April 21 – 26
Reception: Friday, April 25, 5-8pm
Location: Backspace Gallery, Art Lofts, 111 N Frances St, Madison, WI
100,000 years ago, the Laurentide ice sheet brought Chamberlin Rock from the Lake Superior region to the land on which the University of Wisconsin-Madison would one day be built. The two-billion year old, forty-two ton boulder remained interred there until it was exhumed in 1925. While Chamberlin rock was given its formal name to honor geoscientist and University of Wisconsin president T.C. Chamberlin, the Wisconsin State Journal article recounting the exhumation used the term “n*****head” in its description of the boulder. Shortly after the 2020 slaying of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Black, and Indigenous student unions called for the removal of Chamberlin Rock, citing its ties to institutional legacies of racism. After more than a year of deliberation with various university stakeholders, the rock was removed from campus to another university-owned property nine miles away.
American Sisyphus is a participatory exhibition in conversation with the events surrounding the geological and human histories of Chamberlin Rock. The work in the exhibition will serve as an invitation to viewers to reflect on the the ways in which given people groups choose to address past objects, ideas, and individuals collectively deemed as shameful, harmful, or otherwise designated as cultural waste.
The Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibitions season continues with Casey Fletcher’s exhibit. The MFA Thesis Exhibitions mark the culmination of a three-year degree program that emphasizes development of a rigorous studio art practice under the supervision of a faculty guidance committee. Exploring an interdisciplinary approach to art making, as well as coursework in art history and related fields, artists cultivate professional practices that facilitate a sustainable career in the arts. Join us in celebrating our Class of 2025 UW-Madison Graduate professionals!