Contact: Jason A. Smith, communications director
Martha Glowacki, gallery director
The new exhibition opens at the James Watrous Gallery on February 18
MADISON — In 2007, the Wisconsin Arts Board commissioned six photographers through its Percent for Art Program to create a “portrait” of contemporary labor for the Department of Workforce Development. The photographers — Tim Abler and Dick Blau of Milwaukee, David Heberlein of River Falls, J. Shimon and J. Lindemann of Manitowoc, and Jamie Young of Madison — were given just two requirements: to spread out across the state, and to provide field notes about their subjects.
While the project was not intended to be encyclopedic, the resulting photographs that comprise the new James Watrous Gallery exhibition, Wisconsin Labor: A Contemporary Portrait, reflect the impressive diversity of Wisconsin’s labor force, from heavy industry to agriculture, tourism, small business, government, and more. As artists, each photographer brought their personal predilections, curiosity, and aesthetic sensibility to the commission. Their images range from stylized formal portraits to almost abstract compositions. Together they provide a poignant meditation on the nature of labor and convey the artists’ deep respect for the individual workers’ dignity and humanity. After all—as Dick Blau notes—photography is labor, too.
Beyond bringing art into the Department of Workforce Development building, this Percent for Art commission has had the additional benefit of creating an invaluable resource for future historians and researchers. The images in Wisconsin Labor: A Contemporary Portrait were selected by the artists from over 200 working prints and field notes for the project, all of which are now accessible to the public as part of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Visual Materials Collection. Wisconsin Labor: A Contemporary Portrait is on view at the James Watrous Gallery from February 18 to April 10. All events are free and open to the public.
Wisconsin Labor: A Contemporary Portrait is supported by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts, and by Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. Ongoing support for the Watrous Gallery comes from DoubleTree Hotel–Madison and Robert & Carroll Heideman. The Wisconsin Academy thanks these sponsors for their generous support. Organized by the James Watrous Gallery, this exhibition first opened at the Wriston Art Center Galleries at Lawrence University, Appleton (October 29–November 23, 2010). It will also travel to the Northwestern Mutual Art Gallery at Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee (September 23–November 6, 2011).
Related events
* Friday, February 18, 5:30–7:30 pm: Opening reception with artists talks in the Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center for the Arts. Remarks by Wisconsin Arts Board executive director George Tzougros and Percent for Art coordinator Chris Manke at 6:00 pm and music by Rick and Bob March.
* Sunday, March 6, 1:30 pm: Gallery presentation on an oral history about Madison-based Ironworkers Local 383
* Sunday, March 27, 1:30 pm: Gallery talk by UW–Madison folklorist Jim Leary on art made from workplace processes or materials. Leary will share the work of several Wisconsin worker/artists, including a Ho-Chunk iron worker adept at bridge construction who relies on metalwork skills to make German silver jewelry and an African American industrial seamstress who transforms scraps from hemmed pants into quilts.
* Sunday, April 3, 1:30 pm: Gallery talk by exhibition artists J. Shimon and J. Lindemann about their work in the context of labor photography and portraiture
About the James Watrous Gallery
The James Watrous Gallery is the premier gallery for Wisconsin visual art. A program of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, the James Watrous Gallery presents works by Wisconsin artists, Wisconsin art and craft history, works owned by Wisconsin collectors, and exhibitions that bridge the sciences, arts, and humanities. Our mission is to promote the visual arts in Wisconsin through quality exhibitions and related educational programs. For gallery hours and more information on exhibiting artists, please visit wisconsinacademy.org/galleries or call 608-265-2500.
