If you go to a natural history museum almost anywhere in the world, you can expect to see dioramas displaying how animals behave in the wild. Dioramas have become integral to museums, transporting visitors to unfamiliar landscapes through art and science.
But you may not know that diorama-building as we know it got its start in Milwaukee, with Carl Akeley's "Milwaukee style."
Akeley's 1890 "Muskrat Family Group" is the first diorama of its kind, and it lives on at the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM). Akeley is widely regarded as the father of modern taxidermy, and his work revolutionized how museums curate their exhibits.
"He was the first one who actually created this 3D environment with a curved background, 3D images in the front. ... And then it slowly fades to the background where it's a painted backdrop," says MPM President and CEO Dr. Ellen Censky.
While earlier museum exhibits displayed taxidermy animals out of context, Akeley's "Milwaukee style" offered greater insight by placing animals within their natural habitat. Akeley's famous muskrat display, for example, gives the viewer a cross-section of muskrats' habitat — both above and below the water.
"This was really revolutionary in trying to to create a teaching tool that allowed you to learn more just by looking at something," Censky says.
Not only did Akeley’s "Milwaukee Style" revolutionize museum displays, it also inspired a yearly celebration known as the "Diorama-Rama." Local dioramist Dee Kirschling started the event 10 years ago, declaring the month of March "National Diorama Month."
Since then, MPM has offered wide variety of kids' programming and guided tours highlighting MPM exhibits and "Easter eggs" every March. The month-long celebration culminates with a Diorama-Rama contest — a chance for adult artists, crafters and diorama hobbyists to show off their skills.
"As we grow more mature, our worlds get a little bit smaller and we put aside a lot of stuff that we could do for ourselves," Kirschling says. "So I think it gives people an excuse, in a way, to cut loose and make something that's just for fun."
This year's theme invited participants to reimagine existing MPM diroamas in miniature. Dioramist Angela Johnstad-Beyer decided to recreate the Silurian squids from MPM's Living Oceans exhibit. Although the event is billed as a contest, Johnstad-Beyer says its more of a gallery night.
"I think all of us who participate, we don't really think of it as a contest," she says. "What we enjoy is being able to see all these different dioramas pulled together in one event — and it's really hard to pick a favorite every year."
With MPM's re-location looming, one might wonder whether the museum will continue its tradition of immersive displays like the Africa or rainforest exhibits will continue at the new museum. Dr. Censky says that tradition is sure to continue — this time with digital backdrops alongside painted ones.
"That is what we're known for ... and so that's what we will be doing in that new museum is those immersive environments," Censky says.
And she says the muskrats are coming too.
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