About 20,000 years ago, glaciers retreated from the Midwest. The melting glaciers filled enormous basins with water, creating the Great Lakes, including Lake Michigan. With a surface area of over 22,000 square miles, Lake Michigan contains nearly 1,200 cubic miles of water and has a maximum depth of 925 feet. It is immense and nearly incomprehensible in scale.

Lake Michigan is the defining geographic feature of Milwaukee. Its existence is the past, present, and future of the city. From the first indigenous inhabitants of the Great Lakes basin, throughout European settlement, and up to the present day, the lake has provided subsistence, commerce, transportation, power, and recreation to all who have lived near it. Its future as a source of fresh water — especially in light of climate change — is of utmost importance to the region.

“One day I decided to just walk along the lake, and it struck me that even though it has been the backdrop of my life for about 50 years, I never really paid close attention to it. But then I started to pay more attention to it on walks and I noticed that it has so many different moods. It can be like glass one day and a raging storm the next. There can be a rainbow or the moon can be rising over it and there are a million different ways the clouds can be arrayed over it. So, I hope people look at the images and can see a bit of the many faces of the lake that I have come to enjoy.”

Focusing on a different aspect of Lake Michigan, Bradford Beach illustrates the aspect of the lake as a hub for recreation, entertainment, and gathering for the people of Milwaukee.

“Anyone who lives in Milwaukee or who grew up here goes to the lake. They fish, swim or ski in its waters. Bradford Beach has been a place where Milwaukeeans converge on a hot day for generations.”

Brautigam finds it hard to underestimate the importance of Lake Michigan to the city, in both its past and its future.

“I don’t think the city would even be here without the lake. It drew indigenous people here thousands of years ago, then European settlers. I hope that people who see this photo take a moment to reflect on what a great body of water the lake is and how important it is to our community. Maybe it will inspire them to pay more attention to it and appreciate it and most importantly take care of it, because it is going to be even more important to us moving forward.”

A personal and unique portrayal of his home state, On Wisconsin was the first major series of photographs Mark Brautigam completed as an artist. While these photographs may live within the stereotypes of the Midwest, they also confound them with a reverent and dignified perspective on the land and people of Wisconsin.

During a 2014 interview with Slate Magazine, Brautigam said, ““I just wanted to give an honest portrayal of the state, one maybe counter to the one often in the media—the cheesehead-wearing Packers fan or Laverne and Shirley, those stereotypes that every state deals with.”

“I would literally just throw my camera in a car and drive around Wisconsin because I had never really explored the state when I was younger. But when I came back to Wisconsin after being stationed as a Marine in California, I told myself that I was going to truly experience the state. I learned a lot during those trips and gained an even greater appreciation for Wisconsin.”

The seven photographs from the series located at Baird Center depict the people and places of Wisconsin with an emphasis on the different seasons.

“Weather is such an important part of life in Wisconsin. Spring and summer are really special, but winter can be extreme. The great thing about the people of Wisconsin is they have learned to embrace all of the seasons and found ways to have joy in all of them.”