The Cellar - View Single Post - Martinifest! and the Museum gig from hell!

warch · 03-03-2006, 06:00 PM

By MARY LOUISE SCHUMACHER
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted: Feb. 27, 2006

The glistening white Santiago Calatrava addition has made the Milwaukee Art Museum one of the city's classiest social addresses. But a recent martini fete held there turned into an overcrowded, drunken affair. Some unruly guests accosted artworks, which have been taken off display for a checkup.

People threw up, passed out, were injured, got into altercations and
climbed onto sculptures at Martinifest, a semi- formal event organized by
Clear Channel Radio and held at the museum Feb. 11, according to several
people who attended or worked at the event.

"Hindsight is 20-20 . . . it was probably too cheap," Kerry Wolfe, a local
programming director for Clear Channel, said of the event's premise -
unlimited martinis for $30.

"In our five years of experience, we have never had any problems with
rental events," David Gordon, the museum's director, said in a brief written
statement responding to questions about the event. "It was not an
appropriate event to be held in the museum, and we have reviewed our
procedures for bookings."

The art museum rents out space during most weekends and many weeknight evenings for events that often include food and drink, as many museums do. When he arrived about five years ago, Gordon liberalized the museum's policies about whom it would and would not rent space to in an attempt to attract a wider array of audiences for the museum. It is more welcoming to the community now than it was under the previous director, Russell Bowman, when the museum often turned away community groups and an event such as Martinifest would have been unthinkable.

Rental income has become important for the museum in its drive to meet
operational costs. It represents 6% of annual revenue, according to the
museum.

As was the case with prior events, the sculptures lining one of the long
gallerias in the museum's Calatrava-designed building were in close
proximity to serving areas during Martinifest. But this time, food, drink
and vomit were on and around some of the artworks by night's end, according to some accounts.

"It was crazy," said attendee Kathleen Christians, 39. "People were shoving
people over. People were getting sick, screaming, shouting, messing with the artwork."

A group of four young men climbed onto "Standing Woman," a tall, bronze
sculpture of a goddess-like woman with exaggerated features by early
20th-century American artist Gaston Lachaise.

"They were standing on it, grabbing the boobs, and somebody was just taking pictures with a cell phone," said Laura Collins, 35.

Asked whether artworks had been damaged or are in need of cleaning, the
museum said two sculptures had been removed for "review" and more would be known in two weeks, after the senior conservator returns to the museum and has had a look. The sculptures are made from resilient materials such as bronze.

At the event, several vendors ran out of food, drink mix and vodka early
on. Some who ran out of mix started pouring straight shots of vodka,
according to several accounts.
...
Zwicky said that when she left about 11 p.m., four ambulances were outside the museum; Wolfe insisted there were two.

03-03-2006, 06:00 PM	#1
warch lurkin old school Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,796	Martinifest! and the Museum gig from hell! By MARY LOUISE SCHUMACHER Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Posted: Feb. 27, 2006 The glistening white Santiago Calatrava addition has made the Milwaukee Art Museum one of the city's classiest social addresses. But a recent martini fete held there turned into an overcrowded, drunken affair. Some unruly guests accosted artworks, which have been taken off display for a checkup. People threw up, passed out, were injured, got into altercations and climbed onto sculptures at Martinifest, a semi- formal event organized by Clear Channel Radio and held at the museum Feb. 11, according to several people who attended or worked at the event. "Hindsight is 20-20 . . . it was probably too cheap," Kerry Wolfe, a local programming director for Clear Channel, said of the event's premise - unlimited martinis for $30. "In our five years of experience, we have never had any problems with rental events," David Gordon, the museum's director, said in a brief written statement responding to questions about the event. "It was not an appropriate event to be held in the museum, and we have reviewed our procedures for bookings." The art museum rents out space during most weekends and many weeknight evenings for events that often include food and drink, as many museums do. When he arrived about five years ago, Gordon liberalized the museum's policies about whom it would and would not rent space to in an attempt to attract a wider array of audiences for the museum. It is more welcoming to the community now than it was under the previous director, Russell Bowman, when the museum often turned away community groups and an event such as Martinifest would have been unthinkable. Rental income has become important for the museum in its drive to meet operational costs. It represents 6% of annual revenue, according to the museum. As was the case with prior events, the sculptures lining one of the long gallerias in the museum's Calatrava-designed building were in close proximity to serving areas during Martinifest. But this time, food, drink and vomit were on and around some of the artworks by night's end, according to some accounts. "It was crazy," said attendee Kathleen Christians, 39. "People were shoving people over. People were getting sick, screaming, shouting, messing with the artwork." A group of four young men climbed onto "Standing Woman," a tall, bronze sculpture of a goddess-like woman with exaggerated features by early 20th-century American artist Gaston Lachaise. "They were standing on it, grabbing the boobs, and somebody was just taking pictures with a cell phone," said Laura Collins, 35. Asked whether artworks had been damaged or are in need of cleaning, the museum said two sculptures had been removed for "review" and more would be known in two weeks, after the senior conservator returns to the museum and has had a look. The sculptures are made from resilient materials such as bronze. At the event, several vendors ran out of food, drink mix and vodka early on. Some who ran out of mix started pouring straight shots of vodka, according to several accounts. ... Zwicky said that when she left about 11 p.m., four ambulances were outside the museum; Wolfe insisted there were two. Last edited by warch; 03-03-2006 at 06:03 PM.