Artistic Tourism In Wisconsin

Air Date:
Heard On The Larry Meiller Show

Larry Meiller finds out where to view art, and artists, in rural Wisconsin.

Featured in this Show

  • Rural Sculpture Parks People Might Want To Visit This Fall

    While the Midwest’s fall colors are a great tourism attraction in of themselves, travel writer Mary Bergin suggests combining leaf peeping with rural sculpture parks.

    One sculpture park in Wisconsin is Jurustic Park in Marshfield, a whimsical undertaking of retired couple Clyde and Nancy Wynia. While paleontologists might beg to differ, Clyde said that the creatures depicted by the park’s scrap metal sculptures were present in the Iron Age in Wisconsin. He attributes their extinction to the onset of rust.

    Another Wisconsin destination is the James Tellen Woodland Sculpture Garden. Located in the woods in the town of Wilson, just south of Sheboygan, the park features sculptures of Native Americans and early settler life in Wisconsin. Bergin said that the wooded location would be sure to satisfy both art lovers and fall foliage fans as well.

    One of the best known outdoor sculpture parks in the state is the Wisconsin Concrete Park in Phillips. Fred Smith was a lumberjack and folk artists, and his works in the park highlight the culture and lore of the Northwoods. The Concrete Park is one of Wisconsin’s Seven Man-Made Wonders, which puts it in the illustrious company with Taliesin and the Milwaukee Art Museum.

    For those looking to travel past the state’s boundaries, Bergin also recommends these Midwestern destinations:

Episode Credits

  • Larry Meiller Host
  • Judith Siers-Poisson Producer
  • Mary Bergin Guest