Mural for Arts Week a chance for students to leave their legacy
A mural unveiled Tuesday in the University Reserve Building gave five arts students an opportunity to leave their legacy in the Caine College of the Arts.
A small crowd gathered near the college’s advising office and gave a drumroll as Craig Jessop, dean of the Caine College of the Arts, unveiled the mural.
The painting, which took more than 80 hours to complete, is a visual conglomeration of instruments, pottery, a theatre stage and a camera on a tripod, among other things. There are also famous and inspirational quotes around the edges of the mural.
Jessop said the theme of arts week is graffiti, so that is what the painters had in mind while they were designing the piece. He said the design is meant to represent all of the departments in the college – art and design, theatre and music.
“The idea of the art college itself is so chaotic and full of so many influences we thought the wall should reflect that a little bit,” said Stephanie Southwick, a senior majoring in art education and one of the collaborators on the mural. “We tried to the best of our abilities to include each college and each emphasis on there. So there’s a little bit of printmaking, a little bit of drawing and painting, a little bit of theatre, a little bit of music, some photography, some sculpture and little 3-D.”
Southwick said her classmate, Paul Allen, a senior majoring in art education, was the heart and soul of the project. She said he is inspired by street art and the idea of layering.
“The mural is mostly Aggie blue, which was the one requirement from the advising office,” said Allen, committee chair and lead designer for the mural. “The rest of the color pallette is toned down so there could be cohesiveness.”
Jill Hoffmann-Cox, head of academic advising for the Caine College of the Arts, said the mural came about because they wanted students to feel more invited into the space.
“(Hoffmann-Cox) had the inspiration, imagination, creativity and the spunk to take this ugly, old wall and turn it into something that is fun and stimulating,” Jessop said.
The artists used chalk to lay out the painting and acrylic paints to finish the rest, Hoffmann-Cox said. Funding for the project came from the advising office.
Southwick said she and the other artists began during finals week and worked in two-to-four-hour increments over a period of a couple of weeks.
“We all took time working in different parts so the mural wouldn’t look divided,” said Kevin Goodrich, a senior majoring in drawing and painting.
Hoffmann-Cox said the students were excited about the project.
“They spent a lot of hours and really have enjoyed the project a lot,” Hoffmann-Cox said. “This will be their legacy that they leave.”
– morgan.pratt.robinson@gmail.com