Pere Jacques Marquette, Marble sculpture at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, US
Pere Jacques Marquette is a marble sculpture depicting an abstracted human figure positioned at the south entrance of UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The work uses a lamination technique combining multiple marble slabs to form the composition.
The sculpture was created between 1977 and 1981 through a federal employment program that supported university-trained artists in producing public artwork for communities. This initiative resulted in several public art pieces throughout Milwaukee during this period.
The work demonstrates how artists in Milwaukee transformed building debris into public sculpture, giving new purpose to discarded materials from the city's past. Visitors passing through the arena entrance encounter this repurposed marble as an everyday public artwork.
The sculpture sits directly at the arena entrance and is easy to view when approaching the building. The piece is accessible at ground level and can be observed from multiple angles as visitors move through the area.
The figure's face was left as an empty oval void rather than detailed carving, created by laminating separate marble pieces together. This unconventional approach makes the work stand out as an experimental sculptural technique.
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