Lee Matz, Author at Milwaukee Independent

Walk 100 Miles in 100 Days kicks off with journey along photos and sculptures

Posted by Lee Matz | Jun 8, 2018 |

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s fifth annual summer health initiate launched on June 4 from City Hall, combining excise, community, and the arts. The Walk 100 Miles in 100 Days Challenge kick off event began with a group led stretch, followed by a motivational pep talk from Mayor Barrett, and a raffle for prizes. “When it comes to our health and wellness, every step counts,” said Mayor Barrett. “My Walk 100 Challenge is an effort to motivate people from all corners of Milwaukee to get out, stay active, and have fun. It’s a great way to explore the beautiful neighborhoods...

Community walk with Mayor Barrett explores murals in Silver City neighborhood

Posted by Lee Matz | Jun 8, 2018 |

Mayor Tom Barrett hosted the first of his community walk series for the summer of 2018 with Artists Working in Education (AWE) on June 5 along the Silver City neighborhood. The one mile trek from 30th and Scott Street to Arlington Heights Park on 35th and Pierce Street was part of Mayor Barrett’s Walk 100 Miles in 100 Days Challenge. It explored artwork created and installed in the community by Artists Working in Education (AWE). The art walk featured a variety of murals created by students at Doerfler Elementary School and Escuela Verde High School. Also highlighted along the...

Downtown welcomes Sculpture Milwaukee’s public art venue for second season

Posted by Lee Matz | Jun 6, 2018 |

Sculpture Milwaukee 2018 officially opened on June 1 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the Northwestern Mutual Gardens, and a free picnic lunch for 1,000 attendees. Celebrating a second season for the outdoor sculpture experience along Wisconsin Avenue, hundreds attended the kick off party held on the front lawn of the financial services company’s new tower. The site also features 2 of the 21 sculptures by 22 artists in the 2018 Sculpture Milwaukee line-up, Kiki Smith’s “Seer (Alice II)” at the west end and Robert Indiana’s iconic “LOVE, 1966-1999” at the east. Emceed by Sandy Maxx, host of “The...

Wisconsin Avenue gets some LOVE with iconic sculpture by the late Robert Indiana

Posted by Lee Matz | May 29, 2018 |

Sculpture Milwaukee added more LOVE to Wisconsin Avenue on May 25 with the installation of the icon work by Robert Indiana, which came less than week after the famous pop artist dіеd at his secluded island home off the coast of Maine. “LOVE, 1966-1999” is a featured installation in the 2018 Sculpture Milwaukee program that has brought a free outdoor urban art experience to downtown Milwaukee for the second year. Indiana’s endearing image of LOVE is instantly recognizable around the world, and will be on display outside Northwestern Mutual’s Tower and Commons until October 21. “We’re thrilled to bring...

Processing realtime tragedies requires perspective to see longstanding problems

Posted by Lee Matz | May 22, 2018 |

Last year I wrote about finding a passion to overcome fear. The year before that, I explained why the photo I was most proud of was one that I never took. With the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church fire, I am reminded of what our community says is valued in a tragedy, and what it does to actually show that value. But also, what problems are addressed and when action is taken. If history has taught anything, it is that there will always be terrible disasters beyond the control of anyone. The inferno that engulfed Trinity Church on May 15...

Adopt-A-Soldier program gives headstones to Milwaukee’s forgotten Civil War heroes

Posted by Lee Matz | May 18, 2018 |

Wisconsin historians Tom Ludka and Margaret Berres have so far brought recognition to more than one hundred veterans of the Civil War buried at Forest Home Cemetery, with a program that finally puts headstones on their unmarked graves after more than a century. During President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, he expressed the need for the Nation to “care for those who had borne the battle, as well as their widows and orphans.” That responsibility was passed to following generations, to remember the men who fought and died to preserve our Union. A multi-year project compiled by local historians...