Milwaukee artist transforms Historic Third Ward studio into immersive 'Catacombs of Neto' exhibit
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Catacombs, where millions of people are buried around the world, date back to the first century. The most famous catacombs are in Paris and Rome.
But there's another catacomb closer than you might think.
Below Milwaukee's iconic skyline, beneath the streets and passersby, is Ernesto "Neto" Atkinson's studio.
The artist from Guatemala says when he creates art, there's a "conversation" between him and what he's making.
A few years ago, he moved to Milwaukee, bringing with him a piece of home.
"In Antigua, where I come from, the cathedral is right in the center. The central park is around. Here, we have the Historic Third Ward ... that's kind of like what motivated me also to continue following my dream here."
That dream is located on the lower level of the Marshall Building, known as "The Catacombs of Neto."
"I want to create my own catacombs, where my artwork is at rest, but it only comes to life when people come and see it," Atkinson said.
Catacombs have been around for centuries as a way to honor where the dead are buried. As a child, Atkinson worked as a tour guide in the catacombs in Guatemala to help provide for his family.
"What is it like for you being a tour guide at a catacomb as your first job, and now having this exhibit at a catacomb? Is that a full-circle moment for you?" CBS 58's Montse Ricossa asked.
"That's a wonderful question. I think it is," Atkinson said. "You know, I feel like in our life we are always witnessing something, and we are always touring our own path, right? And we don't know what we will find, but the stories that we create."
His path to art began after his father died.
"I had to work and feed my family for that time, so I started utilizing little sketches and poetry," Atkinson said.
Every sketchbook, filled with ideas, is now displayed in the exhibit, allowing both him and visitors to move through grief.
"That's the beautiful part about art. The more that you go in, the deeper there, you will never find the end. Almost like being in a catacomb. The more that you find the darkness, you're like, 'What's in there?' It creates wonder and awe," he said.
Life experiences are his inspiration.
Neto at the entrance to the catacombs in Guatemala, as an adult
Atkinson's favorite piece is titled "Life Is Like a Bubble," which helped inspire him to become an art therapist.
He said that while living in Guatemala, he witnessed human trafficking, homelessness and malnourishment. At the same time, however, "there was a lot of heart and fire in people."
One of the girls he was helping through art therapy was playing with bubbles when he realized, "Life is like a bubble. Very beautiful, colorful. But fragile. So, if you don't own that moment, then it's going to burst."
Visitors walking through the gallery will likely notice rocks, sticks, earrings and other everyday objects incorporated into the artwork. Atkinson said he often finds those items outdoors and gives them new life in his creations.
His style, he says, is difficult to define.
"My work is informed from the not-yet language of an idea, which comes from all my experiences, all my thoughts, that later becomes the iMagic of that experience," Atkinson said. "So I don't want to label it as cubist, abstract, or conceptual, because it is not that. It's more than that. It's an experience that can relate to anybody else."
With the names and descriptions of each piece written in English and Spanish, Atkinson said the exhibit is Milwaukee's first bilingual art exhibit.
"I am a great believer that when words fail, art speaks," he said.
Visitors will experience interactive displays and a variety of artistic styles throughout the exhibit.
He hopes everyone who visits finds a piece of themselves.
"Art can bring everything together into your own heart. I feel like if you are able and willing to open up a little bit and see something, even if you don't like that painting, please take that. Because that is an emotion, that's an experience that you can take, and I think it's very powerful."
Power in something universal, shared by those above and underground.
"Art does not belong to me. And this does not belong to me. Because I am a vessel to share it," Atkinson said.
"I feel like something that I've learned here in Milwaukee is that everybody says it's a 'Smallwaukee,' right? And I feel like that's what they're bringing the catacombs is making this more a smaller world for us to share, where we can find all of these beautiful things together," he added.
The Catacombs of Neto Art Museum is open Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite LL18, in Milwaukee.