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Chipstone Foundation The caretaker of artistic objects By Jill Badzinski For the Daily News Don't think of art as a painted canvas or a sculpted stone, think of it as an inspiration. Following that line, a museum is more than a caretaker of artistic objects, it is a place that can arouse your sense of wonder. So says Jon Prown, executive director and chief curator at Chipstone Foundation, a Fox Point-based organization dedicated to collecting and promoting the scholarship of American decorative arts. Although the Chipstone collection is housed in a private residence and is not open to the public, its collection is displayed at the Milwaukee Art Museum and in digital and print publications. Chipstone's mission is similar to that of the Museum of Wisconsin Art, Prown said. "While the role of being a caretaker of artistic objects is vital, so too is the role of using them in thoughtful ways to teach and to arouse a sense of wonder," he said. "In this digital age, with all of its many other distractions, our museum displays and interpretive strategies need to be engaging in order to capture the aesthetic and intellectual interests of visitors." There is great potential for the Museum of Wisconsin Art to collaborate with Chipstone, Prown said. Not only has Prown worked with MOWA Executive Director Laurie Winters, he sees a link between Chipstone's collection and the art museum's goals. "We eagerly look forward to working with Laurie and her staff on a range of initiatives, from crafting museum installations to supporting MOWA lectures, think tanks and hand-on making sessions with living artists (and) craftspeople," he said. "Obviously, Chipstone's collections of early American furniture, English pottery and American historical prints don't necessarily have strong Wisconsin roots. On the other hand, we would be pleased to offer up artifacts from the collection for comparative purposes." The timing is right for a partnership with the Museum of Wisconsin Art, Prown said. The building coupled with Winters' experience and interest in developing compelling partnerships and exhibitions puts MOWA at the center of Wisconsin's art scene. "The (state's) art scene is terrific and will only get better as organizations and institution continue to work with one another on thought-provoking projects and educational initiatives," he said. "Certainly MOWA can take on a new and expanded role as the main advocate for Wisconsin art, both past and present." Museums and foundations like Chipstone are also being challenged to come up with more ways to display their collections than with static displays. Chipstone uses websites and print publications as well as other means to make its collection more accessible to the public. "What is gained by limiting access to collections and to ideas? Our institutional mandate is to promote educational initiatives in the field of American decorative arts and material culture, and taking our projects into classrooms or Prown other community centers and by greatly expanding distribution via the web is a necessary part of what we do in order to remain a vital institution," he said. "Museum displays represent one way of showing art; these other programs allow for alternative modes of thinking and presentation that serve even greater audiences." The importance of art is making sure that it is seen and that people have opportunities to react to it, regardless of where it is displayed, Prown said. "Art is culture. Art is history. Art is inspiration. Art is emotion. Art is humanity," he said. "Collections such as that at MOWA hold the potential to reveal a wide array of compelling narratives and ideas to museum visitors and to the public at large. "In a world increasingly defined by products of mass production and patterns of mass consumption, sanctuaries that explore art as acts of actual human creation become vitally important," he said. "They keep intact our belief in a different kind on making, one that is original and generative and enriching for maker and viewer alike." Submitted These apothecary pots and syrup pot from the Chipstone Foundation's collection were made in London in 1694. March 2013 • News Graphic & Daily News • Museum of Wisconsin Art • 15