Project 3 Proposal

For this revisiting and revised project I want to create "postcard" images of landmarks in Milwaukee. I'm taking inspiration from Thomas Kellner and David Hockney because of the way they took quintessential images and broke them up and rearranged them to challenge their perfection. I want to I want to take photos of Milwaukee landmarks from all different angles and during different times/lighting conditions and combine them into one photograph. I'm considering creating them at postcard size or possibly larger to better see the detail.

Project 2 Final Images

Milwaukee County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy

Wisconsin has a huge history of agriculture, and now we see it predominately in rural areas. This was a high school in Milwaukee that began operating for the 1912-13 school year until 1928 when enrollment had continually decreased to the point where they could no longer afford to run the school. The students were given hands on technical training, like for example, learning how to build a farm shed. In 1978 the buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More recently the history and the buildings themselves have been severely neglected. Some people believe that the buildings have been purposely neglected in hopes to have them condemned and something more commercial built in their place. In 2007 Scott Walker authorized SWAT officers to host a training conference in these buildings which caused damage to the interiors. In 2010 UWM proposed a plan and purchased the land to develop the location as Innovation Park and engineering and research campus. There have also been proposals to renovate these buildings into apartments and building more apartments around them. Currently these buildings still sit in a state of neglect with nothing being done to renovate them. The buildings are so contrary how Milwaukee is now seen as an industrial city. There are very few people alive now that were alive while this school was running. Urban gardening is up and coming in the city of Milwaukee and is often viewed as something brand new without acknowledging Milwaukee’s past roots in agriculture. These buildings are a glimpse at what is left of Milwaukee’s agricultural past which is dissipating and being returned to nature at this very moment.

Project 2 In Progress

Project 2 Proposal

For this project I plan to shoot the Milwaukee County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy. Wisconsin has a huge history of agriculture, and now we see it predominately in rural areas. This was a high school in Milwaukee that began operating for the 1912-13 school year until 1928 when enrollment had continually decreased to the point where they could no longer afford to run the school. The buildings have since been used as a tuberculosis sanatorium. In 1978 the buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More recently the history and the buildings themselves have been severely neglected. Some people believe that the buildings have been purposely neglected in hopes to have them condemned and something more commercial built in their place. In 2007 Scott Walker authorized SWAT officers to host a training conference in these buildings which caused damage to the interiors. In 2010 UWM proposed a plan to develop the location as Innovation Park and engineering and research campus. There have also been proposals to renovate these buildings into apartments and building more apartments around them. Currently these buildings still sit in a state of neglect with nothing being done to renovate them.

For this project I want to show the neglect of these historical buildings. The buildings are so contrary how Milwaukee is now an industrial city. I want to show what remains of the counties agricultural past. There are very few people alive now that were alive when this school was running. No one thinks of Milwaukee as being an agricultural area or remember a time when it was. Its sad that these nationally recognized historic buildings are not being actively protected and are already being forgotten. I will show the little bit thats left of Milwaukee's agricultural past.

I'm not sure if I want to produce color or black and white images. The buildings are made of brick and I think some of the decay could get lost if I did black and white. At the same time the buildings are in an obvious state of decay and black and white could add more drama.