FINDING IT: "Synchros" is located in the student study lounge on the main floor of the Mechanical Engineering Building.

Just like the students who study and relax beneath them, Marko Spalatin’s twin acrylic-murals exude exuberance, action, motion. Like M.C. Escher’s work, Spalatin’s kaleidoscopic geometrics emphasize the relationships between planes, using light to create an illusion of dimension. Although his lines are precise, Spalatin gleans inspiration from nature: a school of fish, moonlight glittering on a body of water, bright sun lighting summer leaves, a shining star. But in an artist’s statement, the UW-Madison alumnus writes, “The viewer’s task is not to figure out where a painting comes from, but to experience what it is.”

Helen Whitman-Obert, widow of esteemed Mechanical Engineering Professor Edward Obert, commissioned “Synchros” to complement interior renovations the professor’s legacy funded. At the murals’ dedication, she said Spalatin’s work attracted her because of its “engineering” style. “Exacting and detailed—like Ed was,” she said.

Edward Obert was chairman of the mechanical engineering department from 1963 through 1967 and died in 1993 at age 83. Colleagues and friends remember him as a champion of undergraduate education and mentor to many students. His bequest also included funds for a scholarship, magazine and newspaper subscriptions, honorary society program fees, student tutoring programs and local and regional student functions.

Donated by Helen Whitman-Obert.
Installed in spring 1998.

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