''Referee'' is a public artwork by American artist Tom Queoff, located on the south entrance of the

U.S. Cellular Arena The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, which is in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The 9 foot laminated

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

sculpture depicts an abstracted referee with legs spread apart and arms raised.

Description

Tom Queoff's ''Referee'' is made of white laminated travertine marble which has been carved into the simplified figure of a referee.
SIRIS. The referee stands with his legs out in an inverted "V" shape, and has both arms raised up and bent at the elbows. His face consists of a negative oval space. There are no inscriptions on the sculpture.

Historical information

''Referee'' was funded through the

Comprehensive Employment and Training Act The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA, ) was a United States federal law enacted by the Congress, and signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973 to train workers and provide them with jobs in the public service. ...

(CETA), a program that operated in Wisconsin from 1977 through 1981. The program's goal was to give university-trained artists the opportunity to create artworks, while finding them employment within their communities. Thirty Wisconsin artists participated in CETA during its short run. Tom Queoff joined the City of Milwaukee's CETA from 1977 to 1978. During this time he shared a studio with another sculptor, and worked on various art projects for the city. One of these projects was ''Referee''. Since CETA could not afford to pay for an artist's materials, Queoff had the marble for the sculpture donated by the Milwaukee Marble Company. The marble was the remainders from the First Wisconsin Bank building's construction. The artist laminated the marble pieces together and then carved the sculpture out of this resulting material. Although the artwork sat in storage for some time, it was eventually placed on the south entrance of UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee.Buck, Diane M. and Virginia A. Palmer (1995). ''Outdoor Sculpture in Milwaukee: A Cultural and Historical Guidebook'', p. 62-63. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison

Artist

Tom Queoff was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He received a BFA from the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

in 1975, and an MFA from the same school in 1977. Queoff established the Thomas Queoff Studio and Gallery in 1978. In 1985 he was introduced to snow carving, an activity he excelled at. The sculptor has taught at

Cardinal Stritch University , mottoeng = To value the better things , established = 1937 ( years ago) , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi (Roman Catholic) , endowment ...

and received various awards at snow competitions, including the Finland International Snow Sculpting Championship in 1987 and 1988. Queoff was a member of the 2002 US Olympic snow sculpting team and was named a snow sculpting US National Champion. His studio is currently located in the

Historic Third Ward, Milwaukee The Historic Third Ward is a historic warehouse district located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This Milwaukee neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Third Ward is home to over 450 businesses and maintai ...

Tom Queoff created the Miller Valley Veterans Monument, which was unveiled on November 11, 2010, at the

MillerCoors MillerCoors was a beer brewing company in the United States. MillerCoors was formed in 2008 as a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors to combine their brewing, marketing and sales operations in the United States. The company was acqui ...

Brewery. The sculpture, an American bald eagle, is meant to honor the Miller-Coors employees killed in military action.
JS Online. He also created the sculpture ''United We Stand'' in front of

Froedtert Hospital Froedtert Hospital , located in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, is a teaching hospital and a Level I adult trauma center, one of two such facilities in Wisconsin. Froedtert is the primary teaching affiliate of the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), where ...

References

{{MilwaukeePublicArt Outdoor sculptures in Milwaukee 1978 sculptures Marble sculptures in Wisconsin 1978 establishments in Wisconsin

Description

Historical information

Artist

See also

References