Promega Fall Art Showcase Honors Truman Lowe, Ho-Chunk Artist and Mentor

Truman Lowe, Ho-Chunk artist and mentor, pictured with Headdress (1989)

Outside the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center, the wind snakes through the tall prairie grasses, drying slowly in the crisp September air. The walking paths through the woods are turning orange with fallen leaves, and the resident sandhill cranes, a fixture of summer at Promega Madison, will soon be heading to their winter home in southern Florida.

Inside the BTC, the Promega Fall Art Showcase is honoring the life of Truman Lowe, an acclaimed Ho-Chunk artist whose sculptural works evoke a powerful connection with nature. For decades, Lowe was a professor in the Department of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was an exceptional mentor to young artists. He was known for encouraging artists to fearlessly delve into their artistic voice and equipping them with the necessary tools to navigate the art world. The Fall Art Showcase honors his legacy by exhibiting his art alongside pieces by several former students.

Truman Lowe: Visionary Artist, Mentor and Teacher

Truman Lowe was born on the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin reservation in 1944. He recounted a childhood of drawing with rocks on the Black River and creating crafts like baskets and beadwork with his parents. Though he loved art from an early age, Lowe says that he never thought of art as a profession until he was studying for his undergraduate art degree at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. There, he became fascinated with Michelangelo, who inspired him to realize that art could be “a profession as well as a passion.”1

Visitors to the Promega Fall Art Show can see sculptures by Truman Lowe alongside works by several of his students.

After earning a graduate degree and moving through several teaching positions at the high school and university level, Lowe accepted a position as Native American studies coordinator and assistant professor of art at UW-Madison in 1975. This began a 45-year tenure in the department of art, where he fostered a deep understanding and appreciation for Native American art and culture among his students. He also served as a curator of contemporary art at the National Museum of the American Indian.

Lowe is known for large, site-specific installations that use natural materials including wood, stone and metal. His works push creative boundaries and exhibit a unique blend of versatility, precision and emotional depth. Lowe’s sculptures have been exhibited around the world, from museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art to embassies in Bolivia and Cameroon. A sculpture titled Effigy: Bird Form was displayed on the White House grounds during the Clinton administration and was recently reinstalled atop Observatory Hill at UW-Madison, close to the former site of Native American effigy mounds. 

Lowe, who died in 2019, was a beloved mentor to many students over his long tenure at UW-Madison. A university-published obituary quotes John Hitchcock, professor and Associate Dean at UW-Madison, saying, “Truman encouraged us to stay strong as artists and to our vision as makers.” The widespread love of Lowe will be on display at the Promega Fall Art Showcase, where six of his former students will be exhibiting alongside Lowe’s own works.

Promega Fall Art Showcase

The Fall Art Showcase opened on September 19 with a symposium featuring guest speakers Patricia marroquin Norby and Jo Ortel. Norby is the Associate Curator of Native American Art at the metropolitan Museum of Art, and the first person of Indigenous descent hired for a full-time curatorial position in the museum’s 150-year history. Jo Ortel is an author, art historian and Professor Emerita of Art History of Beloit College. Ortel is also the author of a notable biography of Truman Lowe titled “Woodland Reflections: The Art of Truman Lowe.”

The Promega Culinary Team collaborated with Chef Elena Terry of the culinary organization Wild Bearies to offer traditional Ho-Chunk food at the reception. Chef Terry provided recipes and connected the team with indigenous purveyors to source ingredients. Promega also collaborated with Little Eagle Arts Foundation to include pieces of Ho-Chunk culture into the event.

The Fall Art Showcase runs through December 29 and is open to the public Monday through Friday 8:00 am – 4:00 pm at the Promega BioPharmaceutical Technology Center. For more information, visit https://www.promega-artshow.com/

1As quoted in Woodland Reflections: The Art of Truman Lowe by Jo Ortel


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Creativity In Action: The Promega Employee Art Show

Behind the reception desk at the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center hangs a self-portrait of an R&D scientist made of torn paper. A painting by an IT specialist adorns a wall outside the auditorium. Near the windows, the daughter of a manager in Operations Engineering has created a diorama depicting the coronation of Princess Bryn Bryn who is, in fact, a puppy.

The Promega Employee Art Show is an annual exhibition that invites Promega employees and their family members to submit artwork to be displayed in the Promega Art Showcase. The 2023 showcase features more than 150 pieces of art submitted by employees in 3 countries.

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Rocking Out with the Promega Band: Major Groove!

Promega employees playing with the band Major Groove
A group of Promega employees rehearses their set for the Employee Recognition Meeting reception

Have you ever heard Guns ‘n’ Roses and Lizzo in the same concert?

When the Promega employee band Major Groove takes the stage, you never know what they might play!

The Promega band started with a handful of employees in 2006 and has grown to include more than 50 active musicians. Today, they play at company meetings, picnics, art shows and much more.

“During my interview process, I was sent a list of links to learn more about Promega. I was like, “Hold the phone! This company has a band!” says Kathryn Sauter, a Business Analyst on the Global Logistics team. “I never thought I’d have an opportunity to participate in a musical extracurricular activity at a place where I work. Promega immediately shot to the top of my list.”

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From Student Debt Assistance to Family-Forming Support: Benefits and Well-Being Go Hand in Hand 

You know this, but it bears repeating. Prioritizing physical, psychological, emotional and financial wellness is key to supporting our overall well-being. This holds true during the busy holiday season and throughout the entire year.  

Employee benefits that address emotional, physical and financial well-being

It can also be easier said than done, so we need as much support as possible in this vital endeavor. An in-depth framework recently published by the US Surgeon General outlines a vision of the workplace as an engine of well-being. The report states, “Our workplaces play a significant role in our lives. Work affects both our physical and mental well-being – in good ways and bad. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the relationship between work and well-being into clearer focus.”   

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The Bell Burnell Observatory: 140 Years of Inspiring Scientific Curiosity

The Bell Burnell Observatory, located at Promega Madison

On a hill at the top of the Promega Madison campus, an old observatory overlooks the city of Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Inside, cutting-edge telescopes are ready to give students and astronomers breathtaking views of the cosmos.

Over the past 140 years, this observatory has served as the first launchpad for storied careers in astronomy. Following a relocation, it gave a passionate community a home for their curiosity. Today, it supports modern research while also welcoming stargazers of all ages. It is now one of the oldest operational observatories in the United States. This is the Bell Burnell Observatory.

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How Social Media Has Been Sciencified

On June 30th, 2010, World Social Media Day was created to bring people together and recognize the impact that social media has on communication globally. What started as a communication method for friends and families is now an integral tool for news, discussion, professional connections, and marketing.

In its short life, social media has redefined how we interact and communicate with one another. People have flocked to social media ever since the beginning of MySpace in 2003. However, it’s no secret that the pandemic accelerated social media usage, acceptance, visibility, and engagement. For many of us, it’s a great way to keep up with family, connect with friends, and, well, be social. But with more conversations happening online than ever, the question is, how does the scientific community fit into this ever-changing virtual world?

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A Vibrant Welcome Back to the Promega Art Showcase

After a long hiatus sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Promega Art Showcase will return next week with a new exhibition titled “A Vibrant Welcome Back!”

Promega Art Showcase

Why is a biotechnology company hosting an art show?

At its core, science is rooted in creativity. Scientists investigate the unknown and search for novel solutions that can improve our quality of life. We believe that observing and creating art reenergizes the imagination, inspiring scientists to look from new perspectives and step outside of the norms.

Promega has hosted quarterly art showcases in the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center since 1996. These showcases are open to the public and have featured the work of local, national and international artists. Past shows have included sculptors, folk artists, photographers, and painters. The December-March show each year features artwork by Promega employees and their family members.

The 2022 Summer Art Showcase features the work of Derrick Buisch, a painter and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, alongside Bettina Madini, a European contemporary artist and fashion designer.

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Volunteering. A Celebration of Service, Community and Connection

Promega Madison employees volunteering to gather trash from roadside ditches.
Promega Madison employees gather trash from roadside ditches.

Volunteering is willingly giving your time and effort without expecting something in return. The month of April is volunteer month, and April 20 is national volunteer recognition day, so we are taking this chance to celebrate volunteers and the work they do that benefits us all. Fundamentally, volunteering is about service to others, but that service can take on many different forms. Promega recognizes the benefits that volunteering brings to our employees as well as our local and global communities. Our Promega in Action program offers Madison-based employees the chance to volunteer their time and talents; applicants get up to 40 hours of extra paid time off to work with the charity or organization of their choice.

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World Art Day: Experiences of Fine Art That Disrupt and Drive Innovation

This metal sculpture adorns the parking garage that serves Promega Kornberg and Feynman buildings on the Madison, WI, USA campus.
This metal sculpture adorns the parking garage that serves Promega Kornberg and Feynman buildings on the Madison, WI, USA campus.

World Art Day embraces art as a means for nurturing creativity and innovation, gaining greater understanding of cultural experiences that are different from our own, and showcasing the contributions of art and artists to sustainable development. It is no accident that World Art Day is celebrated on the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, the celebrated Italian polymath who used art to express emotions, articulate technological concepts well before their time, and understand the workings of human anatomy.

Takaski Mitachi, a moderator of the 2019 global conference panel on Innovation through Art: Leveraging Disruption for a Sustainable Ecosystem, said that “Art can add value so that we could drive innovation beyond logic and data.” In a sense, the fine arts are a way of expressing our observations about the world around us, similar to how an original scientific hypothesis attempts to explain phenomena we observe and want to test. While scientific investigation builds on data and logic to test a hypothesis, art gives us a different way of knowing our world that extends beyond just data and logic. When we explore the arts, we broaden our understanding and interpretation of the world and bring these new perspectives to our scientific and technological explorations. Art is a disruptor of staid ways of thinking about and approaching problems, and like many other disruptors in our world, it can drive innovation.

In an article in the MIT Technology Review, author Sarah Lewis discusses the relationship between the arts and scientific breakthroughs. She notes one study that found a disproportionately high number of Nobel Prize-winning scientists also pursue art, writing or music as serious avocations. When asked why achievement in art and science seem to go together, she replied: “What the arts allow us to do is develop the muscle required for discernment and also strengthen our sense of agency to determine for ourselves how we’re going to tackle a given problem…Ultimately it’s up to the person creating the work to determine what that path is, and that kind of agency is what’s required for innovation.”

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