and sun. The sounds of hooves frantically pounding the ground while warriors shout the cry of the hunt. The ground fades into a mural without drawing the eye away from the unspoken narrative. The exhibit is not behind glass. It pushes out towards the viewer to reveal its story from many points of view.
This is what is meant by immersive art–engaging young and old, the eye and the ear, the casual and the intuitive observer. This manner of exhibit, a historical tale within a diorama, is referred to as “The Milwaukee Style,” which was groundbreaking in its time and is no less inspirational today. The Hunt is a lot more than a rattlesnake button, but I still elbow kids aside to press it.
Hopefully, I am writing this as an eloquent counter to a very ugly narrative that MPM is applying to these works. Some of us say they are public treasures, some say they are more valuable than a new building, and some say these are indeed works of art. All say MPM must stop and reimagine their new vision.
PreserveMKE.org
PreserveMKE.org is an organization that among other things runs a Facebook page called The Streets of Old Milwaukee Club (SOOM). We are proudly closing in on 10,000 members. We are not ideological, but we are engaged in a fight that has deep political components. The core of the group is made up of ex-employees, museum buffs, historians, and people like me who believe this is a betrayal of the public interest and trust. The idea that keeps running in my head is the total disconnect one must have to rationalize tearing down these works. These dioramas aren’t just in the museum, they ARE the museum. The MPM style of leadership has always perplexed me. How does one get so engulfed in a program or a vision that the very things they are chartered to protect become expendable? It’s like leaving the infant in the car while you attend parenting classes.
This is what happens when organizations turn away from the public so they can serve the interests of business leaders, their own interests, and blind ambition.
Why is this happening?
So why would MPM want to go through all the trouble? The present building is far bigger than the new one thus a lack of space argument isn’t the reason. I have personally reviewed the 718-page repair analysis for the present building. I have big doubts as to the cost analysis and impartiality cited, but even if accurate, it is still less expensive to fix the old versus building the new one. So, the narrative about building conditions is just a diversion. Naturally, this leads one to question the true motives.
Speculation when the stakes are high is risky, but if you look across Wells Street, the answer becomes evident: housing development. Project development has a very devious way of diminishing the value of what it wants to replace both from a financial and civic point of view. Those who are involved with these decisions lose their focus on everything but their vision. Those who are entrusted with preserving the history of our county seem to find a way to justify their actions even if it means tearing down what they are- dare I say- obligated to protect.
Unfortunately, many people are under the impression that the exhibits are moving to the new museum. Moving them would be a monumental task and something we don’t believe MPM is capable or worthy of. It can be done by talented and dedicated folks, but the cost would throw off the profit margins of the development; thus no one would win except the public, and that was never not the plan. The public was meant to be bystanders and acceptors of whatever they prefer. Naturally, faced with this dilemma, MPM must create a campaign designed to distract and downplay the public’s attention from our community treasures so they can progress to the point of no return.
Remember at the beginning of this article when I said you, the public, were OK with destroying these works? Well, here is how you did it.
On September 27, 2024, MPM sent a letter to the Milwaukee County Board addressing statements made in a letter by SOOM (our group) that questioned, among other things, the support of the public being OK with the destruction of the exhibits:
Through the many focus groups and surveys that have been conducted over the years, we heard repeatedly that people feel MPM’s exhibits have remained stagnant for too long, impacting people’s desire to visit the museum. In fact, a recent independent “Survey of Museum Goers” conducted nationally by Wilkening Consultants showed that MPM visitors are “much more likely than average to suggest that the MPM could improve by making exhibits more engaging or meaningful, changing exhibits more often.”
Read this word-salad again. A national “Survey of Museum Goers.” National? Why is the survey done in quotes? Is this just a title of a generic document? What change are these people open to? Who are the people who took the survey? What is their polling model? We are all open to some change, say the toilet paper in the restrooms. Please search this survey online. It seems to be a generic five-minute survey done on a national level, vague enough to be used as justification for MPM doing what the public doesn’t want them to do. What other purpose does a survey like this serve? An honest survey would ask, “Are you willing to tear down the Streets of Old Milwaukee?”
Read this again closely and look up the Wilkening Consultants online. This appears to be a 5-minute survey done on a national level; it has nothing specific to do with our Museum let alone the Streets of Old Milwaukee. I often wonder if this is dishonest at heart or the result of MPM being so engulfed in a mission that no attention is paid to the sincerity of what is used to support a cause. I would hate to think that the folks who run MPM are dishonest but this is not the product of an open mind nor in the interest of the public.
What Can We Do?
I have a strange quirk. I hate making phone calls, so much so that I find myself hesitating to call my own cell phone when I misplace it. Don’t judge me! Yet I still know that calling my personal representative or supervisor is the single most important thing one can do if you want action. Mailing a letter is very effective as well, emails usually get ignored. A trick I use is to email my thoughts to said rep and then follow up with a phone call making sure that it was received. Keep in mind you don’t have to know all the facts or be poetic with your thoughts. A simple statement like, “I don’t think destruction of these works is right,” is easy enough. Speaking honestly, and sincerely and being a little nervous, is just fine. These are elected people, they are much like us, and they must be civil to keep their jobs. And of course, be nice and no swearing, this isn’t a hockey game.
We at SOOM have a guide on our website, www.preservemke.org. It lists how and who to contact. Milwaukee County residents have the most pull, but for those not in the county, the State of Wisconsin and even the Federal government can be contacted due to the public funding formula.
SOOM is not a large, heavily funded operation. No PR firms, no civic leaders, and very little money. The media friends we have are few but cherished. We work towards saving the works within the Milwaukee County Museum based on the commonsense notion that no one wants this to happen, save the few with other motives. How many of you loved the Museum as a kid and as an adult? How many of your children? How many of your grandchildren? You keep up the faith, and we’ll keep up the fight.
Finally, please search your values and come up with a way to express yourself to our government leaders. We are here to help, and without you. we will lose.
Look for us on Facebook, join the club, and spread the word. Check out www.preservemke.org as well.
Read Wisconsin Right Now’s investigative reporting on the museum.
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