“SMART” Banner by Dennis Nechvatal in Madison, Wisconsin in 1983. (Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, ID #2011.63.2)
In the Wisconsin Historical Society collection, there’s a dark, surreal black and red banner. It’s painted with a chaotic collection of eyes and mouths seemingly calling out to the bold word above them: SMART. This banner served as a backdrop in the legendary Smart Studios in Madison beginning in the early 1980s. It’s a space that recorded iconic Wisconsin bands, like Killdozer and Die Kreuzen, and eventually rock n’ roll legends like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins. happy birthday neon sign
Heewone Lim brings us the story of this unique piece of art that once hung in Smart Studios. The “SMART” banner is part of the Wisconsin 101 project, which tells the history of the state through objects.
The story of the “SMART” banner begins with Butch Vig and Steve Marker, two friends and musicians from UW–Madison. The duo opened Smart Studios in 1983 on the east side of Madison. Their recordings hold a legendary space in punk, rock and grunge music history.
Neka Allen currently owns the building that once housed Smart Studios at 1254 East Washington Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin. She said that the building holds over two decades of local and national music history.
View from across intersection towards Smart Studios at the corner of Baldwin Street and East Washington Avenue. (Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society)
“Initially they opened in 1983 across the street in the Gisholt building. Then in ’87, they moved here and operated here through 2010,” said Allen. “So over 23 years, they were in this building.”
Smart Studios first location in the Grisholt building was down the hall from visual artist Dennis Nechvatal’s studio. In the early days, producers and engineers worked with mostly Wisconsin and regional bands. The first year they were open, Lancaster, Wisconsin native Nechvatal created the “SMART” banner for his new neighbors.
“We were in communication a lot … just down the halls and drinking beer and misbehaving. So we got to be quite friendly and still are,” said Nechvatal. “(The banner) progressively became what it was, you know? I didn’t intentionally put it out there to be a banner or signature statement for the situation. It all came into play.”
When Vig and Marker moved Smart Studios to its second location on East Washington, the banner came with.
“That’s when Smart started to get very serious. That’s when the bigger bands and everybody started showing up,” said Nechvatal.
Bands like Smashing Pumpkins, L7 , Death Cab for Cutie and … Nirvana. Nirvana’s groundbreaking and influential 1991 album, “Nevermind” was produced by Vig. The album’s sixth track, “Polly,” was recorded at Smart Studios.
Vig and Marker would eventually record their own electronic rock band, Garbage, at Smart Studios with bandmates Shirley Manson and Duke Erickson. The band’s 1995 self-titled debut album “Garbage,” 1998’s Grammy-nominated “Version 2.0,” 2001’s “Beautiful Garbage,” and 2005’s “Bleed Like Me” were all recorded primarily at Smart Studios.
The “SMART” banner served as a backdrop to these important moments in music history. And, the banner stands out from Nechvatal’s other artworks. His pieces heavily feature nature, but he still used familiar elements, such as surrealism and facial features.
“(The banner) is sort of blending the modern and the primitive together. Modern sort of seems to be out there, but there’s always tomorrow, so it changes,” said Nechvatal. “So the eyes and the primitive, it’s a motif in all my work.”
Artist Dennis Nechvatal paints in his Madison, Wisconsin studio in summer 2024. (Heewone Lim/WPR)
The banner represents a time in Nechvatal’s life as a young up-and-coming artist. In fact, the materials used to make the banner are unexpected: acrylic paint and secondhand bedsheets.
“Below Smart Studios and my studio was like a Goodwill or free clothing center,” said Nechvatal. “I always had an abundance of discarded sheets and they were always cleaned up and stuff like that. I just stapled that one sheet to the wall and gave it hell.”
Nechvatal said inspiration for the banner came from the studio’s alternative vibe.
“I like the idea that the name of the recording studio was Smart. I thought that was a really interesting name to put out there in terms of the media, you know? Smart Studios. It’s got, really, a nice tag to it.”
But what really makes the “SMART” banner unique is the pure, unbridled creativity that went into it.
“Just give it a shot, you know? Try it. I still do that, but not with the comfort that I used to. Because now, I gotta sell a painting, you know?” said Nechvatal laughing.
Details of the “SMART” banner by Dennis Nechvatal. (Photo by Kaylee Bittner)
Nechvatal said that Smart Studios and his own art career took off around the same time.
“Smart Studios was just part of the growth. We were all sort of starting together. I was starting to sell paintings in Chicago and other places and bigger cities like that. The whole movement sort of started and just sort of kept going,” said Nechvatal. “All of a sudden, after a certain period of time, Nirvana was born there, and Smashing Pumpkins recorded there, Soul Asylum. All these, new age bands were showing up.”
But he hasn’t forgotten the humble beginnings of the now historic studios.
“Well, it came out of the basement, too, you know what I mean? It can come out of anywhere,” said Nechvatal. “It doesn’t have to be out of the big city. A situation like that can just … once it germinates, it can be nurtured. All of a sudden you’ve got something brand new.”
Dennis Nechvatal painting in 2014. (Photo by Joseph Blough, Courtesy of Abel Contemporary Gallery)
These days, Butch Vig is still producing music. He’s also still touring the world and recording albums with Garbage and their original lineup: Smart Studios co-founder Marker, Manson and Erickson.
Smart Studios closed in 2010, but the “SMART” banner is part of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s collection.
And Nechvatal still paints from a studio in Madison. His work has been on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Chazen Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. He’s married to fellow Wisconsin artist, Mary Bero.
In 2024, the Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee hosted an exhibit of his work. From November 8- December 31, 2024, the Abel Contemporary Gallery in Stoughton, Wisconsin will host the exhibit “Dennis Nechvatal: Presence.” According to the gallery, Nechvatal’s “idiosyncratic visions focus on botanical imagery through still lifes and landscapes, often using abstracted figures or masks as stand-ins for the presence of humans in these phantasmagorical spaces.”
A painting by Dennis Nechvatal that will be part of an exhibit at Abel Contemporary Gallery in Stoughton, Wisconsin. (Courtesy of Abel Contemporary Gallery)
Afghan designer weaves cultural heritage into Wisconsin fashion scene
‘Make art out of whatever,’ Creativity takes many forms at Grandview
At Waxxy Poodle, vinyl records spin back to life
Get your favorite Wisconsin Life stories, meet the crew, and go behind the scenes.
Love Wisconsin? You’ll love Wisconsin Life, a place for engaging stories of the people that make Wisconsin feel like home. Produced by Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin.
Funding for Wisconsin Life Provided By:
bunting flag © Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin, services of the Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.