Instead of tulips, this spring the campus has been covered in public works of art. Public works of art add an exciting new dimension to our University, they promote thought in creative ways and add aesthetic value to our campus. This move toward creating public artworks on campus is one that we fully support and would like to see continue, grow and flourish.

Public art first came into the limelight this fall when junior Zoe Hillenmeyer installed her “Child’s Play” piece for a day in Bowles Plaza, covering the entire area with bubble wrap. This display was made possible through the installation fellowship, a new Art School Council initiative funded jointly by them and by Student Union. Organizers intend to award this fellowship to two students every semester, giving them $750 to create art.

Diana Barbosa, a dual-degree senior, initially proposed the fellowship idea because she felt that she did not know much about her peers’ work and wanted to provide them with a venue on main campus to display their art.

We believe that the fellowship has been an overall success. Not only have students played with bubble wrap, but they spent a week lounging on Hillenmeyer’s bed outside the library. Barbosa is also currently installing and displaying her own fellowship work outside of Mallinckrodt and the library in the form of robotic cardinals in trees (she removed herself from the organizing committee so that she could be a candidate).

Others in the art school have been swept into this movement as well. Senior Colin Christy displayed two pieces of his Bachelor of Fine Arts sculpture thesis, an elongated grill and swing, on main campus at the same time as Hillenmeyer’s bed. Fellow senior Ilyse Magy also widely advertised her senior thesis, the collective nap at the Arch, on main campus.

All of these works share one common goal-to bring the work out of the studios on the southeast part of campus to more central locations so that everyone can see the beautiful and interesting work occurring in the art studios.

Works like Magy’s involve students in the production of art, a process that both teaches them about the specific process and goals of the particular work of art and engages them with the art school. Because the majority of students from other schools do not take art classes, public works give other students a unique chance to appreciate the work done by students in the art school.

Public art has also manifested itself in several nontraditional ways on campus this year. Events with political messages have become works of art, such as the tombstones for fallen soldiers in Iraq and the SustainabiliTree currently on display outside of the Women’s Building. Visual representations of pressing issues within our society such as these add power to these issues as concrete images are burned into our minds.

Even events that are not intended to be art, such as the EnWeek duct tape sculptures, add to this culture. They show creativity and dedication within the student body while spicing up the campus.

In many ways, public art has enriched the Wash. U. experience this spring. By encouraging deeper thinking about societal problems in nontraditional ways and making the walk through campus more interesting, public art has contributed positively to Wash. U. We can only hope to see these outreach efforts continue to add richness to our campus and make it a more unique place.

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Forum. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.