"Small Arms: Children of Conflict" - Kienitz's Photography at the Chazen Museum

Waxing America's old friend Michael "Mickey" Kienitz is Madison's most widely-published photographer.  Besides being locally famous for the best-selling postcards of the Bascom Hill flamingos and the frozen Lake Mendota Lady Liberty, Kienitz has had his photojournalism published in every major newspaper and magazine in this country, and many in Europe.  He's been teaching Madison's serious adult photography students for years at the UW, and  is a true artist with lens and computer.

Mickey's website has many examples of his art. I especially like his photos from Ireland and his fun digital manipulations, like this one that WARF commissioned for last year's holiday card:

Now he's got a show at the Chazen Museum of Art on the UW-Madison campus, "Small Arms: Children of Conflict," which opens Friday and runs through Oct. 28.  The opening starts at 5:30 pm with a talk by Kieintz, followed by a reception with music by the Tony Castañeda Latin Jazz Sextet.

Jake Stockinger did a Q & A with Mickey that ran last Friday in the Cap Times, and wrote a nice lead:

They are not your typical smiling children.

The children are smiling, all right, but they are standing on a tank gun, sitting in a bombed-out bus or holding an automatic assault rifle.

The ones who are not smiling quietly go about the daily business of working, helping with family chores and hanging out with friends. But if you look closely, you can see it in their eyes: They have witnessed and taken part in terrible things but must somehow survive and go on.

Don't miss this show, or a chance to hear Mickey Kienitz talk about his work.  He'll give other talks at the Chazen on Oct. 5, 13 & 14th.

- Barry Orton