Urinal or Art?
Arts/Industry
program combines plumbing products and priceless art.
by Lori Lukowski
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| Even the bathroom is an art gallery at the John
Michael Kohler Arts Center. Photo courtesy of JMKAC |
It all comes together in the bathroom at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan. Here, looking at a urinal in the men’s bathroom on the first floor, visitors can literally see the interplay between art and industry. All six bathrooms in the renovated center were decorated by artists, five of whom participated in the center’s Arts/Industry program.
The Arts/Industry program brings artists from around the world to create art in the enamel shop and pottery, iron and brass foundries at Kohler Co., a well-known and respected plumbing manufacturer. In a spectrum of artistic production, plumbing products and fine art would likely be at opposite ends. This program takes that spectrum and makes it a circle.
Uniting art with
plumbing
The Arts/Industry program began in 1974 after the Arts Center displayed a
national ceramics invitational exhibition, The Plastic Earth. This exhibition
brought engineers and artists together, and a four-week residency program
began. The Kohler Arts Center hosted a conference a few years later, which
sparked the implementation of annual summer residencies. The program as it
now exists began in 1984, with the institution of year-round residencies.
Today, selected artists work alongside factory workers at Kohler Co., creating
art out of the same material used to create functional plumbing products.
Tom Joyce, a blacksmith from New Mexico, currently works at Kohler Co. as
one of the four artists-in-residence with Arts/Industry. Joyce has long been
involved in the interplay between art and industry—he began working
as a blacksmith at age 16. Over time, Joyce’s purely functional medium—cast
iron—crossed into art. “I had a passion and interest in forging
iron. Naturally I progressed towards commission work,” Joyce says.
As with all Arts/Industry artists, Joyce joined after a selection committee
reviewed his application and invited him to participate. According to Kim
Cridler, Arts/Industry coordinator at the Arts Center, selection criteria
include an evaluation of an artist’s existing body of work, an artist’s
ability to use the industrial setting the program provides, and an ability
to work with others. Once selected, artists commit to spending two to sixth
months with the program. Four artists participate at any given time. Artists
receive benefits including free housing, a weekly stipend, use of equipment,
technical assistance and round-trip travel within the United States.
Although all artists work in the factory setting, they do not need to be formally
trained before coming to Kohler. According to the Arts/Industry application,
however, everyone accepted must “have the capability of quickly mastering
the industrial technologies.” In order to facilitate learning, the Arts
Center employs technicians to serve as liaisons between artists and factory
workers. These go-betweens assist with everything from technical to shipping
concerns.
Several elements of this program set it apart from others in the nation. One
element, the interaction between factory workers and the artists working side
by side, fosters personal relationships. “Every day I probably visit
with 30 people. I would never interact with that many people in my own studio.
Social interaction here is really important,” Joyce says.
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| Colorful orbs adorn the walls of the bathroom
at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Photo courtesy of JMKAC |
Unusual facilities available to artists also set the program apart from other residencies. Artists invited to Kohler Co. use the same machines that produce plumbing products. Accordingly, artists’ work grows and changes. According to Cridler, the program provides emerging artists a space where they can create art that they could not produce in their personal studios. Joyce’s ironwork focuses on unfolding geometries. He explores geometric shapes by producing pieces like a cube cut apart into irregular polygons, and a dissected and reassembled cube. In Joyce’s time at Kohler Co., his work changed by increasing in size. With access to larger machines, Joyce has expanded his artistic vision.
Life in the program
Atmosphere also contributes to the special nature of this program. According
to Cridler, the Arts/Industry program places artists in a noisy, busy factory,
whereas other residency programs in the United States provide artists quiet,
private studios. This setting challenges artists. “Every day reveals
something I didn’t expect, whether in personal relationships, a smooth
[iron] pour [or] changes in the weather,” Joyce says. He also enjoys
the sense of being in a “constant state of reception,” and open
to learning from other people at Kohler Co.
Kohler Co. supplies the industry part of the Arts/Industry equation. Located
about five miles from the Arts Center in the Village of Kohler, Kohler Co.
opened in 1873. Although founder John Michael Kohler originally manufactured
iron and steel products for agriculture, in 1883 he broke into the plumbing
business. Through the years, Kohler Co. innovated plumbing products such as
coordinated bathroom suites, bathroom suites coordinated with bedrooms, and
state-of-the-art whirlpool and shower facilities.
Over time, Kohler Co. products evolved and changed with innovative designs
forging into new plumbing frontiers. One thing, however, consistently influences
Kohler Co.’s evolution: the Kohler family’s desire to create artistic
products. Kohler Co. constantly strives to produce products that are both
aesthetically pleasing and functional. The Arts/Industry program Kohler Co.
co-sponsors with the Arts Center enacts this desire every day.
More than one
program
In addition to Arts/Industry, other links exist between the Arts Center and
the Kohler family. The Arts Center began at its current location in 1973 when
the Sheboygan Arts Foundation Inc. approached the Kohler family with a need
for a permanent Arts Center. The Kohler family responded to this request by
donating a house that John Michael Kohler built in Sheboygan. In appreciation,
the Sheboygan Arts Foundation Inc. named the center in his honor.
Today the Arts Center predominantly focuses on community with a mission of
providing “all the arts for all the people.” Programs span visual
and performing arts. According to Steve Markiewicz, marketing and communications
manager at the Arts Center, innovative exhibitions focus on contemporary art.
The Arts Center also collects Arts/Industry pieces, self-taught artists’
work, and works that represent the Sheboygan community, like historical and
contemporary Hmong textiles.
The performing-arts aspect of the Arts Center is another way of reaching out
to the community. “There is literally something for every member of
the family. We have over five performance series that offer different performances
at different times of the month,” Markiewicz says.
Community programming and involvement, obvious in every program the Arts Center
provides, clearly reveals itself in Arts/Industry. In exchange for all that
the program offers artists, they also give back to the community. Upon completion
of residency, artists donate one piece to Kohler Co. and another to the Kohler
Arts Center. As the only program of this type in the country, the Arts Center
pairs with Kohler Co. to create an inspiring, community-building opportunity.
So inspiring, in fact, that even the urinals can invigorate visitors.
