Artist Team David Dahlquist and Matt Niebuhr created Both/And – Tolerance/Innovation to represent what they describe as “a space between knowing and believing.” They describe it as a “signifier of that space between knowing and believing where civility, moderation, critical thinking, and the boundless creative energy inspired from encountering new, different, and contrasting ideas flourishes.”
It was installed on 1 June 2019 as part of the city’s arts program. The sculpture itself rests on an island where the City of Madison connects with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The space of that dynamic confluence creates an eddy of people. Such eddies, claim the artists, are the spaces where transformation can occur.
The sculpture is comprised of a large stone leaning into a vertical stainless-steel sculpture, laser-cut with patterns that allow light to move between the plates. A bright yellow cylinder cuts through the plates in such a way that on the vernal and autumnal equinox sunlight will stream through the sculpture illuminating the path below. LED lighting of the sculpture transforms it as it shifts from playing with light and shadow by day into a glowing beacon at night.
