Antoni Milkowski
Encyclopedia
Antoni Milkowski was an American minimalist sculptor.
Antoni "Tony" Milkowski was born October 7, 1935 in Evanston, Illinois
. When he was two years old, the family moved to New York City
. He attended Kenyon College
where he received a degree in biology in 1957. For a time, he considered pursuing a career in medicine, taking additional science courses at Columbia University
. Instead, in 1958, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
Officers Candidate Program. While stationed in San Diego, California
he took drawing and art history courses at the University of California
extension program.
Discharged from the Marine Corps in 1961, Milkowski returned to New York and worked for a time as a recreation leader for the NYC Parks Department. The following year, he enrolled in an M.A. program at Hunter College
. He worked on and off in the Queens parks during this time and also taught at the Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center.
In 1963, while at Hunter College, Milkowski began studying with Tony Smith (sculptor)
, Ad Reinhardt
, Michael Ponce de Leon, George Sugarman and Eugene Goossen. His interactions with these artists, in addition to his meeting David Smith (sculptor)
, cemented his desire to pursue sculpture.
It was in 1964-1965, while a Fulbright Scholar in Poland (where he also taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
), that Milkowski was invited to participate in the Biennial of Forms in Space, where he created his first major large-scale public work entitled "Poland Column". During this period, he began to develop his aesthetic of merging geometry and repetition, mainly in modular units and generally in steel. Over the years, he refined his methods and became interested in the concept of negative space
and of the three dimensional form in space.
The sculpture Seven, from 1968, http://www.hofstra.edu/images/museum_milkowski2.JPG exemplifies these ideas. The piece consists of seven rectangular prisms (34" x 34" x 48" each) and has a total size of 4' high x 28' long x 4' deep. The massive scale is offset by its expansive and open surroundings. Additionally, the contrast between the manmade, cold material and the lushness of the landscape surrounding it create the type of contrast that Milkowski often sought in his work. When observing Seven up close, it becomes apparent that the artist used unfinished edges which brings to mind drawn edges one might see in painting. When viewing the piece from afar and from different angles, however, the user has the opportunity to see an ever-shifting work. In high light or low light, from back or front, in winter or summer, the viewer is privy to seeing something new with each successive viewing.
After retiring from Hunter College, where he taught from 1966 to 1998, he lived and continued creating art in East Chatham, New York. He died sometime after 2001.
Milkowski's works can be found in the collections of the Museum of Art in New Orleans, the City of New York, the Hofstra University Museum and the American Embassy in Warsaw, Poland.
Antoni "Tony" Milkowski was born October 7, 1935 in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
. When he was two years old, the family moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He attended Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
where he received a degree in biology in 1957. For a time, he considered pursuing a career in medicine, taking additional science courses at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Instead, in 1958, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Officers Candidate Program. While stationed in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
he took drawing and art history courses at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
extension program.
Discharged from the Marine Corps in 1961, Milkowski returned to New York and worked for a time as a recreation leader for the NYC Parks Department. The following year, he enrolled in an M.A. program at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
. He worked on and off in the Queens parks during this time and also taught at the Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center.
In 1963, while at Hunter College, Milkowski began studying with Tony Smith (sculptor)
Tony Smith (sculptor)
Tony Smith was an American sculptor, visual artist, architectural designer, and a noted theorist on art. He is often cited as a pioneering figure in American Minimalist sculpture.-Education:...
, Ad Reinhardt
Ad Reinhardt
Adolph Frederick Reinhardt was an Abstract painter active in New York beginning in the 1930s and continuing through the 1960s. He was a member of the American Abstract Artists and was a part of the movement centered around the Betty Parsons Gallery that became known as Abstract Expressionism...
, Michael Ponce de Leon, George Sugarman and Eugene Goossen. His interactions with these artists, in addition to his meeting David Smith (sculptor)
David Smith (sculptor)
David Roland Smith was an American Abstract Expressionist sculptor and painter, best known for creating large steel abstract geometric sculptures.-Biography:...
, cemented his desire to pursue sculpture.
It was in 1964-1965, while a Fulbright Scholar in Poland (where he also taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw is a public university of visual and applied arts located in the Polish capital. The Academy traces its history back to the Department of Arts founded at the Warsaw University in 1812. As a separate institution it was founded in 1844 during the Partitions of Poland...
), that Milkowski was invited to participate in the Biennial of Forms in Space, where he created his first major large-scale public work entitled "Poland Column". During this period, he began to develop his aesthetic of merging geometry and repetition, mainly in modular units and generally in steel. Over the years, he refined his methods and became interested in the concept of negative space
Negative space
Negative space, in art, is the space around and between the subject of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, and not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and such space is occasionally used to artistic effect as the "real"...
and of the three dimensional form in space.
The sculpture Seven, from 1968, http://www.hofstra.edu/images/museum_milkowski2.JPG exemplifies these ideas. The piece consists of seven rectangular prisms (34" x 34" x 48" each) and has a total size of 4' high x 28' long x 4' deep. The massive scale is offset by its expansive and open surroundings. Additionally, the contrast between the manmade, cold material and the lushness of the landscape surrounding it create the type of contrast that Milkowski often sought in his work. When observing Seven up close, it becomes apparent that the artist used unfinished edges which brings to mind drawn edges one might see in painting. When viewing the piece from afar and from different angles, however, the user has the opportunity to see an ever-shifting work. In high light or low light, from back or front, in winter or summer, the viewer is privy to seeing something new with each successive viewing.
After retiring from Hunter College, where he taught from 1966 to 1998, he lived and continued creating art in East Chatham, New York. He died sometime after 2001.
Milkowski's works can be found in the collections of the Museum of Art in New Orleans, the City of New York, the Hofstra University Museum and the American Embassy in Warsaw, Poland.
External links
- http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/advancement/publicrelations/news/1999/artmilkowski/artmilkowski.html
- http://www.hofstra.edu/COM/Museum/museum_sculpture_milkowski.cfm
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E4D6173CF93AA25752C1A96F958260
- http://www.observer.com/node/44186
- http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=12723