Art and architecture in Fitchburg: A visit to the opening reception for the Tandem Press exhibit at the Promega Biopharmaceutical Technology Center

It wasn't until after I'd viewed the exhibition of prints from Tandem Press, snapped scores of photographs, savoured a skewer of chicken satay, and chatted with my former high school guidance counselor that I learned all this activity had been taking place in a factory.

Viewing prints in the Tandem Press exhibit at Promega

"Breathing Hard" by Gronk

Late Tuesday afternoon, I drove to Fitchburg to attend the opening reception for the Tandem Press 20^th anniversary print exhibit at the Promega Biopharmaceutical Technology Center.

I was familiar with Tandem Press, the self-supporting printmaking studio affiliated with the Department of Art in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, founded in 1987 by artist William Weege. Its current executive director, is Paula McCarthy Panczenko, who has been with the Tandem Press since 1989.

Paula McCarthy Panczenko

Although many artists – including Art Spiegelman, Ed Paschke, Judy Pfaff, and Gregory Coniff – have visited and worked at Tandem Press, this artistic laboratory may be best known to many Madisonians as the printmaking studio where filmmaker David Lynch has worked on occasion since he first accepted an invitation to be a visiting artist in 1997.

Former Madison Central (and Memorial) High School guidance director Jack Naughton poses next to one of the David Lynch prints in the Tandem Press exhibit

Tandem Press is located at 201 S. Dickinson Street, not far from Morrison Street, where I grew up. I know the neighborhood well. Promega is located in Fitchburg Center, a place not far from where I now live, but one I'd never visited until yesterday.

It was Peter Tan, Senior Associate & Design Architect with Strang, Inc., who opened my eyes to the environment I was moving around in yesterday. Tam designed the Promega building where the Tandem Press exhibit is on display, which is indeed a manufacturing facility – but art and community play important roles in the building, too.

Architect Peter Tan, AIA

The spacious, ground level entry and reception area for the building, as well as some of the adjoining hallways were designed to be gallery space. There is also additional gallery space on the second floor, reached via a soaring open staircase. One of my favorite prints from this Tandem Press exhibit, Robert Stackhouse's "Blue Flyer," is on display here.

Viewing "Blue Flyer"

Another view of the second floor gallery space (they're still looking at "Blue Flyer")

Staircase leading up to the second floor gallery area

Adjacent to a restored prairie, the building is designed to create a bridge between the natural environment outside and the more structured environment inside. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows help to suffuse the entry area with natural light, and strategically placed indoor plants help to minimize the boundaries between indoors and outdoors. Tan also drew my attention to the carpet: The diagonal orientation of its design draws you to the outside, too.

Madison's First Lady of Jazz, Jan Wheaton, provided musical entertainment

Seating nooks beckon visitors to small conversation areas that feature Asian art accents, including a replica of one of the Terracotta Warriors from Xi'an, China. Even an alcove for a drinking fountain has an intriguing sculpture from Promega's permanent collection.

In addition to seating areas, plants, and a striking reception desk, the entry area has a large amount of open space, which makes it perfect for receptions because there's room for tables full of food and beverages, as well as plenty of room for guests to circulate.

Reception desk viewed from the second floor

Behind all this, however, as Tan showed me, is a working manufacturing facility. In addition, this Promega building (there are several on its campus) has an auditorium and classroom facilities. A list of school tours posted on a whiteboard in an office near the reception area suggested the Promega factory was a popular destination for area students and Tan confirmed this impression.

The Tandem Press exhibit, produced by Daniel Swadener in conjunction with Promega, is one of a series of art showcases the corporation hosts each year. The Tandem Press exhibit at the Promega Biopharmaceutical Technology Center, 5445 E. Cheryl Parkway in Fitchburg, is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday–Friday through August 29, 2008.

Tandem Press has its own permanent gallery space at 201 S. Dickinson Street in Madison. It is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and by appointment on Saturdays. For additional information, call (608) 265-2356.

Note: Additional photos from Tuesday's opening reception -- including one of producer Daniel Swadener, other guests, art, and food -- may be viewed on the PictoBrowser at the botton of this post. However, some of the photos are automatically cropped in this format. To see a complete, uncropped set of photographs, please visit my Tandem Press Exhibit set on Flickr.