- Diana Bolander: So, we've got people here setting up.
- Like that?
- And we'll move the table out a little bit.
[hammering]
- Diana: Hanging art.
- Oh, that's a pretty tablecloth.
- Diana: Arranging plates and silverware, that type of thing.
[plates clattering]
Sometimes, people are inspired by a piece of art
and create a whole scene.
Right now, we're preparing for the Art of Tablesettings
here at the Rahr-West Art Museum.
- Greg Vadney: We are debuting the Art of Tablesettings,
and it is in its 51st year.
[gentle music]
- Susan Puls: The tablesettings are,
each one is unique and different and amazing.
- Debi Lorge: We just love it.
It's fun to take a piece of art and bring it down to the table.
- Marie Bourne: I just love the exhibit,
and it's such an interesting concept,
and I love that they involve the community in it.
Anybody can enter.
- We're very thankful that this community, and that means you,
have supported us all of these years.
[applause]
- Jim Bourne: And they let us use their art.
[upbeat music]
- Diana: Art of Tablesettings is an exhibit where people come in
and create a beautiful tablescape
based on a work of art.
- It was created by Mrs. Ruth West, who's behind me,
as a way of connecting artists, artisans,
and designers in the community
with the collection of the Rahr-West Art Museum.
- Jim Day: Ruth West was just an incredible collector,
a voracious collector.
- We have about 3,000 works in the collection.
- It's a great introduction to look at our collection
in a different way.
[lively music]
- This makes people see a lot of the different artwork
that the museum has
and what people have put together
and their interpretation.
And then design a table
that would incorporate the feel and the colors
and the sense of the piece of artwork.
- We have done this for several years.
We seem to be addicted to this one artist, Schomer Lichtner,
and he does a lot of things with cows.
And I don't know why we're attracted to that,
but we find it challenging.
- In 1980, Mrs. West did a tablesetting with this painting,
and it was disco themed, which is pretty exciting,
pretty radical [laughs] for Manitowoc in 1980.
[upbeat disco music]
I love this idea that she brought this popular culture
into the museum and combined it with fine art,
cutting-edge abstract expressionism.
Unfortunately, the story that she bought this
just to do a tablesetting is not true,
but we can still joke about it.
Art museums are uniquely positioned
to bring beauty into our lives.
- And there's something really intimate
and unforgettable about tablesettings
and how we gather together for meals.
- Diana: And I love that we're taking these moments
to celebrate the beauty that we can find not only in art,
but in our everyday lives.