JMKC’s ‘Muddy Water’ Celebrates the ‘Essence’ of Wisconsin

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Casual viewers often think art, in the classic sense, occurs only in the mind of the creator, who then molds personal thoughts and feelings through a specific physical medium for the desired expressive output. But art also consists of technique and skill, the challenges of which are something that the rare intersection of art and industry can help address.

One of the most notable such intersections is currently on display through May 19 at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan. “The Secret of Muddy Water” exhibition celebrates 50 years of the successful art/industry partnership between JMKAC and Kohler Co., which hosts exhibition and the residency program that has helped create the resulting artwork.

“The program was created in 1974 by several artists who started the residency as a trial experiment,” says JMKAC associate curator Tanya Gayer. “The artists knew their clay works often collapsed during the drying process and turned to Kohler associates for the best ways to pour a mold and what tools to use so they could complete their artistic concepts.”

One doesn’t think of sinks and toilets as pieces of art, but the construction concept is much the same, Kohler factory workers, known as “associates,” told the artists. Clayton Hill was one such associate who during the program’s early years was assigned to work directly with those early artists. Hill helped them better manage their “clay slip,” or wet clay, by using preexisting dry pieces of clay and other processes to strengthen the object under creation. Hill dubbed the wet Wisconsin clay “muddy water” and the factory’s manufacturing process as the “secret” to its management, Gayer says.

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Using the “secret,” the two inaugural artists created 120 pieces during their four-week 1974 residency. Since then, more than 500 artists have participated in the now three-and-one-half-month residencies. Working in the manufacturing environment takes some adjustment for many artists, who receive a stipend and free housing for the duration of the program, but this year’s waiting list for the 12 open spots topped over 600 applicants. The program is well known and the residencies coveted in the art world.

This year’s “Muddy Water” exhibition contains 11 pieces by nine different artists done in brass, iron and vitreous china, which refers to the enamel coating applied to ceramics, Gayer says. It’s the same process used in producing bathroom fixtures, none of which are featured in the exhibition. 

The pieces on display do include relief maps of Kohler Village, the visitor area that’s part of the Kohler campus, as well as homages to Wisconsin’s heritage, including a “double bratwurst pan” and an oversized string of sausages.

The artists come from across the country and around the world, Gayer says. This year’s exhibition also includes a mock workplace that replicates the industrial environment in which the artists work. This installation will help visitors understand not only the art produced but also the process by which they are completed, the curator adds.

“Since the artists come from all over, local visitors to the exhibit will be stimulated to see their familiar environment interpreted from a fresh perspective,” Gayer adds, “and how that environment engages and delights the artists.”

“The Secret of Muddy Water” is on display now through May 19, 2024, at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 608 New York Ave., Sheboygan.