The Prime Field is a piece of artwork that has been installed in the main lobby by artist and WMU alumnus Paul Marquardt (BA ‘74, Music and Philosophy; BFA ’79, Visual Arts). The piece consists of a number of different words hanging from the ceiling that were chosen to evoke a unique response that differs from viewer to viewer. Some of the hanging words include focus, progress, and commit. The artwork contains five languages; English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and Hindi. Each word was chosen by someone who was an expert in the language specifically.
The idea to install an influential piece of artwork into the building started when the new Sangren was under construction.
A committee was assembled to identify artists who could create something meaningful for the space. Those artists were invited to view the spaces under consideration and several were left to create a presentation of their idea.
“The committee gave us a very complete list of all the things they were expecting in the work,” Marquardt said. “Things like technology, color, something that would suit the building; that kind of thing. I spent a whole month on the presentation. I really wanted this.”
When thinking up ideas for his piece, Marquardt said that the idea of priming kept coming up. Priming involves observing how people respond when presented with a certain type of stimuli. When Marquardt came up with his idea, he thought it was perfect for the educational setting and went straight to work. Not only did he think of ideas for all three areas of the building, but he even went as far as to build a model to present to the committee.
Marquardt was the first to present his idea, and he reflects upon the day he was chosen among the six artists to display his art in Sangren. Marquardt got the call during a leisurely autumn bike ride and was thrilled to hear that his piece would be installed in the main lobby.
Marquardt immediately got to work, choosing to use LED lighting because of its efficiency and longevity; a decision that met the buildings green standards as well as his own. He spent weeks researching LED lights trying to find the ones that would provide the most efficiency. Marquardt said the piece was designed to be installed for thirty years with having little to no problems with maintenance.
Marquardt worked tirelessly for months, and after spending hours upon hours on a scissor lift, the last word had been hung.
“It got to the point that I finally hooked up the last wire and I’m ready to throw the switch,” Marquardt said. “It’s eleven thirty at night and nobody else is around. So I recheck all my wires, and nervously, I throw the switch. There is a 30 second delay that is programmed in and I came out and suddenly things start happening. It is so, so rewarding after all of that work.”
Marquardt said that this piece gave him something he couldn’t get from any of his other artwork, which is a chance to see how people react to seeing it for the first time; a feeling he refers to as ‘artists’ heaven’. After the piece was finished, Marquardt said that people were coming out of offices and taking pictures on their phones.
The Prime Field was funded by a private donation from two WMU alumnae who received teaching degrees from the College of Education and Human Development. Marquardt said he met with them to discuss his artwork, and it was clear that they read his proposal front to back.
“They knew it really well, and that was rewarding,” Marquardt said. “They provided the money for the piece knowing exactly what it was, and exactly what it would do. I could not even imagine a better funder for a piece like this. They’re great people.”
To learn more about The Prime Field, please visit www.commonthings.com/primefield.
To learn more about the College of Education and Human Development, please visit wmich.edu/education.
Posted by Stan Sulewski