Nearly three decades ago, Truman Lowe’s sculpture “Effigy: Bird Form” made its debut for a yearlong exhibition at the White House. 

The artwork created by Lowe, a University of Wisconsin-Madison alum and former art professor, has now found its permanent home on campus. Located just north of Van Hise Hall and atop Observatory Hill — once home to Native American effigy mounds — the aluminum sculpture reflects Lowe’s Ho-Chunk roots and the loss of Indigenous burial mounds throughout the Midwest. 

UW-Madison will hold a dedication ceremony outside of Van Hise on Friday at 10 a.m. to honor the piece and the renowned artist, who died in March 2019. 

“Truman loved the mounds on campus. He spent a lot of time there,” said Jo Ortel, a former Beloit College art history professor who wrote a book about Lowe’s work. “He would be so happy to see the sculpture there.” 

“Effigy: Bird Form” is 20 feet wide and 12 feet long, and weighs over 900 pounds. Lowe created the artwork with the help of Hooper Custom Metals, a DeForest company, which welded together solid aluminum rods to form the sculpture’s woven lattice design. It resembles a bird about to take flight, hovering just above the ground. 

“He wanted to convey the number of mounds that have been destroyed over time and create a memorial for those that were lost,” Ortel said. “At the same time, the sculpture is an indication that Indigenous people who lived here were really in touch with the land and environment, creating shapes out of the earth.” 

UW-Madison is located on Teejop land, part of the ancestral homeland of the Ho-Chunk people, where the tribe also constructed effigy mounds. Burial mounds are piles of earth typically built in the shape of spiritual symbols or animals. There were at least five mounds located on Observatory Hill, though only two — one shaped as a bird and another as a two-tailed water spirit — are still visible on the hill today. 

Lowe often employed a minimalist or modernist aesthetic in his work that was stripped down to the essentials, Ortel said. He stayed true to the materials he worked with, infusing his Ho-Chunk background by adding nods to the traditional arts and crafts his parents practiced, including ribbonwork, beadwork and basketry. That style gained him notoriety throughout his career. From 2000 to 2008, he served as curator of contemporary art for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. 

In 2022, UW-La Crosse honored the artist with the Truman T. Lowe Center for the Arts. Lowe earned his bachelor’s degree in art education from UW-La Crosse in 1969 and his master of fine arts from UW-Madison in 1973. From 1975 to 1988, he also coordinated the university’s Native American Studies Program.

“Truman was a beloved and inspiring teacher and mentor whose work was deeply rooted in his Ho-Chunk heritage,” said Carla Vigue, UW-Madison’s director of tribal relations, in a statement. “It’s a special occasion to welcome Truman’s artwork back home to UW-Madison.” 

“Effigy: Bird Form” is an example of Lowe’s modern style, using aluminum to symbolize the vitality of the Ho-Chunk people, Ortel said.

“By using that modern material, he was suggesting that this is not just in the past — Native Americans are still here in this region and thriving,” she said. “It’s a memorial to the past, but also recognizes being in the present and looking forward.” 

Hooper Custom Metals contributed around 200 hours to “Effigy,” said Larry Sailing, a Hoopers foreman who helped fabricate the aluminum for Lowe in the late 1990s. Sailing also restored the sculpture for installation at UW-Madison, buffing away minor damage to the metal after years of wear and tear. Prior to its move, “Effigy” had been on display at Western Michigan University for over 20 years. 

“I brought it back to the way he wanted it,” Sailing said. “I was fortunate enough to have some old photos that showed some of the details. He was specific in that he wanted it to be natural and to shine, so it was nice to bring it back to life.” 

Sailing also recalled Lowe directing everyone from the Hooper team to sign their names on the feet that hold the bird up. 

“Most artists don’t have the people that work on their art sign it,” he said. “That tells you what kind of person Truman was. He was proud of what we created, and we were part of that. It’s quite an honor.” 

Ortel additionally recommends visitors get a view of “Effigy” from above. When Lowe created the piece for the White House exhibit, he knew the presidential helicopter pad was nearby. 

“He wanted President Clinton to see it and be reminded of the ‘flyover country,’ the Midwest and Native American environments, every time that he flew off of the White House grounds,” Ortel said. “I encourage people to go up in the Van Hise building and take a look at the sculpture once the leaves fall from the trees to get a sense of how he was thinking about space and how your perception of the sculpture changes as you move.”