Brave Hearts Theatre

(Madison, Wisconsin)

Brave Hearts was a thriving storefront theater on Madison's east side. Home to several local community theaters, Brave Hearts also was a favorite place to present independent productions as well. It, and Tom Peterson, are sorely missed.

One for all, and all for art
Creative souls need company in struggle

Arts incubator spaces can provide immeasurable practical and psychological support, especially for visual artists.

Even when they exhibit, visual artists are the most solitary of artists, largely unseen by the public. An opening reception can be deceptively supportive. After the wine, cheese and cheer are gone, community response may be limited to an occasional sale of an artwork, or a critical review.

Sometimes group support isn't enough. Former members of the Union Transfer artists collective, who were evicted in 1997 to make way for luxury condos, still live with a sense of helplessness over the fate of two group members, the most vulnerable.

Sculptor Richard Martin, who had gained some critical acclaim, seemed troubled by a lack of support and recognition. He hanged himself in his garage on Christmas Eve of 1995.

A fellow sculptor, Dan "Sabu'' Hubert, killed himself a few years later, following the eviction and several years of traveling between the West Coast and Madison.

Another ousted Union Transfer artist, Simon Sparrow, was well known locally as an "outsider'' artist. He died in September, at age 85, in a nursing home.

"Lack of support makes it a really tough field to be in, and I'm not sure how supportive Madison is,'' says sculptor Ira Slatter, a former Union Transfer artist.

"This city wants to be world-class, which is what Overture is about. But this city is known for its ability to support different groups. Artists have to come out of the woodwork on this issue. It's a two-way street. If we see the encouragement from an arts agency or a public entity, then we have more of a chance.''

Slatter now works in a $300-a-month ceramics studio on Regent Street, which he says is a good arrangement, but the rent strains his finances. He also teaches art part time at Deerfield Middle School.

Bruce Crownover may be one of the more fortunate Union Transfer refugees. He now has a work space in the Studio Paran complex on Winnebago Street, and has a day job at Tandem Press, the fine art printmaking studio affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's graduate art program.

"At Studio Paran, people keep to themselves more than they did at Union Transfer, which was more social,'' Crownover says. "These are more established professional artists and faculty members.

"But I think there definitely remains a need for studio spaces. There are a lot of students at Tandem, and those who stay in town are scrambling to find a place.''

However, Crownover says, many art students leave town because they've "had it'' with the art department, which provides what they consider poor studio facilities for graduate students.

And local rental spaces can be problematic. Crownover says he once applied at the Madison Enterprise Center, but was put off by the process.

"They were selecting based on your slides and artwork and resume. I had never encountered that before.

"I think it's not the business of renters to judge what you are doing artistically. Being a troublemaker is another thing.''

Crownover said another landlord with "hole in the wall'' spaces just off the Capitol Square "didn't seem to understand what it meant to paint, and what an artist needs, a place just to make art.''

A local incubator space geared to performing artists also has a tragic recent history. Brave Hearts Theatre helped nurture and sustain a number of small theater, dance and interdisciplinary groups -- some of which moved on to the Bartell Theatre, including Mercury Players, Strollers and First Banana Productions.

Some people called Brave Hearts quixotic. Artistic director Tom Peterson rarely charged arts groups for use of the minimally subsidized space. Rising rents forced Brave Hearts out of its longtime Atwood Avenue location and into a nomadic existence for several years.

Then Peterson, a veteran actor and director, died last year from a brain tumor that had been in remission for years.

Since Brave Hearts closed, Madison has had nothing resembling a performing arts incubator space.

"Artist suicides, like Richard and Dan, indicate the nature of the struggle at the most extreme end of the spectrum,'' Slatter says. "It shows what can happen. It's not the fault of anyone in particular. It shows that art can be valued, if for no other reason than the beauty of the struggle. Artists throughout history had to devote their life to that struggle.

"That's the scenario most people think of -- the starving artist -- and that's the way it's always been and will be. That's not a good myth to reinforce.''