It might be a tour of a single exhibition. It might focus on a theme. Whatever the content, it will encourage you to look deeply, ponder, and react.

Museum Guide Ann Schaffer says the Chazen has moved away from trying to cover the entire museum in a single tour in favor of a more flexible approach, where guides choose a handful of objects to spark discussion.

“A highlights tour suggests an objective ranking of artwork, which really isn’t possible,” she said. “Our current tour style is about connecting the visitor with the art through conversation and activities. We think they’ll remember that relationship more than they would a lecture.”

Shaffer led a recent Sunday tour that put these ideas into practice. On the tour were Cynthia May; her sister Jill Amel and Jill’s husband, Gary Amel; Jacqueline Dupiche; and Nemo and Stephani Gehred-O’Connell.

The group first looked at Petah Coyne: How Much A Heart Can Hold, stopping at Untitled #1378 (Zelda Fitzgerald.) “I’m going to invite you first to just walk around and look at it from different angles,” she said.

“Really beautiful.”

“Wow.”

“Must have taken a long time.”

“She did not do this overnight,” Schaffer said. (Coyne worked on the sculpture from 1997 through 2013.)

Tour members discussed Zelda Fitzgerald’s history as a troubled, dynamic, artistic woman obscured by the shadow of her more famous husband, the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald.

“So, what do you notice?” Schaffer said.

“The first thing that comes to mind is a candelabra,” said May.

“What else?”

“A birthday cake,” said Gary Amel.

“What did she use to make this?”

“This is made from a variety of materials, beads, silk flowers, porcelain hands, and she uses a special wax,” Schaffer said. “Her work is characterized by layers and layers and layers. There are things hidden inside of this piece that she has covered over that she doesn’t even remember what’s in there.”

“The woman’s face over here, is that of any particular significance?” Gary Amel asked.

“Is it her?” May asked.

“It could be,” Schaffer replied. “It could be.”

“Or representing all women,” May said.

Schaffer pointed out that the special glass encasing Zelda is not just a museum display case but an essential part of the work itself. From some angles it’s almost invisible and from others, it causes layered reflections, complicating a direct view of the subject.

“Oh wow!”

“That’s amazing, I didn’t notice that.”

As they passed through the rest of the exhibition, visitors marveled at Coyne’s rich, mysterious works, lingering a bit at Untitled #720 (Eguchi’s Ghost): a floating, swirled mass of hair-like, shredded metal and a dark empty face.

Chazen tour guide Ann Schaffer (right) discusses Shard Whopper with tour members (from left) Jacqueline Dupiche, Gary Amel, Jill Amel, Nemo Gehred-O’Connell, Stephani Gehred-O’Connell, and Cynthia May.

Next, the group visited a nearby exhibition,  Look What Harvey Did: Harvey K. Littleton’s Legacy in the Simona and Jerome Chazen Collection of Studio Glass . Schaffer sketched out Littleton’s importance in launching the international studio glass movement here at UW–Madison. Then she stopped at Clifford Rainey’s War Boy, a translucent, etched-glass torso with rifle cartridges spilling out through large splits held together with copper wire. “What do you notice about this piece?”

“It’s weird,” said Jill Amel.

“How is it weird?” Schaffer asked.

“It’s scary, the skin and the hair. Sewing the flesh together.”

“This artist used a cast-glass technique, and he used the body of his grandson, his ten-year-old grandson, to cast this,” Schaffer said. “And if you can imagine it without the wrapping, without the bullets, how beautiful that piece would be. And evocative of antiquity, with the torso and arms broken off.”

The last stop was Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20^th Century, where the group studied six paintings by William Henry Johnson. “I want you to look at these six for a few minutes and then decide which is your favorite,” Schaffer said.

“Some of these are pretty simple, like this one (Girl in a Red Dress), and some are pretty complicated, like this one (A View Down Akersgate, Oslo). That’s what I took away,” Gary Amel said.

“What else?”

“Fluid versus stable,” said Jill Amel.

“Yes, the portraits are very solid,” Schaffer said. “And the landscapes are pretty dynamic, with lines, movement, brushwork.”

Nemo Gehred-O’Connell said that the landscapes were painted earlier in the day and the portraits later.

“After coffee,” Gary Amel added, to chuckles.

Boats in the Harbor, Kerteminde, was the favorite of Stephani Gehred-O’Connell and Gary Amel. “I just like the colors of it, and the movement and kind of the way it’s a feeling of boats, instead of just being solid boats,” Gehred-O’Connell said.

“I like the Danish Seaman, because that piece seems simpler to me,” said Dupiche.

“I think he’s a real character,” May said. “Very sure of himself.” After having chosen Akersgate previously, May said she was switching her vote to Seaman.

“Why is that?” Schaffer asked.

“I just think, wow, he really caught the essence of the guy’s character,” May said. “But I really like the landscapes too.”

As the tour wrapped up, members thanked Schaffer, who encouraged them to come back. “It’s your museum,” she said. “I hope you take some of this home with you today. It’ll be in your dreams, it’ll be in your daily life.”

“Like that hair monster (Coyne’s Eguchi’s Ghost) downstairs,” Nemo Gehred-O’Connell quipped.

So, what did tour members think?

“I really like hearing other people’s impressions of what you’re seeing,” May said.

“It’s nice to have a group this small,” Gary Amel said. “You can actually share ideas. You generally don’t even ask if you’re in a big group.”

“That’s the idea,” Schaffer said. “I’d like for you to establish a relationship with the pieces. And I think we can’t do that if we’re just touring around. You see it, but it doesn’t come inside.”

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At the Chazen Museum of Art, access means thinking broadly about ways to attract people who aren’t the usual museum crowd—including students—and helping them feel welcome and see themselves here.

In some ways, expanding access and welcome is nothing new at the Chazen. Since the arrival of Director Amy Gilman in 2017, the museum revamped its sparsely furnished lobby, which felt imposing to some visitors, and added seating and tables to attract passersby. It added the Chazen Café, with food, drink, and a retail section. And instead of uniformed security officers, visitor service assistants (VSAs), who are students and community members in plain clothes, now staff the front desk and are available to assist visitors in the galleries.

These efforts are getting a boost. For the next three years, expanding access at the Chazen will be supported by a generous grant from the Art Bridges Foundation and its Access for All program. The foundation is providing $40 million to 64 museums nationwide to cover the costs of admission, programming, marketing, outreach, and additional efforts that reduce barriers to access.

Fun, less formal events

“It’s always about thinking outside the box of traditional museum programming.” Said Kristine Klasen, the Chazen’s chief operating officer. The Access for All grant came with very few strings attached to encourage museums to think creatively about expanding access. The Chazen is using its funds to pilot informal, student-friendly events in the Chazen Café and hire staff to support it.

The café programming pilot was launched in late 2023 and led by Tony Sansalone, a graduate student from the Bolz Center for Arts Administration. Sansalone conducted focus groups with current students, created events based on their input, and adjusted programming through the year based on post-event feedback from those students.

Klasen said that although the focus group wasn’t large, “It gave great food for thought. I found the focus group really valuable.”

One thing the Chazen learned: its regular artist lectures were possibly misbranded. “We found out students don’t like the word ‘lecture,’ ” she said. “It feels too much like class.” Another thing: students love paint-and-sip events. “We thought that was a big thing maybe ten years ago, but we’ve scheduled two of them and they filled up almost instantly.”

Over the past school year and summer, the Chazen Café hosted more informal, student-friendly events, including a book club, several trivia events, and Art and Music Bingo, which had 50 signups. Since April, they’ve been supported by events assistant Haylie Hart, who was hired with grant funds.

The events, usually on Friday nights, drew increasing attendance through the year. Klasen said they also helped increase café revenue during a typically slow time, which helps assure it’s cost-effective for the café to remain open during those later hours.

Hiring supports access

Hiring more students and recent graduates is an important facet of the Chazen’s access strategy. This semester, Chazen Visitor Services Manager Casey Coolidge hired 11 students as VSAs. They also used grant funds to hire Grace Pietruszka, a former Chazen student employee and recent art history graduate.

Coolidge said Pietruszka, like the Chazen’s other VSAs, excels at making visitors feel welcome, while also balancing her duty to protect the collection. “Grace’s strengths lie with connecting with students, and newly graduated students. When they come in the door, they’re going to see themselves.”

Klasen said Pietruszka’s hiring helps make it easier to staff evening hours, which expands access for community members who might be visiting the Chazen in the evening.

Whether it’s providing more gathering spaces, programming more events, or hiring the right people for the right roles, it all adds up to more visitors feeling welcome at the Chazen. “I believe that welcome is a really fundamental part of access,” Coolidge said. “From the moment a visitor sets foot in our museum, the atmosphere we provide, the way that we welcome, the way we put the tools in their hands that are right for them for that day, are all part of access.”

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As you may have noticed, the October 2024 page in the 2023–2024 calendar contains an error; it is off by one day.

You can print out a correction here. Please accept our apologies for the error and enjoy the remaining months of the calendar.

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Madison, Wisc. – The Chazen Museum of Art has named Berit Ness as the institution’s inaugural chief engagement officer. In the new role, Ness leads the Chazen’s visitor-focused and inclusive outreach efforts that align with the Museum’s mission as a teaching and learning institution. She oversees public programs and education, marketing and communications, campus and community outreach and the visitor services program. Her appointment began Sept. 9.

Ness comes to the Chazen from the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, where she focused on interweaving the Smart Museum’s collections, exhibitions and broader resources into teaching, learning, research and co-curricular life on campus. She held successive roles at the Smart Museum since 2015, most recently serving as the associate director and curator of academic engagement within the Smart’s Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry.

As the Chazen’s first chief engagement officer, Ness will advance the Museum’s ongoing commitment to increasing accessibility and engaging with audiences in new and innovative ways. Amy Gilman, the Chazen’s director, says university museums are uniquely positioned to serve both students and the general public, building relationships and fostering dialogue across the populations. As current events and new trends emerge, university art museums can adapt to serve their communities, collaborating with university faculty and staff to present new research through exhibitions and educational programs. Ness’ role will place greater emphasis on expanding access points and modes of engagement to tailor the Museum experience for various audiences.

“University museums serve as vital hubs for experimentation, intellectual inquiry and cultural exchange. As the Chazen Museum of Art continues to embark on innovative installations, exhibitions and programs that connect with University of Wisconsin–Madison students and visitors from the surrounding community, Berit Ness will be instrumental in helping the Museum stay abreast of our visitors’ evolving needs. Her impactful work will result in programs that inspire audiences and deepen connections between art and people,” said Amy Gilman, the Chazen Museum of Art’s director.

Ness’ appointment as chief engagement officer marks her return to the Chazen Museum of Art, where she worked as a research assistant while completing graduate studies in art history at UW–Madison. She also served as an undergraduate symposium coordinator for the University’s Office of the Provost for Teaching and Learning and worked as the director’s assistant for UW–Madison’s Tandem Press, a publisher of fine art prints.

“As a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, I felt a sense of community and belonging at the Chazen Museum of Art and found inspiration in its collection. This role allows me to return to a campus that I love in a city that excites me and to build opportunities for interdisciplinary learning, curiosity and exploration. I look forward to expanding the Chazen’s impact and strengthening ties between the Museum, University faculty and students and Madison’s communities,” said Ness.

In addition to a master’s degree in art history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Ness studied at University College London and holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from Western Washington University. She also completed the 2023 Executive Program for Emerging Leaders at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and Smith College’s 2008 Summer Institute in Art Museum Studies program.

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Amy Gilman, director of the Chazen Museum of Art, will assume new administrative duties as the senior director for the arts and media, providing supervision to the staff in the Division of the Arts, as well as working more closely on behalf of the provost with the UW Press and Wisconsin Public Media. Gilman will also continue as director of the Chazen Museum.

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Love, adventure, educational opportunities, career advancement, sexual exploration and racism are among the myriad reasons African American artists traveled to Nordic countries during the first half of the 20th century. While some visited to learn and perform, others relocated in search of a vastly different life. Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century, explores this often-overlooked time. Organized by the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, the exhibition is the first comprehensive pan-Nordic show to illuminate the artists’ motivations and experiences abroad.

Nordic Utopia? assembles drawings, paintings, photographs, textiles, film, music and dance to explore the ways in which travel impacted some African Americans’ visual and performance art. New scholarship chronicles the experiences of singers Josephine Baker and Anne Wiggins Brown; jazz tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon; dancer and choreographer Doug Crutchfield; painters Herbert Gentry, William Henry Johnson and Walter H. Williams; multimedia artist and designer Howard Smith and others. The objects on view offer insight into their lives, the social climates in which they worked and the reasons they relocated.

“Some artists left the United States on an intentional quest for refuge from racial prejudice and other social constraints. Others found creative freedom in Nordic countries that catapulted their artistic practice,” said exhibition co-curator Ethelene Whitmire, PhD, a professor in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Department of African American Studies.

Leslie Anne Anderson, chief curator of the National Nordic Museum, adds, “The stories of African American creatives, journalists and scholars are told through iconic and rarely seen examples of their work held in public and private collections. These objects are brought into a transmedial dialogue with each other that conveys lively cultural exchange.”

Kirsten Malone, “Dexter Gordon at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark,” 1964, gelatin silver print from original. Courtesy of Kirsten Malone.

Danish photographer Kirsten Malone has long captured Denmark’s jazz scene and documented the journeys of several African American artists during their time abroad. Malone’s Dexter Gordon at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark (1964) is among several images of Gordon in the exhibition. The black and white print finds the musician enjoying a quick break during his performance at a club turned musical hub in the Nordic jazz capital. After a successful music career in the United States, Gordon lived in Denmark from 1962–1976.

Kirsten Malone, “A bebop jazz singer. Babs Gonzales in Nyhavn in Copenhagen,” 1968, gelatin silver print from original, Courtesy of Kirsten Malone.

Malone’s A Be-Bop Jazz Singer, Babs Gonzales in Nyhavn in Copenhagen (1968) presents Gonzales in Copenhagen’s Nyhavn entertainment district. Born Lee Brown in Newark, New Jersey, Gonzales split his time between Denmark and Sweden. He also joined the Manhattan Singers in Scandinavia on tour for four months and traveled to Paris. Along with his music, Gonzales self-published several books about some of the struggles Black musicians faced.

Love ultimately drove William Henry Johnson to Scandinavia in the 1930s. The South Carolina native moved to New York as a teen, where he worked several jobs to pay for studies at the National Academy of Design. After reaching acclaim as a talented painter in school, Johnson went to France, where he explored modernism and found love in Danish artist Holcha Krake. The two married and lived in Scandinavia for approximately eight years. There, Johnson developed an affinity for primitivism and folk art that would impact his painting upon his return to New York in 1938. Over his career, he produced thousands of paintings and works on paper that are held in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection.

Expressionist painter Herbert Gentry spent five years immersed in Copenhagen’s jazz scene, where he was surrounded by African American musicians, writers and artists. His mother, a chorus dancer, introduced Gentry to music and theater during the Harlem Renaissance. Gentry pursued visual arts until World War II derailed his studies. His service in the U.S. Army led him to duty stations in North Africa, Corsica, France, Austria and Germany — exposing him to new cultures, people and places. While stationed in a French suburb, Gentry visited Paris often. After returning to New York in 1945 following an honorable discharge, Gentry saved enough money to be among the first wave of GI Bill art students to arrive in Paris in 1946. During his long career, Gentry lived in Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Stockholm and Paris. While in Copenhagen, the dynamic jazz scene greatly influenced his visual arts style, inspiring more improvisation in his abstract works. Then and Now (1964), one of several works by Gentry in the exhibition, bridges the artist’s past and present and hints at what viewers would see in his future works. Gentry returned to New York to live in 1990.

Walter Williams, Sunflowers, n.d., mixed media. Loan courtesy of The Johnson Collection.

Walter H. Williams began traveling to Denmark in 1959 and became a citizen in 1979. He often used nature in his works to represent brighter days for African Americans. During his time in Bornholm, also known as sunshine island, Williams started using sunflowers in his work, as featured in Sunflowers (n.d.) and Southern Landscape (1977-78). Williams studied at the Brooklyn Museum Art School and first experienced living abroad after winning a John Hay Whitney fellowship to study in Mexico. There, he was able to perfect his artistic practice without the racial prejudice that loomed in the United States. After remaining in Mexico for four years, he returned home before traveling to Denmark.

The exhibition draws from several private and public collections across the United States and Nordic countries including the National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC; the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park; Moderna Museet in Stockholm and SMK—the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen.

Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century is co-curated by Ethelene Whitmire, PhD, a professor in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Department of African American Studies, and Leslie Anne Anderson, chief curator at the National Nordic Museum. The exhibition is organized by the National Nordic Museum, Seattle. A fully illustrated catalogue co-edited by Whitmire and Anderson will accompany the exhibition and feature essays by Temi Odumosu, PhD (University of Washington) and Ryan T. Skinner, PhD (Ohio State University).

Support

Generous support for Nordic Utopia? comes from The Terra Foundation for American Art, Laurie Black, Nordisk Kulturfond, Microsoft, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, ArtsFund’s Guendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff Fund for the Decorative and Design Arts and Finlandia Foundation National.

About the Curators

Ethelene Whitmire, PhD, is a professor in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Whitmire was a Fulbright scholar and a visiting professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Center for Transnational American Studies in 2016–2017. She has received additional fellowships from the American-Scandinavian Foundation and the Lois Roth Endowment.

Leslie Anne Anderson is chief curator of the National Nordic Museum and a Seattle Arts commissioner. She has been an American-Scandinavian Foundation fellow and a Fulbright scholar at the University of Copenhagen. Anderson has organized over 20 exhibitions, including the celebrated collection reinstallation American and Regional Art: Mythmaking and Truth-Telling at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and she was the commissioning curator of Jónsi: FLÓÐ for the National Nordic Museum. She has received the international Association of Art Museum Curators Award for Excellence in Exhibition and the Utah Museums Association Award for Excellence.

About the National Nordic Museum

The National Nordic Museum is the only museum in the United States that showcases the impact and influence of Nordic values and innovation in contemporary society and tells the story of 12,000 years of Nordic history and culture across all five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) as well as three autonomous regions (Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Åland) and the cultural region of Sápmi. Awarded a national designation by an Act of Congress in 2019, the Museum shares Nordic culture with people of all ages and backgrounds through exhibitions, a collection of 80,000 objects, unique educational and cultural experiences and by serving as a community gathering place.The National Nordic Museum collaborates with institutions in the Nordic countries to present world-class exhibitions. Recent and current exhibition partners include: Ateneum Art Museum, Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki; Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo; and Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen.

For more information, visit: www.nordicmuseum.org.

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Ideally, everything will look exactly the same.

The $67,000 grant is funding conversion of the Chazen’s remaining halogen lighting to specialized LED bulbs, which, besides having exceptional color rendering capabilities, will save an estimated $30,000 a year in energy and labor and costs.

“We’re grateful for the support of the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative,” said Kristine Zickuhr, the Chazen’s chief operating officer. “To our knowledge, we’re the first museum in Wisconsin to receive funding from this initiative.”

The Chazen was among 48 grant recipients in the $4.7 million funding round, which also included the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Some might recognize the name Helen Frankenthaler as the artist who painted Pistachio, a 1971 abstract painting featuring bold washes of color that’s a Chazen audience favorite. Frankenthaler, who died in 2011, created a foundation that later launched the climate initiative.

Zickuhr said the project aligns well with the Chazen’s strategic direction of ensuring sustainability, as well as a campus-wide sustainability initiative recently announced by UW–Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin.

For years, museums favored halogen bulbs because their crisp white light came closest to natural light. But more museums are switching to LEDs, pushed by federal lighting efficiency mandates and improved LED technology.

“Lighting is such an important part of the museum experience, but it’s often a passive experience until it’s missing,” said Kate Wanberg, the Chazen’s exhibition and collection project manager. “One single bulb burning out can disrupt the visitor experience. LEDs provide better light quality for viewing and they last so much longer, so it’s less likely our visitors will see artwork without a spotlight.”

The timing for the Chazen was a bit tight, according to John Berner, one of the prep team members who for the past several years have been riding up and down on a 20-foot lift, spending seven hours weekly changing 40 to 80 halogen bulbs. “We had to get our order in before March 1 last year because they weren’t making those halogen bulbs anymore,” he said.

Berner did extensive research on the new lighting initiative, which also included converting some fixtures so that all now use a single bulb type, and selecting bulbs that give the most accurate light for viewing art.

The familiar “warm to cool” color temperature rating that’s on most consumer LED bulbs was only one factor to consider. The Chazen also looked at the color rendering index (CRI) of bulbs, settling on a product with a 95 rating out of 100, with 100 being natural sunlight. “It just means something looks the way our eyes expect it to look, so a red apple will look like a red apple instead of looking maybe kind of washed out or a little bit bluish,” he said.

Unless you’re in the galleries on a daily basis, it’s not likely you’ll notice a difference, Berner said. “It might feel a little more neutral, a little less creamy, but overall we don’t think it’s something most guests will notice.”

Since LED bulbs last many times longer than halogens, spending large blocks of time every week replacing burned out bulbs will be a thing of the past. After lighting in the Chazen’s Elvehjem building was converted to LEDs in 2018, Gallery XVI of the Chazen was converted as a test. “I haven’t changed a single bulb in Gallery XVI yet,” he said.

The switch will save not only time but the careful orchestration with outside staff that was needed to replace halogens as they burned out. The Chazen is equipped with light-beam smoke detectors, which had to be switched off for hours weekly by Facilities Planning & Management staff.

LED bulbs also offer another time-saving advantage over halogens: consistency. Replacing burned out halogens wasn’t just a matter of swapping a new bulb for an old. Since halogen bulbs’ color temperature was less consistent, Berner said preparators used to spend considerable time matching new bulbs with those already in place.

“You might replace one halogen bulb in a gallery that will have the same even warm color temperature, and you put in a new bulb and it looks bright blue,” he said.  “It could be a real pain if you’re installing a new show and you’re having to completely start from scratch with the lighting, just sitting there swapping out bulbs over and over to get one that looks right.”

Chazen staff expect the project to be wrapped up by early summer, when the preparator team will be able to redirect bulb-changing time to other pressing projects. “It’s a win for everyone,” Wanberg said.

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“The Chazen is really a tremendous crossroads for education, for research, for community outreach, and a place that invites us to learn about incredible UW–Madison innovations that aren’t always as well known,” Mnookin said to the gathered regents, campus and system leaders, faculty, and students. “So it’s really a perfect place for us to celebrate historic achievements, like our world-class UW Glass Lab.”

Mnookin recognized students enrolled in the glass program and said they underscore a point of pride at UW–Madison. “They’re pairing their study of glass with majors as wide ranging as computer science, Asian languages, conservation, biology, and psychology,” she said, noting that not all schools emphasize a diverse program of study. “We encourage it, because we know the process of making connections enriches how students learn and prepares them for great futures and great careers.”

From left to right, undergraduate student Aly Connors, Charlie Hoslet, vice chancellor for University Relations, Lori Reesor, vice chancellor for student affairs, and LaVar Charleston, deputy vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion, take in the gallery “Look What Harvey Did: Harvey K. Littleton’s Legacy in the Simona and Jerome Chazen Studio Glass Collection” during the Board of Regents reception at the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on Feb. 7, 2024. The event included remarks, Mobile Glass Lab “Firewagon” demonstration, and performances by Mead Witter School of Music students. (Photo by Althea Dotzour / UW–Madison)

The Glass Lab and academic studio glass program were founded in 1962 by Harvey Littleton, whose technical innovations and influence launched dozens of studio glass programs across the nation in the 1960s and 1970s. Faculty member Helen Lee, head of the UW–Madison Glass Lab, encouraged guests to visit the Chazen’s Look What Harvey Did exhibition to get a full picture of his influence. But Lee said the history of glass at UW–Madison extends far beyond Littleton. “UW–Madison has a 134-year-old history of collecting the finest made glass internationally, and today that same glass educates not only zoology students, but art, art history, and chemistry students alike,” Lee said.

Associate Professor Helen Lee addresses the Board of Regents and university officials. Photo Althea Dotzor/University Communications

In 1890, Zoology Professor Edward Birge bought an exquisite collection of glass marine invertebrate models made by Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, the German father-son glassworking duo (Harvard University’s glass flowers are among their most famous still-intact collections). Lee said the first glassblower hired on campus wasn’t Littleton but rather an employee of the physics department, who was hired in 1917 and helped build a vacuum tube that powered pioneering radio broadcasts on campus.

Scientific glassworking has continued ever since. UW–Madison employs two full-time scientific glassblowers, who bend and fuse flasks, pipes, elbows, and tubes into custom-made applications. One of them, Lauren Aria, herself a graduate of UW–Madison’s glass program, was on hand Thursday demonstrating with the chemistry department’s portable FireWagon. As she explained the materials and process to guests, Aria melted, bent, and stretched iridescent glass ribbons to form tentacles of a glass jellyfish, an homage to the Blaschka collection

Lauren Aria, glassblower in the Department of Chemistry and graduate of the MFA glass program, heats glass over an open flame using the Mobile Glass Lab “Firewagon” during the Board of Regents reception at the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on Feb. 7, 2024. The event included remarks, Mobile Glass Lab “Firewagon” demonstration, and performances by Mead Witter School of Music students. (Photo by Althea Dotzour / UW–Madison)

Lee said glass was essential to astronomy on campus, from Washburn Observatory’s pioneering 15.6 inch-diameter refracting telescope to the photographic glass plates that historically were used for imaging the skies. “Glass has enabled us to see near, to see far, to see into, and to see beyond. For me, it is not about how many times we can tell the American studio glass narrative, but how well can we tell it as belonging to a much broader history of innovation.”

As they departed, guests received a molded glass 175^th anniversary memento, each individually hand-crafted by the Glass Lab.

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Lee Nam Lee, “Cartoon Folding Screen II”, 2010, five-channel digital video with sound on 5 LED monitors in custom frames with custom electronics

Exhibition imagines a digital future through art

The Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will highlight the work of 19 international artists at the forefront of digital and media art in Message from Our Planet: Digital Art from the Thoma Foundation, on view Feb. 19-June 2, 2024. The exhibition comprises a wide-ranging investigation on the artifacts of contemporary life and showcases software, video, and light-technology artworks from the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation collection.

Based on the idea of the time capsule, Message From Our Planet imagines a digital future where art communicates beyond our common era through computer code and invites contemplation on how future generations will comprehend the past. Like the interstellar time capsule found on NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, the exhibition proposes that artworks may be reconstituted from their digital code by future worlds, containing a multi-vocal message by Earth’s artists.

“Message from Our Planet centers around a basic human desire to be understood,” said Amy Gilman, director of the Chazen. “The exhibition challenges the viewer to question their individual legacy and consider how art can be a conduit to communicating through time.”

Message from Our Planet utilizes media technologies from vintage devices such as Eduardo Kac’s Tesão, a digital poem on a vintage Minitel; to cutting-edge digital algorithms as demonstrated by interactive video using artificial intelligence to attract flies to viewers in Laurent Mignonneau and Christa Sommerer’s People on the Fly. Additional artists in the exhibition include Brian Bress, Jim Campbell, Lia Chaia, Sabrina Gschwandtner, Hong Hao, Matthew Angelo Harrison, Claudia Hart, Jenny Holzer, Lee Nam Lee, Christian Marclay, Elias Sime, Michal Rovner, Jason Salavon, Peter Sarkisian, Penelope Umbrico, United Visual Artists, and Robert Wilson.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a free take-away publication for visitors. Designed in the style of a newspaper, the keepsake features headlines about the art and exhibition themes with color images of all artworks.

Message from Our Planet: Digital Art from the Thoma Foundation is curated by Jason Foumberg, curator of digital art at the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation.

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About the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation

The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation recognizes that education and the arts enhance individuals’ lives and communities. Education is centered in the rural Southwest, primarily focusing on scholarships. In the Arts, the Foundation makes grants, lends and exhibits their art collection. The Foundation believes strongly in leadership, innovation and equality of opportunity.

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Oct. 11, 2023, Bentonville, AR — Art Bridges Foundation, the national arts nonprofit founded by philanthropist Alice Walton, announced today the launch of “Access for All,” providing $40 million in funding to 64 museums nationwide. The initiative aims to increase access to museums across the country and foster engagement with local communities by covering the costs of free admission days and expanded free hours as well as programming, outreach, and community partnerships that together, will eliminate many common barriers to access.

Museums participating in the Access for All initiative span 36 states and Puerto Rico. Among the 64 partners representing a broad range of locations are the Chazen Museum of Art (Madison, WI); Howard University Gallery of Arts (Washington, D.C.); Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (San Juan, PR); Plains Art Museum (Fargo, ND); Portland Museum of Art (Portland, ME); San Diego Museum of Art (San Diego, CA); Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY); Wichita Art Museum (Wichita, KS); and Yellowstone Art Museum (Billings, MT). The full list of participating museums can be found on the Art Bridges website.

“Everyone, no matter where they live, deserves access to art. That’s why we started Art Bridges: to support museums in deepening their connections with local communities, and to pave the way for new audiences to experience the creativity and joy that comes with seeing art,” said Alice Walton, founder and board chair of Art Bridges. “Access for All is our biggest and most ambitious effort to date, dedicating $40 million toward bridging gaps between museums of all sizes and their communities in order to foster meaningful connections and expand arts access in every region, from Peoria to Puerto Rico.”

Access for All represents a sweeping effort to get people back to museums after COVID-19 brought declines in revenue, staffing and attendance. With many museums seeing just 71 percent of their pre-pandemic attendance, the new initiative will aim to restore pre-pandemic levels – and open opportunities for all people to enjoy American art by reducing barriers to access and strengthening community relationships.

Of the participating 64 museums, all current partners of Art Bridges, 80 percent have annual operating expenses under $10 million. The majority charge admission fees and will be able to provide new free admission opportunities through Access for All. Others will use the Access for All funds to sustain or extend current free admission policies.

Each museum will have the opportunity to use the funds to develop tailored programming specifically for their communities, including but not limited to:

• Underwriting free admission on a designated “Access for All Day,” expanded hours, or full-time;
• Partnering with local transit agencies and community centers to facilitate free and accessible transportation;
• Designing interdisciplinary and culturally responsive programs relevant to community interest;
• Providing fully bilingual interpretation, assistive listening systems, marketing and programming, including Spanish, American Sign Language, and indigenous languages;
• Expanding outreach to local schools;
• Working with local organizations to help organize free community meals;
• Hiring new staff responsible for the creation of community engagement programming and more.

“We are thrilled to launch Access for All, a historic partnership with cultural institutions across the country to make it easier for people in every U.S. region to see and experience art. At Art Bridges, we can’t wait to see our trusted partners get creative and deliver impact to their communities,” Alice Walton said. “In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are confident Access for All will not only help to rebuild museum attendance but also bring more people than ever into museum galleries and reshape the arts world as one that is open to all.”

“The Chazen Museum of Art is thrilled to be part of the pilot for the Art Bridges’ Access for All initiative,” said Kristine Zickuhr, chief operating officer. “Accessibility is one of our guiding values, and we look forward to developing additional opportunities to welcome students and other visitors into the museum. While we already offer free admission, the funding will allow us to experiment with some fun programming ideas. We’re working on events like trivia and game nights, book clubs, and informal conversations at the Chazen Café. Students will be involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the events. We want every student on campus to feel welcome at the Chazen.” 

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About Art Bridges Foundation

Art Bridges Foundation is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. The mission of Art Bridges is to expand access to American art in all regions across the United States. Since 2017, Art Bridges has been creating and supporting programs that bring outstanding works of American art out of storage and into communities. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of over 220 museums of all sizes and locations on nearly 700 projects across the nation, impacting over 4.1 million people, to provide financial and strategic support for exhibition development, loans from the Art Bridges Collection, and programs designed to educate, inspire, and deepen engagement with local audiences. The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to present day and encompasses multiple media and voices. For more information, visit artbridgesfoundation.org.

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