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Art collections brighten corporate wallsBy Maggie Rossiter Peterman
Corporations across the country such as Microsoft in the Seattle area, Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Mo., LaSalle National Bank in Chicago and QuadGraphics in Milwaukee have established corporate art programs. In Madison, companies such as Marshall Erdman & Associates, Promega, Dean Medical Center, the Don & Marilyn Anderson HospiceCare Center and Thompson Investment Management offer collections in lobbies and hallways for public viewing. "I look for artwork that is timeless," said Margaret LeMay, a 10-year director of the Erdman Art Group, a division of Marshall Erdman & Associates, 5117 Uni-versity Ave, Madison. "It's challenging to put my own tastes aside." Marshall Erdman, founder of a design and construction firm that specializes in building medical clinics across the country, organized a project in the early 1980s to buy artistic items for the facilities his company built. "He would go to brand new buildings and notice there was no artwork on the walls or that the artwork was inappropriate in size and imagery," LeMay said. To Erdman, artwork was the crowning jewel for a medical facility, and with a lot of space to fill, including hallways and reception areas, he wanted to make sure everything fit together, LeMay said. "He didn't get into it to be a money maker," she said. "He was just passionate about art. He offered it as an exclusive service to his clients." She added: "An art collection isn't just a decoration on the wall. It's important to the healing environment." Collections at Madison's Wilson Law Group, the UW-Madison School of Business and Associated Bank in Middleton are among the more than 1,200 art collections the Erdman Art Group has coordinated. Erdman wanted art to be uplifting and engaging especially for patients, doctors, nurses and staff, LeMay said. "He wanted something to get their minds off why they were there," she said. Under LeMay's leadership, the company has developed office collections ranging in value from $1,000 to $200,000. "It's not the blue-chip value that's important, although some collections have appreciated substantially," LeMay said. "It's all about how the art makes you feel." Although the company concentrates its efforts in the Midwest, LeMay, 39, has designed collections for medical facilities from Bend, Ore., to Hagerstown, Md., where she just completed an installation. Erdman's 5,000-piece corporate collection is one of the largest in the Midwest, said LeMay, who declined to discuss its value. Tours are available by appointment. Art sparks creativity Corporate art collections can stimulate employee creativity and productivity as well as lend support to community artists, said Peter Lundberg, 49, owner of Janus Galleries, 2701 Monroe St., Madison. Steve Fleischman, director of the Madison Museum of Contemp-orary Art, agreed. "Artists are problem solvers," he said. "They are charged with coming up with unique ways to address ideas. That translates into the business setting." It's a key reason that Promega, a Fitchburg-based manufacturer of scientific equipment, developed an art collection that numbers hundreds of pieces, said Roger Larrick, marketing communications director. "There's a lot of art in science," Larrick said. "You can't really have one without the other. Science is a unique expression of art. It's the thinking of concepts and ideas." Each year, Promega features a trio of emerging artists' exhibits and an employee show. The work is on display in the lobby, which is open to the public. "We get the art from all over the world," said Larrick, after a tour of the summer show "Pop Life III," an exhibit of painted skateboards and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County "Spare Me" Bowling Pin Showcase. The shows are often thought-provoking, Larrick said. "Art sure energizes the employees," he said. "It gets people to talk." Business executives and medical officials frequently consult with Lundberg on building new collections or improving existing ones. Lundberg helps clients develop a plan, which includes analyzing the light and architecture of the environment and establishing a budget. Some clients have built collections one piece at a time, which Lundberg advises. "Learning about art is a process," he said. "I find that people often become inspired and even addicted to the process. It can be a lot of fun." Trips to museums and galleries, books and the Internet all play important roles in education. Oils are the mainstay of most collections, Lundberg said, adding that sculptures, glass, fabric and paper works will add interest. "You should always strive to buy original works," said Lundberg, who has declined projects because the artwork lacked integrity and quality. "You can find high-quality pieces at very reasonable prices. If you walk away from the piece and think about it several times during the next 24 hours, you should buy it." Get to know the artist Alliant Energy, Hallmark Cards, Microsoft and QuadGraphics are among dozens of national companies with prints from Tandem Press, 201 S. Dickinson, Madison, in their corporate collections, said Paula McCarthy Panczenko, executive director of the printmaking studio, which is affiliated with the University of Wisconsin. "When corporations want to appeal to a broad range of employees, they look for a lot of diversity in styles," Panczenko said. "If they are interested in quality work, they usually start with prints. "It's the quality of the work that makes a collection good. Most successful collections have been built up over time," she said. Panczenko has worked with corporate clients who have spent $30,000 a year and others who have $100,000 in the annual budget. Hallmark Cards recently purchased prints from Tandem Press for a new London office. The collector received signed documentation listing the number of prints in the edition, the number of colors and number of plates used to produce the print in addition to the artist's signature. "People should get to know artists, who are the best source of information about their artwork," Panczenko said. Value and eye appeal John W. Thompson, president of Thompson Investment Management, 1200 John Q. Hammons, Madison, has a 14-piece collection, including three 6-by-4-foot Robert Rauschenberg prints hanging in a conference room, and a trio of impressionistic oils in the lobby. "It's interesting the reactions people have," Thompson said. "One of our receptionists said it was an embarrassment to have the Rauschenbergs on the wall. "Modern art is something hard to appreciate." Thompson started the collection about 10 years ago when the company moved to the fifth floor with spectacular views. "There was a lot of wall space," he said. "I wanted something interesting. As long as I was doing it, it might as well have some investment value." Thompson's lessons have come from visits to museums in New York; Chicago; Portland, Ore.; and St. Petersburg, Russia, and through consultations with people like Lundberg. According to LeMay from Erdman Art Group, Marshall Erdman was a world traveler and that is reflected in the firm's collection. Weavings from Poland, appliqu� pieces from Colombia and Guatemalan huipiles -- hand-woven blouses that are the most important piece of a Mayan woman's traditional dress -- are among items available for purchase by companies or the public. Seven framed antique quilts from Pennsylvania line the wall in the 3,000-square-foot gallery. Across the room are five Shyrdak rugs designed with felted boiled wool pieces from Kyrgyzstan. "The history of these pieces is thousands of years old, but they can hang in modern facilities," LeMay said. "It works because of the colors and patterns." Maggie Rossiter Peterman is a Madison freelance writer. She can be reached at mjpeterman@sbcglobal.net. mjpeterman@sbcglobal.net madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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