(light flourishing music) - A master glassblower and a farmer.

It may sound like an unusual combination, but for one Wisconsin man, art and agriculture are his passions.

On this episode of "The Arts Page," we'll meet Mick Meilahn and learn why his message of science through art is so important.

65 years is a milestone, and one we're celebrating here at Milwaukee PBS.

We're celebrating our 65th anniversary with a special art exhibition.

Find out when and where you can see it for yourself.

See how Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design students are collaborating with local veterans to share their military experiences in a creative way.

And for music fans, a song from talented local singer and guitarist Jacob Slade, as part of Milwaukee PBS's Rhythm Cafe MKE series.

"The Arts Page" starts right now.

(soft bluesy music) Welcome to "The Arts Page."

I'm Sandy Maxx.

Over 500 years ago, Native Americans introduced Europeans to corn, and since then, corn has been genetically modified for a variety of different uses beyond food.

As a Wisconsin farmer, Michael Mick Meilahn has seen this shift in agriculture firsthand.

Along with being a farmer, Meilahn is also a master glassblower.

He has a master's degree in glass and sculpture and has trained with legendary glass artists from all over the world.

Meilahn's touring exhibition, called "Primordial Shift: Glass, Corn and Genetic Modification," deals with the implications of genetic modification of corn.

Come visit his studio in central Wisconsin to learn more about his life as a glassblower and his thought-provoking message of scientific awareness.

(low curious music) - [Mick] I grew up on this farm.

My, or my dad's uncle, I believe, had the farm at one time.

My dad grew up here and we were milking cows.

I grew up on a dairy farm.

He delivered milk house to house with glass containers, and that was part of my job as a little kid growing up, is I'd run bottles to the house.

But dad wanted me to go to college.

I was the only one that went to college.

And I happened upon the art studio.

Of course, I took some art classes in high school, but as a fast track to a class through the art department.

And they were throwing pots and I thought, well, I can do that.

I'm not afraid to get dirty.

And that's how I ran into the offered class at that particular college in 1964.

When I left college, there were several opportunities out there where I could have done this or that, including teaching at the college level.

And I chose to, at that time, I chose to come back to the farm specifically because I wanted to raise my family on a farm where I had the freedom to roam, so to speak.

So I chose basically to come back to the farm and farm to make art.

(water splashing) It's what I finally really did when I focused specifically on making art from a motif, that I understand or a symbol that I understand, which is the ear of corn.

You gotta get the top boiling.

Okay.

(air blowing) So the latter work that I started making now, I have a piece called "Primordial Shift."

(light plucky music) - [Becky] The exhibit behind me is called "Primordial Shift."

It's an amazing blown glass installation that gives our guests a chance to delve into genetic engineering, especially around corn.

I mean, that was the original intent of the exhibit, but it's been an amazing opportunity to talk about genetic engineering, not just of crops, but of other organisms as well.

Humans have been modifying crops for thousands of years, but in the past couple of decades, that's really sped up with the advent of some of the new technologies with genetic engineering.

So this is and it's been an amazing opportunity to really look at what those technologies are and the type of questions that we need to be asking about both the pros and cons of technology.

- [Mick] I planted my first genetically seed in 1995, and that's when I made the decision to make work strictly about agriculture and how it affects our world environment.

When I started working, it took me a while to get into making something that would represent that whole concept.

And so when I started making these very large pieces of corn, it's based on some of the... You make it larger for that shock reaction.

If you make it big, people can't ignore it.

So by doing so, I'm using that as a technique to make people think about what they're looking at.

And a lot of the work that I do have will have little small objects that make you think, well, what is it?

Why is that there?

And there's several things that come into play with that is that that's what art is supposed to do.

This is part of a later piece called "Corn Hanger Series," and the whole concept here is to take back, take us back in time to an arrowhead as hunter representing hunter or gatherer, as all of us are a part of that at one time.

We have that same DNA.

So this particular section is the kind of a mechanical part, this one and this one, and that represents the Industrial Revolution, which was a big jump in history.

But the real big jump came in selective breeding is where they got really good at crossing one variety with another, all hung on a glass bar, which represents the fragility of our food systems.

If I'm a contemporary artist, I'm making work that's about our time, and our time is really, my time is really about how do I make enough food to produce and feed the world.

I'm a part of that, and so that's always on my mind.

My grandfather had a 60-acre farm.

My dad had a 200-acre farm.

And when I started farming and just recently retired, we were running 2,000 acres.

But 40 bushel is where it started.

And when I retired, we are getting upwards of 300 bushel to the acre.

(soft acoustic music) ♪ Hmm ♪ - [Mick] It is a very complicated situation to try to do both professions really well, but the timeframe was right because farming is seasonal.

And so I had this opportunity in the winter with the slow months.

Funny thing is, is that so often, I couldn't wait to get back into the studio.

The downside to that is I had to drop what I was doing in the spring.

And by the time I got around to the next year, it was like, what was I doing then?

But the best thing about it is that I never tired of making art simply because I had a break from it.

I came back fresh, and that's really how I got to the point where I am with my work.

♪ Hmm ♪ - [Bystander] Yeah!

- You can see more of Meilahn's art at his website, michael-meilahn.com.

That's Michael-M-E-I-L-A-H-N.com Time flies when you're having fun.

And here at Milwaukee PBS, we have a lot of fun.

Our station is celebrating 65 years of providing quality television to Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin.

To commemorate this milestone, we have created a free exhibition titled "Milwaukee PBS at 65: Looking Back and Moving Forward."

Here's a preview.

(casual upbeat music) At Milwaukee PBS, we strive to serve our community with educational, inspirational and enriching television.

For over six decades, we have been an industry leader in content, community engagement, and technology.

- [Speaker] No, the year before.

- [Sandy] It's all thanks to viewers like you.

To showcase our proud history, we've curated a special exhibit filled with cherished memorabilia from our past.

- [Dan] This history is southeastern Wisconsin's history.

"Milwaukee PBS at 65: Looking Back and Moving Forward" is an interactive exhibit that looks at the history of the station.

We didn't expect to find what a fight it was for Milwaukee PBS to even get off the ground.

There were major media organizations that were fighting it tooth and nail.

- Well, out of the 65 years that we've been in existence, I've been here for 36.

I thought I knew the history of Milwaukee PBS.

I was always told the station started, the history started in 1957.

And in doing research for this exhibit, I found out it goes back much further.

- [Sandy] After months of hard work from everyone at the station, we proudly opened the exhibit on Friday, June 2nd, 2023.

- [Dan] Good afternoon everyone.

It is so great that we can all be together this afternoon to inaugurate the exhibition, "Milwaukee PBS at 65: Looking Back and Moving Forward."

What you're about to see in the next room is an interactive history exhibit that gives you a look back over the past 65 years and shares a little glimpse of where TV is going in the future.

In one of the videos you'll come across, Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler indicates that the idea for educational TV came in the form of a letter from an FCC commissioner inviting him to apply for an educational TV license.

- [Frank] The way the educational television station Channel 10 got started was through a letter which I received from Frieda Hennock, who was then an appointee of the president on the Federal Communications Commission.

I think I was one of the very few mayors in the country and I can't think of any others who took action to reserve such a channel.

- [Dan] Our next speaker is so much a part of history, our history that he's actually in the exhibit.

Please welcome Dan Braovac to give some remarks.

(audience applauds) - Thank you, Dan.

On October 28th, 1957 at 4:30 PM, General Manager Paul Taff was live on the air and introduced southeastern Wisconsin to Milwaukee's newest television station.

We started with three hours, five days a week, from one station broadcasting three hours a day, for only five days a week, to today, where we have two high-definition television stations, four additional digital television services, altogether providing up to 144 hours of available viewing every day, 24/7, 365.

- [Vicki] One thing that has remained constant over these decades is the involvement of our students, and that's the really strong connection.

Students are a part of station operations, and our students then have the real world learning experience that have launched careers, not only at Milwaukee PBS, but also television stations around Milwaukee and around the world.

- It's part of Channel 10 that viewers seldom see, but one of our missions is the training of students to work in broadcasting, engineers, announcers, producers, directors, stage managers and artists, all the dozens of skills that television demands.

- So I want to thank each person gathered here for their support of Milwaukee PBS and a strong future.

I've always proudly supported Milwaukee PBS and the value it brings not only to our college, but to our community.

- [Sandy] "Milwaukee PBS at 65: Looking Back, Moving Forward" is open 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday at MATC's downtown campus.

(upbeat music) (music fades) Art has the ability to build bridges between people of differing backgrounds.

The Veteran Print Project pairs art students at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design with local veterans to create large depictions of what it means to be a military service member.

Milwaukee PBS producer Scottie Lee Meyers shows us more.

- Right here, we have three original paintings by Jim Finnerty.

He was a Vietnam veteran.

- [Scottie] Yvette Pino is always looking to showcase veteran stories.

- [Yvette] He became a painter long after his service.

He's one of those artists that wasn't necessarily a painter before.

His work became very abstract, and it's that abstract quality that really drew people's attention to his work.

- [Scottie] As the curator of art for the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, she was asked to install more than a hundred works of art inside the newly renovated Old Main building, a national landmark that shelters veterans at risk of homelessness on the campus of the Milwaukee Soldier's Home.

- [Yvette] One of the things I've always done in my practice as an artist and as a curator is I've presented artwork that tells the military experience, and it's always offered this bridge for people to have conversation, because the imagery you're looking at gives you a safe space to tell stories that maybe aren't your own.

- [Scottie] Pinot's own military story led her to serve in Iraq until 2008 when she moved back to the States and enrolled into art school at the University of Wisconsin Madison, where she quickly noticed a disconnect.

- We didn't feel comfortable talking to our fellow classmates, and that was leading to isolation.

So I was trying to find a way to bridge that gap and get us able to talk to one another.

Also because the students and civilians didn't actually know how to talk to veterans.

- [Scottie] And that's what led Pino to start the Veteran Print Project.

In its simplest terms, an artist meets a veteran, a conversation happens and a print is made.

- The Veteran Print Project has partnered with schools across the country.

Most recently, and I think one of our most successful collaborations has been with the Milwaukee Institute of Art Design.

Rina Yoon, the printmaking professor at MIAD, and I met several years ago, and since 2018, I've been working with her in a variety of different classes with her students to pair them up with veterans or veteran organizations like the renovation of the Soldier's Home.

- [Rina] I think personally I really felt lucky to have met Yvette.

We teach art, we teach how to be creative, how to use their creative minds.

But then in terms of how does my art communicate, who do I communicate, what is my art about, and what kind of impact can my art have, I think VPP Project really bridges, not only just a veteran, but it's just really a way to bridge all these, all the multiple components.

- [Scottie] In 2021, the teachers decided to group MIAD students with local veterans organizations.

While the entire art and community printmaking class toured Milwaukee Soldier's Home, Grace Ranz and Grey Higgenbotham were actually assigned to create a giant print that reflected its story.

- Just learning about the veterans and their experience and how they can have this home for them is just so inspiring.

So I never even knew it existed until this project.

- I really loved learning about the history of it, but I really loved the space.

I thought it was a great place for veterans to live.

- [Scottie] In addition to researching the home's incredible history, the students met with Myron Webster, a Native American artist and Vietnam War veteran who told them about his art and the VA system.

- I didn't really know anything about veterans before this project, so just learning about Myron's perspective and how much they had to go through really was impactful for me.

- We really just thought of the things that stood out to us most about Myron, which was his presence.

So we decided to depict his figure on the far right panel, and then also the geese at the top.

We really wanted to showcase the history of the Veteran Soldier's Home because that was, on top of getting paired with Myron, it was also about representing this veteran community.

On the far left side, we have the past, and then to the far right side we have the present.

- [Scottie] The woodcut of the print the students created now hangs for all to see in the basement of Old Main, a testament to the Veteran Print Project's ability to frame a fuller picture of what it means to be a veteran.

- [Yvette] I think a lot of times when we talk to service members, we have this preconceived notion of the stories they're going to tell.

If you offer yourself up to an open dialogue, you realize that there's so many more multifaceted things about a veteran than the stereotypical story of what a veteran is.

- Music fans meet Wauwatosa's singer/songwriter Jacob Slade.

He grew to love music by jamming with his dad.

As part of the new Milwaukee PBS Digital first series Rhythm Cafe MKE, here's Jacob Slade performing his song, "However You May."

- [Speaker] You got the speed?

First song, is it "However You May?"

- [Jacob] Yes.

Yep.

So I leave a little drone on for this song.

Just like a... Like that.

Yeah.

(laughs) (soft guitar strumming) Clap first?

Okay.

(claps) Hi, my name's Jacob Slade, and this is my song, "However You May."

(soft thoughtful music) ♪ I concede each piece of me ♪ ♪ Consolidate remaining energy ♪ ♪ Sometimes life feels like a dream ♪ ♪ I can barely walk ♪ ♪ I have no voice to scream ♪ ♪ I'm hopeless in my advances ♪ ♪ It helps to turn away from things ♪ ♪ Take a break and ignore the pain ♪ ♪ But avoidance is temporary ♪ ♪ Face it all however you may ♪ ♪ But it won't just go away ♪ ♪ I concede each piece of me ♪ ♪ Consolidate remaining energy ♪ ♪ Sometimes life feels like a dream ♪ ♪ I can barely walk ♪ ♪ I have no voice to scream ♪ ♪ I'm hopeless in my advances ♪ ♪ It helps to turn away from things ♪ ♪ Take a break and ignore the pain ♪ ♪ But avoidance is temporary ♪ ♪ Face it all however you may ♪ ♪ But it won't just go away ♪ ♪ No, it won't just go away ♪ (music fades) - [Jacob] "However You May," for me at least thematically is just talking about facing the more difficult things in life and how it can often be easier to partake in superficial stuff that just shoves it down without actually facing it.

♪ I concede each piece of me ♪ ♪ Consolidate remaining energy ♪ ♪ Sometimes life feels like dream ♪ ♪ I can barely walk ♪ ♪ I have no voice to scream ♪ - [Jacob] The whole facing it however you may is just, I guess a lot of the time it's me talking to myself.

♪ But avoidance is temporary ♪ ♪ Face it all however you may ♪ - [Jacob] More so just however you're able to do it, get to the root of some of the things that are troubling you as opposed to just pushing them down and forgetting about them.

So I think overall, it's just a song that's really talking about facing, facing the difficult things and getting through it and moving on.

♪ No, it won't just go away ♪ - Thank you for watching "The Arts Page."

I'm Sandy Maxx inviting you to please join us the first Thursday of every month for a half hour full of art on "The Arts Page."

(soft bluesy music)