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- Diana Bolander: So, we've got
people here setting up.

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- Like that?

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- And we'll move the table out
a little bit.

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[hammering]

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- Diana: Hanging art.

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- Oh, that's a pretty
tablecloth.

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- Diana: Arranging plates and
silverware, that type of thing.

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[plates clattering]

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Sometimes, people are inspired
by a piece of art

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and create a whole scene.

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Right now, we're preparing
for the Art of Tablesettings

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here at the
Rahr-West Art Museum.

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- Greg Vadney: We are debuting
the Art of Tablesettings,

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and it is in its 51st year.

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[gentle music]

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- Susan Puls: The tablesettings
are,

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each one is unique and different
and amazing.

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- Debi Lorge: We just love it.

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It's fun to take a piece of art
and bring it down to the table.

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- Marie Bourne: I just love
the exhibit,

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and it's such
an interesting concept,

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and I love that they involve
the community in it.

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Anybody can enter.

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- We're very thankful that this
community, and that means you,

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have supported us
all of these years.

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[applause]

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- Jim Bourne: And they let us
use their art.

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[upbeat music]

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- Diana: Art of Tablesettings is
an exhibit where people come in

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and create
a beautiful tablescape

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based on a work of art.

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- It was created by
Mrs. Ruth West, who's behind me,

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as a way of connecting artists,
artisans,

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and designers in the community

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with the collection
of the Rahr-West Art Museum.

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- Jim Day: Ruth West was just
an incredible collector,

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a voracious collector.

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- We have about 3,000 works
in the collection.

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- It's a great introduction
to look at our collection

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in a different way.

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[lively music]

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- This makes people see a lot
of the different artwork

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that the museum has

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and what people
have put together

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and their interpretation.

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And then design a table

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that would incorporate the feel
and the colors

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and the sense of the piece
of artwork.

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- We have done this
for several years.

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We seem to be addicted to this
one artist, Schomer Lichtner,

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and he does a lot of things
with cows.

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And I don't know why we're
attracted to that,

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but we find it challenging.

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- In 1980, Mrs. West did a
tablesetting with this painting,

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and it was disco themed,
which is pretty exciting,

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pretty radical [laughs]
for Manitowoc in 1980.

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[upbeat disco music]

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I love this idea that she
brought this popular culture

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into the museum and combined it
with fine art,

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cutting-edge abstract
expressionism.

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Unfortunately,
the story that she bought this

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just to do a tablesetting
is not true,

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but we can still joke about it.

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Art museums
are uniquely positioned

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to bring beauty into our lives.

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- And there's something
really intimate

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and unforgettable
about tablesettings

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and how we gather together
for meals.

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- Diana: And I love that we're
taking these moments

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to celebrate the beauty that
we can find not only in art,

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but in our everyday lives.