Finalists Exhibit Artist Profile - Sara Mulloy
As part of the Pfister’s ongoing commitment to the arts and those incredibly talented artists who’ve taken the time to submit their candidacy for our Artist-in-Residence position, we’ve put together a fantastic evening at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts to highlight Artist in Residence finalists from the first four years of the program. The show, debuted as part of the Hidden River Art Festival on Friday, September 14th from 5.30-8.30pm. You can find an photo album of the show here, on our Facebook page (a Facebook account is not…
Every Three Seconds
“You want to know about Indian culture?” he asks with a raised brow.
I pick up my pen, square my shoulders, and give an affirmative bring-it-on nod.
The lobby lounge is relaxed after a full day of visitors and tourists trafficking through the hotel. I’m having an evening coffee at the bar and my guest, Murali, is unwinding with a glass of whiskey. His flight from India touched down only a few hours ago. He’s in the t-shirt business and his work carries him all over the globe: Sri Lanka, Australia, Europe, Japan, Singapore. He…
Finalists Exhibit Artist Profile - Albin Erhart
As part of the Pfister’s ongoing commitment to the arts and those incredibly talented artists who’ve taken the time to submit their candidacy for our Artist-in-Residence position, we’ve put together a fantastic evening at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts to highlight Artist in Residence finalists from the first four years of the program. The show, debuted as part of the Hidden River Art Festival on Friday, September 14th from 5.30-8.30pm. You can find an photo album of the show here, on our Facebook page (a Facebook account is not…
Finalists Exhibit Artist Profile - Pamela Anderson
As part of the Pfister’s ongoing commitment to the arts and those incredibly talented artists who’ve taken the time to submit their candidacy for our Artist-in-Residence position, we’ve put together a fantastic evening at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts to highlight Artist in Residence finalists from the first four years of the program. The show, debuted as part of the Hidden River Art Festival on Friday, September 14th from 5.30-8.30pm. You can find an photo album of the show here, on our Facebook page (a Facebook account is not…
Timothy's 2nd Gallery Night + "Wedding" After Party
Pfister Artist in Residence, Timothy Westbrook’s second gallery night took place on Friday, July 27th. With the intention of creating a piece that referenced Elizabethan, Timothy decided to tell a story with his second gallery night piece. Using guides from the 1890s, he created a piece that reflects Queen Victoria’s popularizing of the color white in wedding gowns.
Much like his first piece, Timothy’s fiber art is composed of re-purposed materials, and this piece was no exception. Utilizing white plastic bags, Timothy weaved a fantastic Wedding dress – a dress that tied in surprisingly well with Art…
Map of Gallery Night & Day, July 27-28, 2012
For your convenience, The Pfister has assembled a handy interactive Google Map of all of the participating venues in this weekend’s gallery night. Zoom, click, drag, and scroll your way around the map to see the full picture of what Milwaukee’s Gallery Night has to offer.
Find the full map, along with a Legend and a full list of participating venues here: http://goo.gl/maps/sbu7f
We’d love to see you at the Pfister, where you can visit our Artist-In-Residence, Timothy Westbrook from 5 to 9pm on Friday night and throughout the day on…
Co-Conspirator
Co-Conspirator
I’m on a stakeout. Granted, I’m not disguised as a delivery person or hiding behind a newspaper. There are no binoculars or dark shades involved. No two-way radio tucked into my sleeve. Although the excitement tickling my gut might suggest that I’m crouched behind a dumpster aiming a telephoto lens, I’m actually perched on a low bench in Blu. It’s a handsome crowd and most are here to watch the fireworks. One person is here to rewrite history.
Larry is at a table with his girlfriend, Stephanie. I’ve known her for…
The Pfister Picks: Summerfest's 45th Anniversary
Peter Mortensen, our Chief Concierge at the Pfister, knows a lot about Milwaukee. He’s been helping people have a great time in this city for over 25 years. While he knows the ins and outs better than most, it doesn’t take a concierge to know that Summerfest is the biggest event in Milwaukee all year!
Watch as Peter gives a little history lesson about Summerfest’s origins and speaks with John Boler, Summerfest’s VP of Sales & Marketing, about what’s new this year!
This is a special year in Summerfest history; it’s the 45th anniversary…
Enjoy The Fireworks In Blu
Once again, festival season in Milwaukee is upon us. It’s our favorite time of year! There’s nothing better than good food, good music, and to top it off, a great fire works display.
Are you ready to OOOH and AHHH?
Why weed the crowds, hunt for a good parking spot, or fight the heat and humidity when you can enjoy the fireworks from the best view in the city with a cocktail in your hand.
Join us in Blu for each and every firework display happening at the Henry Meyer Festival Park and throughout the rest of the…
Widgets
This isn’t what I expected at all. Where’s the fast talking guy with the water purifiers? What about the charming woman in the quilted vest with the doggy spa? The tall, awkward man in a bowtie who brews “savory” beer?
When the elevator doors slip open onto the seventh floor ballrooms and the Tenth Annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference, I expected a labyrinth of skirted tables, exhibition panels, tabletop screens with looping videos and eclectic characters barking passionately about their business venture. Instead, I arrived to find 500 business suits listening intently to a tailored keynote speaker.
What tha…
Timothy Westbrook Explores & Exhibits at the Geneva Lake Museum
The emphasis of the Artist in Residence program here at the hotel is to remind us all that art is living and breathing and not just another layer of wallpaper.
I have seen first hand how this program allows guests to get a hands-on experience of my work. I love to see guest reaction when they encounter my work up close and personal.
The best part of the studio is that you never know who will pop in. It continues to be one of my favorite parts of the experience.
Around the start of my second month, I had…
Super Speedway Screening Ticket Give-A-Way
Milwaukee Indy Fest is right around the corner. To get you in the spirit, Marcus Hotels and Resorts is giving away three pairs of tickets to the screening of Super Speedway on Tuesday May 29th at the Marcus Majestic Cinema.
This special event will give race enthusiasts the chance of a lifetime to meet Michael Andretti and New York Times Best selling author, Jade Gurss.
Here’s how to enter…
1. Follow The Pfister Hotel on Twitter (@Pfisterhotel)
2. Tweet: “Hey @Pfisterhotel I want to win a pair of tickets to see the Super Speedway movie via @mke_indyfest #IndyFest ”
3…
Chatter
The steady pacing is a ruse. They navigated easily through an obstacle course of more than a dozen cardboard boxes outside the Imperial Ballroom. I’ve orchestrated large events and will confess that set-up never runs this smoothly without precision planning. I was, most certainly, observing a pro team of volunteers. The women floated amid the boxes like a quiet force before a storm.
Well, maybe not quiet.
“If we put the paperwork in first, the bags will stay open.”
“Only one perfume in each bag, not one of each perfume in each bag.”
“Watch out for the insecticide…
Marcus Team Wins Awards at the WRA/NACE Tabletop Design Competition
In March, a team of collective Marcus foodservice and hospitality employees submitted an amazing tabletop design in this year’s WRA/NACE competition. We are proud to announce they have won two awards for their submission “Detection.”
The first award was for “Most Innovative” and the second was for “Best Use Of Theme.”
Drawing inspiration from Sherlock Holmes, the team wanted their piece to be a setting that was romantically mysterious ruse on the verge of being solved.
Congratulations to the entire team involved including:
Emily Rizzo
Kim Casey
Louis Williams
Maggie Fehring
Nicole Frederickson
Theresa Wolf
Tony Bilot…
The Experience Only a Concierge Can Craft
It is the people who are the best at what they do who are the most difficult to write about. How do you document the seam which is so well constructed that it appears seamless? I’ve been trying to figure out a way to explain the concierge position for quite some time. Pfister Chief Concierge Peter Mortensen is a terrific storyteller, in addition to being an stellar concierge. Peter has a love for both the arts and Milwaukee history, both details which lead him to the story he tells below.
Peter and I traveled to record this piece…
Dancers Sparkle Across the 7th Floor
This weekend marks the 25th anniversary of the Wisconsin Dancesport Championships. The company has a long history with the hotel as they’ve held the annual event at the Pfister all these years. This high-heeled party brings dancers from across the country to compete at their specialized steps.
It is interesting to see the dancers’ posture and gait change depending upon which dance is announced. For example, to an untrained eye (mine) the tango appears stiff and exacting. The foxtrot takes on a more sly, playful, and sensual body movement. During waltzes dancers’ bodies become languid and…
The Great Conversation
I was sitting in Timothy Westbrook’s studio this afternoon. It is a few days after his first successful gallery showing and already the man is back at work. While Timothy constructed new fabric joining cassette tape and wool I listened to the repeating slick/slack/creak/crack sound of his loom in motion. With the new dress in the works I sat thinking about the ongoing, timeless, human dialogue we seem to have termed “The Great Conversation.” This may seem strange or lofty material to be considering at work, but when surrounded with artwork on every wall you…
The Secret
A young girl
tells her grandfather
she’s learning to write.
She explains
the yellow pencils
and blue lined paper
She tells him she’s learned
how to write her name.
“Well that’s magnificent!”
he exclaims,
“I’d love to read your handwriting.
Will you write something for me?”
She shakes her head,
“But Grandpa,
you can’t read it yet,
“I’m just practicing.”
Her grandfather smiles
and leans down to whisper
gravelly grinning decades next to her face
“My dear,
that is the great secret.
Even when…
Patronage and the Everyman
The Medici Family were bankers from Tuscany, Italy. Their initial family monies were made in the textile industry and they were influential in developing the double entry bookkeeping system. During the renaissance they owned Europe’s largest bank.
I’m sure their advances in bookkeeping are fascinating but that is not generally why the Medici name has survived throughout history. The Medicis were great patrons of the arts and sciences. Artists so highly regarded we don’t bother speaking their entire names; Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi, da Vinci, and even Galileo.
The first time I saw a concert in Summerfest…
Service Regardless of the Situation
Picture this:
You work at a hotel. A man checks in to the hotel with arms in plaster casts sticking straight out from his body. Later in the day the man calls down to your desk and explains that he’s not certain how to get himself dressed for the day.
What do you do?
Concierge Roc tells the story of how he teamed up with Annie, the Pfister’s Head of Housekeeping, to satisfy the needs of a guest in a whimsically compromising situation. No matter the job at hand, they’re always glad to serve.
Click Play…
Travel By Association ~ or ~ Travel Lite
Travelers. Travelers everywhere. Transient folks of every stripe walking, running, sitting, working, swimming, eating. Carrying luggage. Grabbing a cup of coffee. Adding sugar to their tea. En route toward somewhere. Arriving from someplace else.
Ah, airports. All of humanity distilled to a small area becoming a sudden, immediate culture. Unique and specific to that individual moment. The energy of not knowing what awaits on the other side of the tarmac touchdown chirp. I haven’t seen an airport in awhile but all the travelers inside this hotel make me feel as though I’m spending my time in a…
Our New AIR Timothy Westbrook's First Gallery Night: tons of surprises in store!
Timothy Westbrook’s first gallery night will be exciting and very interesting. He has both stagnant and performance components to the event.
Here’s a sneak peek of what he’s working on for the show.
Timothy Westbrook’s first gallery night will be in conjunction with the Milwaukee wide “Gallery Day and Night” event.
Updated information: Timothy’s performance piece to open at 5 pm
At 5:00 pm Timothy’s model, Rose, will be assisted into her corset fashioned after clothing from 1902. Promptly after, her hair will be styled. This will take place in the studio gallery…
Generations Dance
The Pfister specializes in weddings. They seem to happen here every weekend, sometimes a few concurrently. Here’s a poem about something we’ve all seen at weddings: The Generations Dance. You know, the one where all the married couples get up and gradually leave as the number of years they’ve been married are ticked away by the announcer.
* If you’d like to hear a spoken recording of this poem, please scroll to the bottom to listen or download *
Without further ado…
After the bride and groom
danced
their first as
man and wife…
Part 2: The Talking Piano of Dr. Jeffrey Hollander
As mentioned in an earlier post I’ve put considerable thought toward how to chronicle Jeff, his playing, and more specifically his playing at the Pfister Hotel. There are several occasions when I’ve left the hotel and driven home in silence because after hearing him at the piano anything on the radio sounded like a frivolous muck.
Different ways to “capture” Jeff battled with one another in my head. Photographs, photographs of his hands, photographs of his facial expressions while playing. Brief videos of the way his hands dance across the keys. Recording the audio of him playing…
A Wild Conversation On Wisconsin Avenue
As I mentioned in an earlier blog post I was able to see Wild Institute founder Chris Heeter speak during UW-Milwaukee’s Women Leaders Conference. Chris’ speech struck a chord with me on many levels and I knew I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to document a few of her philosophies for the blog.
Assuming her canine companion would like some grass respite I suggested we walk four blocks to the Lake Michigan lakefront. While walking I did the best I could to record our conversation, not trip on Tuu Weh’s leash (Chris explains her name…
