In the light-filled rotunda of the Milwaukee School of Engineering's (MSOE) Grohmann Museum, eight stained-glass windows tell an evolutionary story. Each colorful panel depicts a gritty moment in industrial history, from early blacksmithing and quarrying to one of the first iterations of metallurgical engineering--and each echoes a masterwork housed in the museum's galleries.
"These works are at once fine art and documents of the history of technology," Museum Director James Kieselburg said. "We can see exactly what iron smelting looked like in 1600."
The museum, which is devoted entirely to the art of industry, is the only one of its kind in the U.S., Kieselburg says. He has worked at MSOE for 17 years and curates the Grohmann Museum's rotating exhibitions, also collaborating closely with Eckhart Grohmann, an MSOE regent and the museum's namesake, to purchase new pieces for the museum's permanent collection. Grohmann began collecting industrial art in the 1960s and donated his collection to the school in 2001, establishing the museum shortly thereafter.
The museum's latest exhibition, Pittsburgh-based artist and preservationist Cory Bonnet's "Patterns of Meaning: The Art of Industry," repurposes casting patterns salvaged from historic steel mills into visual art that shines a light on ironworking in America. Bonnet has turned the patterns into sculptures, vessels for ceramic and glass artwork, and support structures for his paintings, which depict Pittsburgh-area steel mills at work.
Through his artwork, Bonnet seeks to paint a comprehensive picture. He shifts his focus between steel and steelworker, landscape and interior, humanity and technology--all culminating in a multi-lens snapshot of steel production at its core.
"Patterns of Meaning," which opened in January, also brings in the perspectives of artists Brian Engel, Angela Tumolo Neira, Nate Lucas, AJ Collins, Andrew Moschetta, and Mia Tarducci, whose pieces work in tandem with Bonnet's to give new life to relics of steel mills from the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Tarducci's abstract paintings encourage viewers to exercise their imagination, allowing color and light to flow like melted iron. Her section of the exhibit has become a favorite among MSOE student patrons.
"We've had more students come through this gallery than I've ever seen," Kieselburg said. "They walk by and they're captivated, because this is modern stuff. It’s stuff that they’re a little more attuned to and they can understand in their own terms. It's pretty special."
"Patterns of Meaning" will conclude its run at the Grohmann Museum on April 28.