After 15 years of outside display on the south wall of the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) building, an original artwork by the late Ted Conde and BBBS helpers had to be taken down last June because its materials had deteriorated.
A crew of volunteers installed a renovated work on a wall of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County building. The original work depicting children and adults at play was removed last June due to deterioration of the base material. Helping to hang the four 4′ x 8′ panels – District 4 Alderman Matt Sternig, husband of Heidi Sternig, BBBS executive director, below the ladder; their son Tyler Sternig on the ladder; and Mayor Joel Ongert, left. The installation took about two hours.
Fast forward to a chilly Saturday morning when an installation crew re-hung an 8X16 foot digital reproduction of the original painting. It was a nice moment for BBBS of Washington County, which owns its building that fronts on Main Street and backs on the city’s Riverwalk.
It is the second piece of high quality art mounted on a façade along the west bank of the west bend of the Milwaukee River. The first huge digital print is a reproduction of a Reggie Baylor painting of an autumn scene of an upstream tributary of the river that was recently hung on the east wall of The Bend Theater.
There is quite a history to the renovated display. It was an Eagle Scout project organized in 2010 by Aaron Drews. He recruited Conde and big and little mentors and mentees served by the non-profit organization as assistants. The non-profit organization arranges matches between adult role models (mentors) and youngsters (mentees). BBBS currently manages 43 matches of mostly teens and adult mentors and has 40 more in the works.
The kids submitted sketches of adults and kids at play. Conde used them to create professional outlines. His “assistants” then filled in the colors. The result was a lively collaboration resembling folk art.
The Spring digitized panel.
The digital reproduction, donated and printed on metal by Serigraph Inc., is even more brightly colorful than the original. Reflecting BBBS mission, it is entitled: “Little Moments, Big Magic In All Seasons.” It looks great.
Conde was a retired U.S. Navy corpsman and medical illustrator for the medical illustrator for St. Joseph’s in Milwaukee for over 22 years. He was on the initial board of West Bend Friends of Sculpture from 1992 to 2013.
With the recent addition of several sculptures on the Riverwalk, with the Museum of Wisconsin Art on the east bank, with banners on light poles, and with emerging river façade artworks, the Riverwalk could become known as a “RiverArtWalk.”
It all adds to what has become known as the downtown cultural district.
