Primetime Wisconsin; 518; Wisconsin's Corporate Art: A Well Kept Secret

[test tone] Presentation of prime time Wisconsin is made possible in part by a grant from the Miller Group Limited companies headquartered in Appleton Wisconsin. Worldwide manufacturers of arc welding and thermal spray equipment and robotic welding systems. The following is a special primetime Wisconsin presentation. Generally a greater public awareness of art and this is being carried over to and at the corporate level there's no question the corporations have become patrons of the arts It's. The energy that motivates building a collection is the same as it would be in acquiring it for a museum. Really anyone who collects art is doing basically the same things. That a corporation is doing. Corporation just does it on a larger scale I think it's a well kept secret. I really don't believe that very many people are aware of the magnitude of some of these

collections Museums and galleries are known to be the traditional keepers of large collections of art. Here the public and appreciate and admire the variety and value of distinguished works and exhibits. But over the past 20 years corporations have begun to build their own valuable collections. Today corporate art is more than pictures hanging on a wall. Corporations are buying and installing good quality art and this investing has made business the art patrons of the 20th century. Many firms have found it improves the work environment employee morale and the corporate image. And it is also helping today's artists survive. But most of the time. This art is what the general public doesn't see. This program will bring you that art. And some corporations who are actively collecting.

I think that. For art to thrive. Artists have to. Make a living. And so the general level of prosperity in a country. Is very important to the. Health of the artistic community. America has. Had has been in a period of extended prosperity since World War Two. And as a result people have money to spend on art. There are many fine corporate collections today where I think if you go back before World War Two it was very hard to find a significant corporate art collection. And then course there's the whole aspect of much more art being produced. There are so many more people who are earning a livelihood either as artists or in the support areas. And I think corporate collecting at this point is reaching out. To a whole segment of Americans that.

were not in daily contact or weekly contact or monthly contact with the arts before. From the other side of things corporations have come from a sort of philanthropic involvement with the arts to the realization that there is interest within the corporation in art and that there's a great deal to be gained from being involved with the arts. I think that particularly in America the arts have to rely on the corporate world to survive. The arts can't survive without subsidy. And it's a kind of natural marriage between the corporate world and the art world. Wisconsin's corporate art collections have a strong emphasis in American contemporary meaning American art produced in the late 20th century. And it is chosen at a comfort level for corporation and employee alike You've got a lot of people to please. You're buying art not just for yourself you've got lots of employees who are gonna

respond. Either favorably or very unfavorably or somewhere in between. And so corporate art collecting is. Far more complicated than if you're just going out to buy a piece of art for your home. So you you have to realize first of all that there is an credible. Diversification. Among. Employee sophistication and employee taste. And one person may not really care what's on his wall. If it's a duck on a lovely blue lagoon with a tree behind it it's going to suit him just fine he loves it it reminds him of. His vacation or whatever. But the next person may want an abstract splash of color or a fiber piece or. Beautiful piece of paper or there's just all kinds of all kinds all degrees of sophistication among among employees. His spaces are renovated. It's art that can be moved. It's art that is

purchased and 10 years later. Is still viable. It's something that can be. Used. For a long period of time always looks fresh. And becomes. Part of an artist's. Evolution. More kinds of art are being included as being art in other words a few years ago it was crafts. And people didn't really want to deal all that much with crafts. They wanted. Fine art. But now those those edges are being more blurred as fiber has come into. The mainstream. It truly has come in to the mainstream as Handmade paper has come into the mainstream. There's a great deal to be gained Corporations have an obligation to themselves as much as anyone else. To develop this and just find out what art can do for them. Marshall Erdman and associates is an architectural firm located in Madison and they have

a two pronged approach to art you not only have a collection of abstract art in their headquarters but through their fine arts department they offer artwork as an enhancement to the design of their medical buildings. About 1975 after building medical buildings for about. Twenty five years doctors suddenly discovered that art might be useful and perhaps pleasing to clients. But what we do is we put a collection together that has a broad spectrum of images things that would really be interesting to every kind of person that walks into the building. And it works out in the long run very very well. The doctors would agree to live with this art for at least one year. Whether they liked it or not. And after a year if they still didn't like what we provided for.

We would take the art back. And refund them 100 percent of their money either for one piece or all of them It not only gets people talking to one another that perhaps would never have an opportunity to speak to each other or reason to speak to each other but also an extension of their whole job. They get a chance to spend time with beautiful pieces of art work to investigate more about them periodically with questions about the pieces that have been put in the buildings. And it just expands their whole experience for our medical buildings we try and avoid confrontational. Art. We want our. Patients and people coming in to see the doctors to feel better when they walk into an urban building. And so I always avoid. Really difficult pieces such as this frank style that is right here this is the piece that we would select for our corporate collection because this is a very esoteric print. It's very strong

and has very strong colors it is also abstract and not very many people are comfortable with abstract art. And I find that you I can be cultivated as you go along look at art the same as you cultivate your mind. And it's quite enlightening. And and pleasing to see that something that you didn't think was that great at first gets to be more pleasing as time goes on. They're selected for. Their technique and the integrity of the image their lasting value. I really can't imagine our offices being now without art Aid Association for Lutherans is an insurance company in Appleton. It believes in participatory management. So when new offices were built a committee was chosen to participate in selecting art for the new building.

I think that we all were influenced by each other and. Perhaps consider things we would not. Normally consider if you were making independent selections there was quite a lively discussion and that's why you will see a cross section from every walk of life you don't see only contemporary You don't see only wildlife scenes or docks or hunting scenes or whatever it is. You see a cross-section. We had a lot of fun doing it. I have to say the committee sometimes disagreed. But overall I think that there was a great deal of respect for each other. We didn't go out to build a museum. We didn't go out to purchase all for investments sake I think we.

We were in Wisconsin. We were exposed to the Wisconsin artists. So I think we naturally gravitated toward those but there was never a policy that we were only going to buy Wisconsin art. It was only a result of exposure that. Led us to. A collection that is heavily represented by Wisconsin artists Philip Morris Companies Incorporated is one of the great patrons of the arts in the United States. It has sponsored among others a Picasso Brock exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and recently sponsored a limited run exhibit on ancestral black art of Milwaukee's Art Museum one of its subsidiaries. Miller Brewing located in Milwaukee exemplifies Philip Morris's interest in art acquisition. This collection is one of the major collections of Wisconsin art in the world. As a matter of fact there's well over 100 different artists represented in the collection and we're very proud to have a collection of that diversity. Now we're a company that relies upon. Innovation and creativity

to be successful in the marketplace in a very competitive environment and we feel that by exposing our employees to this collection we are promoting that spirit of innovation and creativity that can help us to be successful and to build our business an additional benefit of the collection is that individual employees can choose pieces from the collection for their own work spaces and that promotes greater interest in the collection. The companies that make up the business world in the United States are now collectively the single largest sponsor of the arts in the United States and I'm proud to say that Miller is a part of that and we are very concerned about keeping our collection growing and maintaining it in good condition. The Kohler company located in Kohler has had a long tradition of supporting artists not necessarily through direct acquisition of their work but through a program called The

Artists in industry program. After inviting ceramicists who create works of art in the plant the artists agreed to leave some works behind. This approach has proven to build a substantial collection Kohl company has had a long history of. Management being interested in the arts. And their products are so related to art and good design. They are considered in the forefront of design in the plumbing world and. So they need to keep up on this. They feel it's just an integral part of their business. The John Michael Kohler arts center which which is the initiator and the administrator of the program was founded to bring artists and public together and to serve artists. And we feel this is a substantial way to do that. The artists benefit a great deal from being able to come into a basically rural industrial setting most of them are very urban

people. And as well the company benefits from that interaction. The opposite way. And I think that it's a tremendous tremendous. Benefit to the artists to be exposed to the technologies of manufacturing. We work very hard when we select the artist to select a broad range of work a broad range of aesthetic interests so that we can. Develop. A variety of directions in American art well I think that if you. Were to talk to almost any ceramicist in this country they would know about the Kohler company program. It's had an enormous impact on that. Particular segment of American Art. In addition I think now with. The Foundry being opened up and the enamel shop being opened up. It's. It's having an even

Wider impact on American art. Wausau insurance is nationally known for its logo of the railroad depot. And while the railroad depot reflects a hometown approach to its business this approach is also revealed in its art collection located in the Wausau offices. Our objective was one of introducing a collection that would have variety and would have value over the long term that we were purchasing both some relatively new artists as well as some artists substantial reputation. So we were doing a bit of both corporate art and in our case is an effort to present painting sculpture other objects of art that can enhance the aesthetic appearance of our facilities. At the same time be educational for our employees exposing them to diversity so as we work toward the future diversity is very important

to us in the type of art that we display and certainly anything that we put up by way of art isn't going to appeal to everyone. And we know that going in but we think that variety is important and generally we find that most of what we have purchased we find some individual or individuals who step forward and say my Isn't that beautiful. The depot has been the symbol for this corporation since 1954. In that sense it has a lot of meaning to our employees and to our policyholders. It's one of the most well recognized trademarks in the insurance industry in the country. So periodically we continue to commission people paintings and now have eight in our collection. We're doing a lot by way of surveying the collection

reframing rematting a number of the pieces relocating in conjunction with decor changes and in the facility to provide better placement. And our desire is to go forward in a very systematic program of expansion. Buying quality art is one way corporations are supporting the arts but many businesses are commissioning artists to create specific pieces for their corporations. This aspect of the corporate world and the art world is helping artists survive business people and artists are speaking usually on two separate wavelengths. The two needn't be afraid to talk to each other and we all speak the same language and we're all trying to earn a living we're trying artists are creating art corporations are creating products or selling services and there is a way that we can communicate. Here artist Mark Geisheker meets with businessman Al Mix of the source Group Incorporated an architectural design firm. Al uses Mark's art not

only in his buildings but also within his office walls. Al emphasizes commissioned artwork can be used as an introduction to the arts. While Mark emphasizes the challenge of commissioned work the essential plan is to have a central piece 40 high and 32 wide not counting frame at this point. I have. Brought a very large black wall directly opposite my desk. And Mark is working on a triptych which is basically three paintings that are interconnected visually but three separate pieces. To give that wall some depth to Give me a focal point when I'm thinking this is going to pick up a little bit of the The walls and the carpet. In through the pale steely gray that gets its. Frame color here. I analyzed Al's blue and it's basically a blue black. It's like a blue black gray if we were to put this up against Al's furniture at the source group we'd find out that in fact his blue was extremely adulterated. You have to have an artist who. Is a good craftsman. You have to have

an artist who. Takes pride in his work. Who is not necessarily a prima donna who's willing to to bend to satisfy the client's needs. And you have to have an artist who. Is able to meet deadlines. We do interior design work we like to incorporate original art whenever possible. If we cannot incorporate the original art we will incorporate frame prints posters relational remarks. I feel the that art is an important part of the design I recommend it as something that. That is going to enhance their surroundings is going to possibly increase productivity because of the overall environment. The other aspect of the art I feel is very important is down at my level of the commercial level where you introduce a client to the arts and. By specifying art into his overall design.

You acquaint him with the joys of owning art A client shows me an interesting space. And at the end of the day I realize I have been challenged again and I'm about to do something that I've never done before. I'm about to bring out. I'm about to take my concept and flex it and bend it and if you like work it into a new concept because this new space is often a challenge. Another challenge for today's artist is to offer extra services. This is a lease space. So are we talking to the maintenance people about installation or do you can I do the installation myself. All right well come by with all the appropriate hardware and do the installation at that point. I repair I deliver. I photograph for insurance claims I make recommendations about lighting. I occasionally will find major pieces of furniture or carpeting or accessories that go with the piece with the house that I'm doing. Another artist challenged by commissioned work is Linda Muldoon. She was asked to create glass windows for the Aid Association for Lutherans corporate meeting room.

Let's take what's there. And turn it into something positive. So we followed the lines that were there and tried to make the windows appear rather like Japanese screens. You have to take into account the light what it is you want the glass to achieve who your client is what the use of this room is going to be. If you don't do that. And. Make the window successful above and beyond that. Then in some sense you failed. Perhaps. There's a bit of self censoring that goes on. Ahead of time. When you're doing commission work. Whether that is selling out as I've heard some people say are you selling out to try and fit what it is you're designing. To the client. Well if something was designed for this space this use this light. That didn't work with the people. What good have I. What has it really done. There's just a certain

point I think when you're working on commission pieces that. The client almost feels as though they have designed. The work. And feel then that you're being extremely successful. You know they haven't designed. The work but you picked up enough of. Their input and at the same time felt as though you've expressed. Your media in that situation to the best of your ability and if. Someone whether it's a corporation corporation made up of human beings the art Committee likes. What you do enough either commission you to do something or to buy something. That's wonderful. It means what you do will continue on. As artists continue creating corporations will buy what's created whether it's commissioned or not. And although corporations have always been involved in the arts in some way. They are finding art collecting is an important part of business. Corporations know

it is benefiting their employees their environment and their image. It's important to our well-being it's important to our. Our emotional well-being and. It's an important part of our environment on a day to day basis. I mean after all we're not hanging dollar bills on the wall. We're hanging something far more. Sophisticated far more important and the dollar value. really should be secondary to whatever. What other values this artwork can have to the corporation Wisconsin business contributes a whole lot to the state to the quality of life here. We frequently talk about our contribution in dollars and cents terms payrolls and taxes and things of that nature jobs. But I think Wisconsin business does a lot on the intangible side that promotes the quality of life. I think we're discovering that that

intangible soft kind of contribution is very very important and we're very proud of those Wisconsin lawyers who are doing that If you work in a very sterile environment you know little little gray concrete boxes and you do the same job as you would do in a in a wonderful environment some plants and maybe a little employees lounge with some beautiful artwork in there and maybe a nice piece in the lobby and maybe a sense of self satisfaction about that your company has this art collection and you doing identical jobs which one are you going to stay at the longer. Presentation of prime time Wisconsin is made possible in part by a grant from the Miller Group

Limited companies headquartered in Appleton Wisconsin. Worldwide manufacturers of arc welding and thermal spray equipment and robotic welding systems.