Always in need of a caffeine fix, college students have come to treat coffee as their go-to drink, making coffee shops a quintessential part of campus culture. Here at UW-Madison, students frequent State Street cafés and other coffee stops scattered around campus for their favorite caffeinated beverage.
Although for some of us coffee shops mainly serve as a mere stop-off for that morning jolt, they also provide students with a comfortable setting to study, catch up with friends or rest between classes. Because of that, you've probably noticed the decorative work lining the shops' walls while waiting in line to buy a mocha or glancing up from a psychology textbook.
Most cafés also function as art galleries, featuring collections of local artists. The long-standing relationship between art and coffeehouses has proven beneficial for both the shop and the artist.
The appeal of Madison coffee shops —other than the coffee itself, of course—lies in their inviting atmosphere conducive to both work and relaxation. The wall decor, whether it is scenic photographs or abstract drawings, complements the creative environment by giving people something to examine and interpret.
""People cannot only enjoy their favorite beverage, but also visually enjoy their surroundings,"" said Jean Wilson, co-owner of CoffeeBytes, located in East Campus Mall.
For artists, this arrangement offers exposure to a wider variety of people than just the audience that attends art shows.
""I love the idea of showing work at a café. It seems that folks don't stop in galleries enough,"" said photographer Paula White, who has displayed her photographs in CoffeeBytes and Steep & Brew on State Street. ""At a café, they can be inspired while they're working, chatting and drinking coffee.""
White is also the art director for both of these coffee shops, which puts her in charge of deciding what art to feature. Like most things in the world of art, there are no hard-and-fast rules on how work ends up in a café. In choosing art for the shop, White likes to vary the type of media as well as the experience of the artist. Her only principal criterion is that submitted proposals convey a unifying theme. And while this requirement never changes, the means by which she finds artists differs each time.
""I e-mail announcements to the local art schools and have posted on Craigslist. But many times the artists contact me directly by coming into the café,"" she said.
Local Madison artist Rich Matheson found his way onto coffee house walls after getting involved with the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art's Gallery Night. His direct mail out to local businesses reached White, who soon became interested in showing his work. Matheson's unique style—one that combines sheet metal, spray paint and sand paper to create faces and figures with organic shapes and ornamentations—is currently on display in CoffeeBytes.
On a college campus, coffeehouses provide an opportunity for students seeking experience to develop their emerging talents. For Ross Freshwater, a graduate student in the School of Education, that opportunity came when he noticed the blank walls of the recently opened CoffeeBytes. He went into the shop, introduced himself as a photographer to Wilson, and they reached an agreement to exhibit his work. At the time, Freshwater had never done a serious show.
""I was brand new to taking a hobby to the next level,"" he said.
His collection of Madison and Lake Superior photographs hung in CoffeeBytes for over six months, and roughly 30 pieces were sold.
In the Memorial Union, Peet's Coffee & Tea has exclusively student art on display. In the early portion of 2009, Peet's offered up its walls in a competition, calling for submissions of coffee-related 2-D artwork from any undergraduate or graduate student at UW-Madison.
""We had just added the Peet's to the Union so it was brand new, blank walls, perfect opportunity,"" said Robin Schmoldt, art collection manager for the Union. ""We really do pay special attention to supporting student artists here ... so this was just a nice new way to get at that outside of the annual student art show.""
After receiving 34 proposals, a jury of both Union staff and students chose 10 works by six artists including etchings, watercolor paintings and photographs.
Dana LeMoine, who graduated from UW-Madison in December of 2009, jumped at the opportunity to be part of the Union's permanent collection. One of the selected participants, LeMoine was inspired by her love for press pot coffee and thus used intaglio printmaking to create two espresso etchings. She appreciated the unique chance to branch out from the school's art department and reach a broader audience.
""Peet's is a really high-traffic area on campus so its a really great opportunity to get your work seen by people that wouldn't come into a show most undergrads get,"" she said. ""Everybody on campus drinks coffee and everybody goes in the union.""Artists and coffee businesses alike recognize the inspiring nature of artistic work and its fitting presence with the spirit of a coffeehouse. The partnership they've established allows patrons to enjoy a calm but engaging setting, while also promoting the products of creative artists.
