Students looking to view indigenous art might balk at spending a few thousand dollars for a plane ticket to visit the Chauvet cave paintings in the south of France. Fear not! After April 15, UW students and community members will be able to enjoy indigenous art anytime they pass by one of the six tiled backsplashes in the new Union South. What’s more, students and community members can take part in the creation of this homegrown art through the ongoing Union South Tile Project.
The Union South Planning Committee proposed the Tile Project to keep UW students engaged in the building design process and build excitement for the grand opening of the Union South later this year. The Tile Project allows students and community members to create the over 400 hand-made tiles that will be used to decorate the water fountain backsplashes throughout Union South. The word indigenous best summarizes the Tile Project.
“[Indigenous] means that it’s produced, it’s living, it’s growing naturally in a particular region. The tile-making project is produced here. It’s used on campus, and there’s nowhere else that anyone will ever be able to get tiles like this,” said Gloria Van Dixhorn, the local ceramic artist spearheading the effort.
The Union South Tile Project represents an extension of the ‘buy local’ campaigns that have always enjoyed a fond place in the hearts of Madison residents.
“We’re using clay that comes from Paoli, Wis., right out outside of Madison, so the clay is local, [and] the glazes we’re using to finish the tiles are mixed and formulated right here in the craftshop,” said Memorial Union Craftshop Supervisor Jay Ekleberry.
So far, Union employees, community members and students have celebrated a chance to create the tiles. Over 150 attended the Free Art Friday hosted by the Memorial Union Craftshop on Sept. 3 that featured tile making.
“We’ve seen some incredible creativity,” Ekleberry said. “People have been really excited about the process itself, and that’s what we hoped for.”
The nature-themed tile art will have a profound affect on the design aesthetic of Union South.
“There’s something very important about a handmade object,” Van Dixhorn said. “I think that with a handmade object you know the world is alive.”
The Planning Committee has designed and built Union South in the image of natural vitality and environmental consciousness. As a result, the building recently received gold classification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program.
“The Union’s going to have a lot of recycled materials already build into it. For example, the old Union South had a couple of old fireplaces, and that copper…is being used in the fireplaces for the new Union South,” Ekleberry said.
Union South’s focus on design themes centered on sustainability will also help to distinguish it from Memorial Union.
“The other Union South really suffered from being ‘the other Union,'” Ekleberry said. “I think this building’s going to really impress people with the things it has going for it.”
The tile art throughout the building represents one secret students can discover by exploring Union South.
Coordinators also hope the Tile Project will serve as a gateway to expose UW students to the art opportunities available in campus.
“One of the reasons the craftshop exists is it’s really hard for students to engage in art on this campus unless you’re an art student,” Ekleberry said. “This is an opportunity for hands-on art, free of charge, [with] everything provided.”
Besides opening the project to all students, coordinators designed the Tile Project to serve as a bridge between UW students and community members, providing an opportunity for social interaction through art.
The Tile Project promises to leave a powerful legacy for the students who choose to participate.
Van Dixhorn hopes students leave thinking that: “I’m part of something bigger. I just did something that one day I might come back here with my grandkids and walk into the Union and say, ‘I was part of this. I got to make one of these when I was in college here.'”
To make a tile as a part of the Union South Tile Project stop by the Memorial Union Craftshop, fourth floor, 2-11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, or attend Free Art Friday Oct. 1 and Nov. 5. Students and community members can also make tiles Sept. 15 at the Orchard Street Block Party.
