Just a day after its setup, a living room tucked into a corridor outside of the Humanities building has attracted the attention of multiple passersby on University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus, including freshmen Olivia Gallenberger and Selia Salzsieder.
“The Living Room Part 2–Human Living Room,” which comes after a similar installation put up on Lake Mendota by UW-Madison seniors Andrea Leibrandt, Chelsi Zollner and Zach Pereles earlier this year, provided the girls a centralized spot to relax and enjoy the sun Monday afternoon.
Gallenberger and Salzsieder, whose interest was piqued upon spotting the installation on their way out of class, said that while they did not know what to make of the “living room” at first, it is a welcome change to Humanities’ cement walls and “cold” feel.
“It just gives a sense of comfort and community, in a way,” Gallenberger said. “Anyone is welcome, everyone is welcome.”
It is precisely this sort of reaction Leibrandt said she hoped for when planning the piece.
“We really wanted to challenge viewers’ notions of the installation, how would they interact with it,” Leibrandt said, referring to the piece as “guerilla art.” “Having the living room be a comfortable, nostalgic place that we all would feel comfortable in once we accept crossing the boundaries of art.”
Inspired by a mural hanging above the installation, the living room depicts a party scene, complete with balloons and hanging pennants, an image which Leibrandt said she hopes conjures familiar memories for its spectators.
“We really wanted to play up the nostalgia that a living room creates for a lot of people,” she said. “The modern, classic Midwestern living room is familiar to all of us, so we were trying to reenact this scene that maybe we have all experienced at one point.”
Leibrandt added she and her fellow collaborators may consider seeking outside funding for future endeavors, but the project currently remains the personal undertaking of its creators, one which they hope many students will be exposed to.
“Hopefully it can be like a little sanctuary for some students to take a break, sit down, collect themselves, then go back out to class,” she said.
Click here for more information on the first installation, "Lake Living Room."
