" Inside the Fence",
a four year photography project to interpret and document the
Badger Army Ammunition
Plant, a 7,354 acre ordinance plant in rural Sauk County, Wisconsin,
was produced to help current and future generations understand
the history and significance of BAAP in local and national
contexts.
The plant was constructed in 1942 to
produce propellant for WWII and was also active for the conflicts
in Korea and Vietnam. Over 12,000 people worked at the plant
during its construction, and over 30,000 worked there during
its 58 year history. The construction and operation of the
plant had profound socio-economic effects on the Sauk County
area.
The project culminated
in an exhibit of over 70 photographs by eight photographers,
which premiered in March 2002 during Madison's Photo Fest,
and later in the year reopened at the Wisconsin Historical
Society Museum on the Capital Square. Photographs examined
BAAP infrastructure, landscapes, demolition, farmstead ruins,
and portraits of former workers and displaced residents.
Zane Williams was
one of the participating photographers and co-directed the
project. (See "The
Art of the Badger Army Plant": Capitol Times, 7/24/2002).
For further articles, see "Of People and Prairie", "Fall
2000," and "Dreaming of Badger: The Inside Story",
Summer 2002 both fromThe Wisconsin Academy Review.