February's Male Call: Tony Rajer

Tony Rajer: Preserving our love of the arts through art conservation

Walk into Anton (Tony) Rajer’s UW-Extension class on The Business of Art, and you’ll feel the love. Not that I mean to get all “Kum-Ba-Yah” on you, but this art conservationist/teacher/ writer is a man who’s passionate about what he does.
I recently had the opportunity to sit in on one of Rajer’s business classes, and I watched as he attentively addressed each student, asking them about their art and how they make time to pursue their passions. The class was chock-a-block with sculptors, painters, photographers and digital artists, to name just a few. They came from all walks of life, working one, two or three jobs to support their dream of someday making a living through art.
During this three-day course, I watched as Rajer encouraged; he nodded and told stories, and then — Bam! — like any instructor worth his weight in salt, Rajer did the unthinkable. He asked his students, point blank: “What are your plans to make your dream a reality?”
Umm … plans?
Rajer, you see, is no pie-in-the-sky dreamer. He’s more of a feet-planted-firmly-on-the-ground thinker, who believes that any dream is worth pursuing if you have a plan to get you where you need to go.
In fact, this Wisconsin native — born and raised in Sheboygan but now a deep-rooted Madisonian — balances his “let it happen” Thoreau mentality with a good dose of realism, which is what has allowed him to pursue his careers in art, teaching and travel over several decades.
Please join us as we talk with art conservator, Fulbright scholar, teacher, artist, writer and dream catcher Tony Rajer.

Anne Connor: Tony, you've been involved in art all your life. Tell me about how that started.

Tony Rajer: When I was a child, my parents, Bill and Charolette Rajer, loved driving around the state on summer weekends, seeing the sites. It was such an innocent time.
My mother loved history and enjoyed visiting Catholic shrines, especially the ones they had in Dickeyville and Holy Hill. She was always writing away for brochures. At the supper table, she would say to my dad, “We should visit that place, it will help little Tony in school: He can get extra credit for it.”
My dad was involved in trucking, so it took a lot of coaxing to get him to see a place purely for pleasure, but he did [it for us].

AC: Why were these trips special for you?

TR: It was a time when anything was possible! I fondly remember our visits to the old Milwaukee Public Museum and old Milwaukee County Zoo. I loved the Egyptian mummy exhibits, which I replicated at home in Play-Doh. I also loved the zoo elephants, which inspired me to try my hand at papier-mâché with the Sunday newspaper.

AC: Your work as an art conservator has taken you around the world, but in your books - the most recent being "Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens of Wisconsin" with a foreword by Sen. Russ Feingold - you seem particularly fond of Wisconsin's commitment to historical preservation.

TR: Wisconsin’s state historic sites are part of my family history. [When I was young], our family never ventured far; rarely did we go out of state. Since my parents were poor, our excursions were kept close to home and because of that I came to know our Wisconsin quite well. Little did I know that our trips would serve me so well as a form of education for my future profession as a museum specialist and conservator!

AC: Let's talk about that. You've worked in art conservation - particularly mural restoration - for years. You've studied here, in Rome and at Harvard and are well recognized in your field. You travel the world and teach to sold out classrooms throughout the world and at UW Continuing Education. You speak, write books, etc. Is there one thing you love more than the other, or do all these activities balance each other out?

TR: [These days, I primarily do] three things in my life: art conservation, teaching in Madison and in cities throughout the world and writing. I’ve written five books and about a zillion articles. I love the balance of the three and although I’ve just returned from a trip to India, I’m working on three books, including one on the business of art!

AC: Art is a business, but I think so many artists miss that. What's the most gratifying thing about working with students who are interested in becoming professional artists?

TR: Seeing their creative work, and hearing about their success. I love that. I’m so proud of them.

AC: What's your favorite kind of art?

TR: I love ancient Roman art. I actually belong to a re-enactors group. I have a full Roman soldier’s uniform and armor! I used to live in Rome.
[In reality] I love and respect art from all cultures: Roman, Indian, European, Chinese …. I could go on and on.

AC: What were some of your early jobs in the field of art?

TR: [As an adult], I became a museum professional, first working at the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan as a technician and art handler. The experience [made me familiar] with the inner workings of a museum and I loved it. In college I studied art history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and art conservation at Harvard University, where I became a conservator and a heritage preservation specialist.
I spent five years as conservator at the Wisconsin State Capitol and that taught me valuable lessons about how people view heritage. What I love about Wisconsin is the endless variety of museums, zoos and botanical gardens we have, from world-class facilities to tiny historical society museums that are chock-full of history. In total, there are more than 400 institutions in the state. My wife now joins me on heritage excursions, whether it’s to Racine or Philips to see art, animals or flora. We love driving around Wisconsin [just as I did when I was a child]!

AC: Tell me about one of the hardest conservation projects you've undertaken.

TR: Conserving, moving and installing an entire room from an 1820s New England farmhouse to New York City for the new Museum of American Folk Art. That was in 2001. We moved the whole room, all four walls, and saved them for posterity!

AC: You said your mom loved history. Was anyone else in your family artistic?

TR: No. I grew up in a working class family, but we loved museums. My grandfather Rajer was a cabinetmaker from Austria. I grew up at a time and in a family where manual labor was still considered a noble thing.

AC: Can you see yourself in any other career?

TR: [Laughs.] Oh, I guess a travel guide. But given my travel and work schedule, I’m kind of that now!