Both / And —

Tolerance /

Innovation

Client

City of Madison

Location

Madison, WI

Completion date

June 2019

“Both/And — Tolerance/Innovation” marks a special place of intersection on the State Street pedestrian mall on the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus. The installation speaks to a confluence of ideas and cultural diversity coming together in a dynamic cause-and-effect relationship.

Public Art

“Confluence” has been used to identify this special place on the State Street pedestrian mall on the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus. Confluence represents the merging of the City of Madison with the University. “Both/And—Tolerance/Innovation” speaks to the confluence of ideas and cultural diversity coming together in a dynamic cause-and-effect relationship.

The installation represents a space where reality merges with abstraction. The space between the stone (reality) and the stainless-steel vertical sculpture (abstraction), embodies Aristotle’s philosophy of knowledge, “being qua being,” the metaphysical reasoning at the heart of learning. It is the space between “knowing” and “believing.”

“Walking from Memorial Union, the steel and rock looked like they had always been there. The steel beams lined up and came alive — they could be UW graduates in caps and gowns, a choir singing outside the church, or a group of concerned members of our community, gathering in formation to march down State Street to the Capitol.” - Lori DiPrete Brown, Global Health Reflections, June 2019

Goals

Our goals for this installation are guided by three distinct and mutually inclusive elements: Story, Structure, and Site. The story for this project is about expressing the nuanced space between ways of knowing. The story of Confluence is the form that knowledge takes, a way of “knowing” that merges the world of research and discovery (the University Library on one side) with the world of belief (symbolized by three different religious denominations on the other). Site-specific and contextual cultural textures inform the selection of the “rock” and its position as a standing stone – a touchstone. The “rock” in turn informs and influences the shape of the abstract metal plates. As the title “Both / And” suggests the story is a type of logic used in decision-making that allows for a greater variety and scope of outcomes than a rigid either/or decision-making process. This approach is useful when comparing two or more possible tracks or outcomes in a real-world setting.

Process

The monumental metal sculpture is fabricated of angel-hair stainless-steel plates. The individual plates are laser-cut with patterns that allow light to move between the plates to create a transparent moray effect. A cylinder, cut through the plates, is positioned to highlight the position of the sun during the solar equinox. The viewer can orient themselves to this position in the spring and fall, to be enlightened with sunlight. The installation incorporates LED lighting to create a dramatic, glowing ambiance, thoughtful of the site as it changes from day to night. The stone, native Wisconsin granite, lit from below, appears to “float” at night. The monumental stone, like ancient Dolmen or standing stone, transforms from a mere rock to a “touchstone.” The companion sculpture is internally illuminated, an iconic beacon seen from a distance in both directions. The installation marks a new destination where people gather, and new traditions begin.

The stone was hand-selected by our artists from a Wisconsin quarry. It is luminated to become a touchstone, creating a beacon from all directions.

The stainless steel plates, each ½ inch thick, were water-cut with patterns that allow light to move between the plates to create a transparent moray effect.

From above, the flow of pedestrians through the State Street Pedestrian Mall resembles the flow of a river. The shape of the sculpture and the patterns in the steel pay homage to the current through the area.

A cylinder, cut through the plates, is positioned to highlight the position of the sun during the solar equinox. The viewer can orient themselves to this position in the spring and fall, to be enlightened with sunlight.

The word “Confluence” has been used to identity this special place on the State Street pedestrian mall on the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus. The meaning of confluence is based on the junction of two rivers of approximately equal width, merging into one steady stream. But the concept of confluence goes much deeper, especially in this specific location. Confluence represents the merging of the City of Madison with the University. Confluence is the “town and gown” relationship embodied in a real place. Confluence is the form that knowledge takes, a way of “knowing” that merges the world of research and discovery (the University Library on one side), with the world of belief, (symbolized by three different religious denominations on the other).