The Wisconsin Project: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Madison, WI

19.2.14

Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Madison, WI

Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison, Wisconsin (12.15.2013)
© J. Shimon & J. Lindemann

We could see Veterans Memorial Coliseum from our hotel room at the Sheraton Madison. Pondering the 1967 facility brought back memories of big coliseum rock shows with long lines of 10,000 fans waiting for hours, the smell of weed in the air, the eardrum searing volume of shows by The Who and Cheap Trick in the 1970s. The flying saucer inflected architecture reminded us of the Frank Lloyd Wright's Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (1961) and Golden Rondele Theater (1967) in neighboring Milwaukee and Racine. More recently Dolly Parton performed there, Epic staff meetings were held there along with boat shows, cheerleading competitions, and sporting events. The site evolved from the Dane County Fair grounds in 1896 to concert venue to the current complex named for Alliant Energy whose corporate headquarters are located in Madison.

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THE WISCONSIN PROJECT

Our research-driven Wisconsin Project contemplates the rooted-ness and state-of-mind resulting from inhabiting a single place, our native Wisconsin, for a long time. Through critiquing postcard views both made and found, we learn a great deal about past and present Wisconsin. We began making postcard views of the places immediately around our studio and on our drives around Wisconsin in about 2008. We use the vintage postcard film format and print the cards in palladium and cyanotype. By communicating details of a specific place, seeming to register only marginally on the national radar, the project seeks to bring audiences into a Wisconsin mental space. Some in the art world would argue that the Midwest, particularly Wisconsin, makes for banal “fly over” subject matter. Our project challenges that by finding meaning in the ordinary and inviting audiences to examine, dialog, and reflect on the particular emotional quality of the idiosyncrasies of place and the perceptions of those both inside and outside of it. Sometimes distant memories are involved and a longing for a time now gone. Wisconsin’s glacier inflected landscape and proximity to the Great Lakes creates an exotic arena for living that informs our project. The life cycle plays out and rural and urban ruins serve as monuments to existences as people, places, and ideas surface then vanish. Ultimately, we aim to grapple with complex perceptions of Wisconsin ranging from nostalgic, romantic, and idealized--as depicted on myriad real photo postcard and standard tourist postcards--to mysterious, dark, and Gothic as conveyed in works of art and literature such as Michael Lesy's "Wisconsin Death Trip" book and Werner Herzog's "Stroszek" film. The project culminated in a residency with workshops and community collaborations and the installation "We Go From Where We Know" at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center 10.13.2013-3.7.2014 and later the Harvestore Bandshell for Fermentation Fest in 10.2014. The blog continues the exploration of postcards.