Elmgreen & Dragset

A Greater Perspective

Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset have been working together since 1995, integrating art, architecture, installation, public art and performance in tragic-comic ways. They create situations of farcical futility, whose light-hearted imagesempty sinks, stranded starfish, refuse from rave night, an empty public poolcarry darker meanings that force us to confront the absurdity and beauty of everyday life.

Their works are described as cheeky and irreverent, poking at the institutions that regulate our lives. By virtually kidnapping objects and placing them in unexpected situations, the artists question how culture shapes and frames our environment. Their iconic Prada Marfa store, for example, sends up the austere Donald Judd compound in Marfa, Texas, by plopping a faux Prada store on a dusty road nearby. Judds foundation has created a luxury arts getaway in the desert, and with exclusive experiences comes high end fashion, the artists seem to say. Elmgreen & Dragset eliminate the distance between inside and out, between artistic white cube and daily life.

Elmgreen & Dragset used the phrase powerless structures in their 2012 commission for the Fourth Plinth project in Londons Trafalgar Square, and this phrase captures the regal uselessness of their giant bronze telescope A Greater Perspective, commission for the High Line in New York. The telescope is not accessible given its height, and anyway, it is solid bronze, meaning there is no vista to be enjoyed.

The artists use this old-fashioned, romantic tool of discovery to suggests the perspective of the great explorers who shape history is too narrow to accommodate the wide world around us. For Sculpture Milwaukee, A Greater Perspective is sited on the edge of Wisconsin avenue, overlooking the lake. No telescope could reveal the traces that successive generations of visitors left on our shore. The sculpture feels lonely, bereft of its purpose, a lingering monument to clouded vision, a call to knowing our own past.

Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset have been working together since 1995, integrating art, architecture, installation, public art and performance in tragic-comic ways. They create situations of farcical futility, whose light-hearted imagesempty sinks, stranded starfish, refuse from rave night, an empty public poolcarry darker meanings that force us to confront the absurdity and beauty of everyday life.

Their works are described as cheeky and irreverent, poking at the institutions that regulate our lives. By virtually kidnapping objects and placing them in unexpected situations, the artists question how culture shapes and frames our environment. Their iconic Prada Marfa store, for example, sends up the austere Donald Judd compound in Marfa, Texas, by plopping a faux Prada store on a dusty road nearby. Judds foundation has created a luxury arts getaway in the desert, and with exclusive experiences comes high end fashion, the artists seem to say. Elmgreen & Dragset eliminate the distance between inside and out, between artistic white cube and daily life.

Elmgreen & Dragset used the phrase powerless structures in their 2012 commission for the Fourth Plinth project in Londons Trafalgar Square, and this phrase captures the regal uselessness of their giant bronze telescope A Greater Perspective, commission for the High Line in New York. The telescope is not accessible given its height, and anyway, it is solid bronze, meaning there is no vista to be enjoyed.

The artists use this old-fashioned, romantic tool of discovery to suggests the perspective of the great explorers who shape history is too narrow to accommodate the wide world around us. For Sculpture Milwaukee, A Greater Perspective is sited on the edge of Wisconsin avenue, overlooking the lake. No telescope could reveal the traces that successive generations of visitors left on our shore. The sculpture feels lonely, bereft of its purpose, a lingering monument to clouded vision, a call to knowing our own past.

Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset have been working together since 1995, integrating art, architecture, installation, public art and performance in tragic-comic ways. They create situations of farcical futility, whose light-hearted imagesempty sinks, stranded starfish, refuse from rave night, an empty public poolcarry darker meanings that force us to confront the absurdity and beauty of everyday life.

Their works are described as cheeky and irreverent, poking at the institutions that regulate our lives. By virtually kidnapping objects and placing them in unexpected situations, the artists question how culture shapes and frames our environment. Their iconic Prada Marfa store, for example, sends up the austere Donald Judd compound in Marfa, Texas, by plopping a faux Prada store on a dusty road nearby. Judds foundation has created a luxury arts getaway in the desert, and with exclusive experiences comes high end fashion, the artists seem to say. Elmgreen & Dragset eliminate the distance between inside and out, between artistic white cube and daily life.

Elmgreen & Dragset used the phrase powerless structures in their 2012 commission for the Fourth Plinth project in Londons Trafalgar Square, and this phrase captures the regal uselessness of their giant bronze telescope A Greater Perspective, commission for the High Line in New York. The telescope is not accessible given its height, and anyway, it is solid bronze, meaning there is no vista to be enjoyed.

The artists use this old-fashioned, romantic tool of discovery to suggests the perspective of the great explorers who shape history is too narrow to accommodate the wide world around us. For Sculpture Milwaukee, A Greater Perspective is sited on the edge of Wisconsin avenue, overlooking the lake. No telescope could reveal the traces that successive generations of visitors left on our shore. The sculpture feels lonely, bereft of its purpose, a lingering monument to clouded vision, a call to knowing our own past.

Elmgreen & Dragset

Elmgreen & Dragset

A Greater Perspective

Exhibition

Exhibition

Materials & Dimensions

Materials & Dimensions

Bronze, steel, black patina, wax

145 3/4 x 147 1/2 x 72 3/4 inches

Year

Year

2015

Site

Site

Museum Center Park

Credits

Credits

Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Perrotin, New York.

Angela Bulloch

Heavy Metal Stack of Six: Trichrome Blue

Angela Bulloch

Heavy Metal Stack of Six: Trichrome Blue

Angela Bulloch

Heavy Metal Stack of Six: Trichrome Blue

Sam Durant

We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For & Empathy for Everyone

Sam Durant

We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For & Empathy for Everyone

Sam Durant

We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For & Empathy for Everyone

Max Ernst

Séraphine-chérubin

Max Ernst

Séraphine-chérubin

Max Ernst

Séraphine-chérubin

thank you

To our generous sponsors, partners, collaborators, and supporters who make our work possible.

presenting

Founding & Sustaining
Sponsors

* indicates both Founding and sustaining founding sponsor

Anonymous
Donna & Donald Baumgartner*
Black Box Fund
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation
Susan & Mark Irgens*
Mellowes Family*
Sue & Bud Selig*
Julie & David Uihlein*

sculpture

Wayne & Lori Morgan

Visionary

George & Karen Oliver

Exhibition Partner

leader

Anonymous
Baird Center
Heil Family Foundation
Godfrey & Kahn

Collaborator

Betty Arndt
City of Milwaukee Arts Board
Kelli Gabel & Craig Karmazin
GRAEF
Guardian Fine Art Services
Hawks Landscaping
Mark Jungers
New Land Enterprises
Raymond & Barbara Krueger
ManpowerGroup
National Endowment for the Arts
Nonprofit Management Fund
Austin Ramirez
Syslogic Inc
Wisconsin Arts Board

Connector

BMO
Foley & Lardner
Imagine MKE
MajicPro
Milwaukee Magazine
Open Pantry
PNC Bank
PwC
Russ Darrow Group
Town Bank
US Bank
WeycoGroup
Woman's Club of Wisconsin Foundation

Sculpture Milwaukee is always free and open to the public thanks to our generous supporters.

We work with trusted community partners to ensure great contemporary art is accessible to all.

Sign up to receive news about our exhibitions and artworks, announcements, events and more

© 2025 Sculpture Milwaukee

thank you

To our generous sponsors, partners, collaborators, and supporters who make our work possible.

presenting

Founding & Sustaining
Sponsors

* indicates both Founding and sustaining founding sponsor

Anonymous
Donna & Donald Baumgartner*
Black Box Fund
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation
Susan & Mark Irgens*
Mellowes Family*
Sue & Bud Selig*
Julie & David Uihlein*

sculpture

Wayne & Lori Morgan

Visionary

George & Karen Oliver

Exhibition Partner

leader

Anonymous
Baird Center
Heil Family Foundation
Godfrey & Kahn

Collaborator

Betty Arndt
City of Milwaukee Arts Board
Kelli Gabel & Craig Karmazin
GRAEF
Guardian Fine Art Services
Hawks Landscaping
Mark Jungers
New Land Enterprises
Raymond & Barbara Krueger
ManpowerGroup
National Endowment for the Arts
Nonprofit Management Fund
Austin Ramirez
Syslogic Inc
Wisconsin Arts Board

Connector

BMO
Foley & Lardner
Imagine MKE
MajicPro
Milwaukee Magazine
Open Pantry
PNC Bank
PwC
Russ Darrow Group
Town Bank
US Bank
WeycoGroup
Woman's Club of Wisconsin Foundation

Sculpture Milwaukee is always free and open to the public thanks to our generous supporters.

We work with trusted community partners to ensure great contemporary art is accessible to all.

Sign up to receive news about our exhibitions and artworks, announcements, events and more

© 2025 Sculpture Milwaukee

thank you

To our generous sponsors, partners, collaborators, and supporters who make our work possible.

presenting

Founding & Sustaining
Sponsors

* indicates both Founding and sustaining founding sponsor

Anonymous
Donna & Donald Baumgartner*
Black Box Fund
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation
Susan & Mark Irgens*
Mellowes Family*
Sue & Bud Selig*
Julie & David Uihlein*

sculpture

Wayne & Lori Morgan

Visionary

George & Karen Oliver

Exhibition Partner

leader

Anonymous
Baird Center
Heil Family Foundation
Godfrey & Kahn

Collaborator

Betty Arndt
City of Milwaukee Arts Board
Kelli Gabel & Craig Karmazin
GRAEF
Guardian Fine Art Services
Hawks Landscaping
Mark Jungers
New Land Enterprises
Raymond & Barbara Krueger
ManpowerGroup
National Endowment for the Arts
Nonprofit Management Fund
Austin Ramirez
Syslogic Inc
Wisconsin Arts Board

Connector

BMO
Foley & Lardner
Imagine MKE
MajicPro
Milwaukee Magazine
Open Pantry
PNC Bank
PwC
Russ Darrow Group
Town Bank
US Bank
WeycoGroup
Woman's Club of Wisconsin Foundation

Sculpture Milwaukee is always free and open to the public thanks to our generous supporters.

We work with trusted community partners to ensure great contemporary art is accessible to all.

Sign up to receive news about our exhibitions and artworks, announcements, events and more

© 2025 Sculpture Milwaukee