The Human Quintessence Unveiled

A segment of the final mural installation

First off, great job to all of the artists who truly worked hard and pushed themselves to put together this AMAZING piece that will remain with the University of Michigan for years to come. It looks stunning in its final presentation installed on the walls of Palmer Commons. I knew it was going to turn out sensational, but from looking only at separate panels one at a time laying out on the studio floor, it was probably near impossible to envision the visual impact it would actually have once completed.

Second off, sorry for putting up this info kind of late. I've been pretty busy this semester and unfortunately haven't been able to schedule in my weekly studio drop-ins that I looked forward to last semester. So this semester, I don't have the same weekly hour to dedicate my undivided attention to Art in Public Spaces blogging time. (Insert genuinely sad face here). 

It was a neat experience to stop in every Friday and see the student's work progressing through time. I didn't actually contribute to the painting of the mural, but I still felt included in the process since I was able to record images and talk to the student's while their creative fuels were at work. I saw the many frustrations the artists experienced first hand (like Simi trying to remake a particular shade of purple) as well as their successes and triumphs (like Tashina finally laying down all the paint and details of the massive baby face she painted). 

If you would like to relive some of the experiences the students have had while venturing on the mural journey, be sure to check out the videos below put together by Steve Coffey, Megan O'Neil, Mandira Banerjee, and Maryanne George:

Some Lovely Videos Capturing the Raw Experiences and Reflections of the Whole Collective Process:

And Just a Few More Visuals...

The talented students responsible for the massive art work

The official plaque hanging up alongside the mural

And Last But Not Least...

The Cake

(I won't ever forget such a unique cake, perfect for celebrating the installation of such a unique mural.)

If you weren't able to attend the unveiling, we missed you there! There was a great turn out. Be sure to drop by Palmer Commons sometime soon to see the final piece up close!

-dora

The Unveiling!

Please come to the official unveiling of the new Lloyd Hall Scholars Program mural, Language: The Quintessence, from 7-8pm on Wed., January 25th, in the auditorium on the 4th floor of Palmer Commons.  The student artists will share their experiences creating the mural. Refreshments and ribbon cutting ceremony to follow!

(For directions to Palmer Commons please go to http://palmercommons.umich.edu/directions/)

This mural was created with generous support from the University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate and Graduate Education, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; Lloyd Hall Scholars Program; Office of the Provost for Academic Affairs, Palmer Commons; and Arts at Michigan.

Mural Installed!

After four full days of painstaking work, the entire 78 feet of mural is finally installed! Special thanks to Charles Repholz from C and P painting for bringing John MacKenzie on board to oversee the installation of this artwork. With able help from Dave Saaristo, John worked miracles with patience and humor throughout the arduous process of hanging over 1200 feet of this spectacularly painted muslin.

Due to the weight of the large sections of mural, many smaller pieces had to be cut and pieced together. It made it easier to handle on the one hand, yet created more difficulties on the other. Once wet with glue the muslin wanted to shrink and stretch simultaneously, and unpredictably, making it a real challenge to put it up into the correct position on the wall.  However, I am pleased to report that the results of John and Dave's hard work has resulted in a true pleasure to behold.

I would post pictures of the finished mural, but photos don't do it justice--plus I don't want to spoil the surprise my students will enjoy when they see if for the first time in person.

--Mark

exciting!

We're on day two of installing the mural. It has been a challenging pocess as we've had to cut it up into more manageable  puzzle pieces. The installers, John and Dave are doing a great job putting it all back together 20 feet up in the air. If al goes well it will be completely installed by the end of the day tomorrow!

Silver Lining

Meryl Waldo lends a hand!

Since students weren't available to come put the finishing touches on the final panel of the mural on Friday, my able student assistant, Meryl Waldo, came to the rescue. Meryl (a talented senior theater major getting her BFA in costume design) and I had a grand day together chatting, laughing, eating and finding more and more details that needed attention, until finally we threw down our brushes and declared the mural truly finished this time. This was the silver lining for having to create an emergency panel; getting to spend some quality time with Meryl, and sneaking a chance to put a little paint on the mural myself. 

My students will be examining this last panel closely, no doubt, to see how badly we messed it up--(well that's what happens when you don't show up:-) By Sunday, all 78+ feet of the mural will be rolled up for transporting over to Palmer Commons for the installation process starting Monday morning. And Meryl and I will start painting another 16 X 40 foot backdrop on Sunday for an upcoming production of "Once Upon a Mattress"...happily, the creative opportunities just keep coming!

--Mark

Last minute design challenge!!

I have to thank a number of my students who came back to the studio during the past two days (just when they thought this ridiculous class was all over!) to help design and paint another 5 by 16 foot section of mural.  The size of this little “addition” would normally constitute a very large painting all by itself. Still, we need it badly to make sure the mural fits perfectly into the space where it's scheduled to be installed next Monday. (The installers believe it will take about 3-4 days to complete the complicated task of fitting together the 5 sections of paintings that will cover almost 1200 square feet of wall space.) Once completed the mural will go from one end of the 4^th floor Palmer Commons lobby to the other, with cutouts for doorways, exit signs, and elevators.

The elevators are what caused the last minute design challenge. Once the mural was half finished we realized that some really special parts of the mural were going to be lost when we had to cut around the elevators. So, we shifted the mural to the right about four feet to avoid this problem—(which meant we had to cut out about four feet of our design on the opposite side as well--prior to painting).  I knew that this move was going to make us about four to five feet short on the opposite end--but I was hoping that it would be ok if we came up a bit short on one wall. However, I was wrong. The furthest section to the left now had some unfortunate real estate to deal with.  A particularly beautiful passage would have to now navigate around a utilities chase which would have rendered the faces in that section of the mural unmercifully deformed. 

Since my students had their last painting class already, and were now in the midst of studying for finals and writing papers, I really felt terrible having to ask those who could, to return to redesign and paint another 60 to 80 square feet of mural. But return they did.

My heartfelt gratitude goes out to Jesus, Simi, Anna, Daniela, Zach and Tashina for making great sacrifices, returning to the scene of the crime, and producing a final fantastic section of the mural.  These students really went beyond the call of duty to help ensure that this mural, newly enlarged, is going to be the very best ever!  My entire class has proven to be a very, very special group of students which has made this entire experience extremely gratifying for me as you can well imagine.

Please do come to our mural unveiling scheduled for Wednesday, January 25^th, 2012, on the fourth floor of Palmer Commons. I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.

It's still not over!

I'm not sure how to feel about this.
It was a bittersweet ending when we thought we finished the mural.
But now we found out we are still missing a section...
So now we can eliminate the bitter taste :3
And
Somehow I find this to be hilarious...but then again, it was a pretty small section (Only 60 square feet)
Oh, what a twist of events. We should be a reality show or something....

~Jesus (planning on waking up in 5 hours... ;____; )

We Started Together and Finished Together

I was the last person to stop painting the mural, finishing the old-school type writer (above). While everyone cleaned up, I rushed to finally be done. It was a long successful day and when I put the last number on one of the keys, I was so overwhelmed with happiness. It was complete. Well, except for a few minor things here and there. All I could think was it's beautiful.

But here I am now, one of the last people to write on this blog! I realized with this class, everything we do is a team effort. It wasn't just a one-person thing, we started together and finished together.

What I took away from this incredible experience was finding that art is what I what to do with my life. I've always known, but it wasn't really an option in a small town in the Upper Peninsula. When people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I replied, "I know what I don't want to be." I could never be a doctor, mathematician, or lawyer. Art always allowed me to do something different, something exciting and new. This class allowed me to create the tools I need to be able to do what I love. I can see the world around me so differently now. Everything seems more interesting and beautiful in it's own way. This class also taught me to push myself, and that everyday might not be easy. While painting the six-foot baby head I wanted to quit! I was so frustrated. The colors weren't blending the way I wanted them to and I felt like I was repainting everything over and over. It scared me that it wasn't going to turn out, but five hours later it was breath taking. It was worth everything. I know the work I have done on the mural will definitely help my portfolio when applying in February to the School of Art and Design here at the University of Michigan. I'm excited for everything now, and I can thank the friends who were there putting their time and love in too.

- Tashina Emery

Random thoughts about my Public Art experience

Art in Public Spaces, for me, was definitely a much needed class. This class taught me so much about cooperation, communication, and determination all while having a little fun. Scratch that, a lot of fun! The ability to create something, especially art, is a big accomplishment. To me, art is personal. Most of the art we see is made by an individual mind with an individual body doing all of the work. The fact that we collaborated and made such a unique beautiful piece just goes to show how amazing team work can be. In my mind, a single person could not have such an extravagant complicated piece. It takes different personalities, interests and talents to make something like this. I think that's a message that everyone needs to realize. Everything isn't meant to be done individually. Even art. You learn from working with others. I think what's important about this version of Mark's class is that we worked together. If I had been in one of the previous classes and made something individually, I doubt I would have enjoyed the class as much or have been so proud of the outcome.

I love that this class has taught me so many skills that can be related to other aspects of my life. At first, I just thought this class was a way for me to relax while still getting credits. BOY, WAS I WRONG! This class was far from relaxing. It was hard. We had to get covered in paint, do things when we didn't quite understand why we were even doing them, and confront our doubts about our own talent as well as the possibility of not getting it all finished, all while working with people we hardly knew. All that work is what made us a family.
 One thing I really liked about this class was that no matter how bad I thought I did, someone was always there to encourage me or say how nice it was. I guess that's the thing about art, there is no wrong answer. Who's to say my work or my interpretation is wrong? This class wasn't like most others here at the University. With this class, you actually got to be a part of something big, literally. I'm part of a small group that leaves a major mark on this campus. That's incredible.

This class also allowed me to see the importance of art. Art had always been important to me, but without this class, I would have probably never realized the impact it has on people and how important it really is. I want everyone to be able to experience what I did. The sense of accomplishment you get when finishing a piece of art work is absolutely unreal. It's nothing like getting an A on a calculus test. You put your heart as well as your mind into something, interpret it, and then actually create it!

Eventually, I will throw all of my paint covered clothes out. The paint on my nails and skin will wash away, but I will always have that mural, that beautiful piece of art that a bunch of teenagers with little to no experience put together for the world to see. THAT, and the memories, will stay with me forever <3 

Destiny (:

Art and Music

I am sitting at my computer and constantly deleting each thought that enters my "reflection letter." I initially  expected this to be  an easy way to vocalize my thoughts about my experience in this class. What I am now realizing, is that this all-encompassing experience is nearly impossible to explain on a blank email page. Coming into this class we expected to paint and make a mural, but what we extracted is the true meaning of art. Not the evidence which lays upon our remarkable mural but the process, the conversations, and  the experience which is real, raw and ART.

Playing the viola has always allowed me to delve into my unconscious and express my deepest feelings without a need for words. I thought that music was the only thing that would ever enable such a feeling of catharsis and alleviation from a sometimes very materialistic and mundane surrounding. When this journey in art began, technical work was the main focus. This seemed solely mechanical and tedious, but once we started working on the mural itself, I found  my peers and I discussing the mural more often then not. From the first time I put my brush on the white canvas (which is now our mural) I lost a sense of time and external stress. Fast forward to yesterday, and my five hours in art class seemed like not nearly enough time. I felt that therapeutic sense of catharsis, the most authentic sense of meaning, and now I even feel my own sense of identity reflected within the product of our art.  Art is my language and language is the quintessence.

Daniela Lapciuc

What a bittersweet kind of day...

So it is December 10th, and the day I thought was miles away has already come and gone. In the last 10 hours, our mostly-white and empty third segment of the mural has come to life in a rather remarkable way. It would be really easy to say that this process was a simple art class which I seemed to glide through with no problem, but I would be lying. With more emotion than I would like to admit, I feel as if I can confidently say "I am an artist." I was hesitant for a while, thinking I was undeserving of such a title, but after looking down from the staircase tonight and seeing what I have created, what WE have created, I can no longer doubt myself. This process has been nothing short of a challenge. With the encouraging voice of Mark in my ear, I had to reconstruct my view of art. I had to get rid of my 'realistic' eye and see the lines and the shades that I too often overlooked. I had to lose my notion that painting with a small brush was always okay. Its not! In fact, painting huge expanses of canvas is not only so refreshing, but it is liberating. With all the chaos of my freshman Fall at Michigan, I knew that twice a week, I had control over something, something so beautiful, something so powerful.

Yesterday WE finished OUR masterpiece. As the eleven of us, (twelve including good old Mark) cumulatively left our mark on the University of Michigan for a long time to come and it is an accomplishment I will smile about for a while. We have devoted our time and our attention to something much bigger than us, something that has molded us in more ways than one. Our individual artistic journeys slowly merged into one as we learned of each others'  strengths and weaknesses. We learned to work together as a team, producing brilliant art for all to see. We learned to respect each others' space even if we wanted to be a part of it. This mural has brought some of the most unique people together into one studio and I have met friends I will have for a lifetime. But most importantly, I have met a teacher that has truly inspired me. Mark Tucker, thank you for telling me I am not always right. Thank you for pushing through my barriers, thank you for opening my eyes to a whole new world.

And so it is over. Oh, how I will miss it.

Anna J. Berger

Heart & Soul

Well, we did it. I almost can't believe it, but WE DID IT. Honestly, I'm still on a bit of high from it all. I felt like a little kid, so excited and happy that I couldn't wipe that silly grin off my face if I tried. Seven and a half hours in the studio and our class culminates with a final brush stroke on the canvas.

 During this rather long time at the studio, we took a pizza break and talked about what this class has been and what the mural means to us. Something Mark said stuck with me, and I totally agree with him. He said you can tell by looking at the mural that the artists put their hearts and souls into its creation, that you can tell that it wasn't a mere recreation of randomly found images, but purposefully chosen ones that were painted with creativity stemming from both our minds and hearts. I totally believe in this statement. I truly do. I feel like we really worked together and had a passion for what we were doing, and that passion shone through in our work.

I'm going to miss this class, it has taught me so much. I've met new people that I've enjoyed getting to know. I've learned that there is more than one way to do things well, even if I thought my way was best. I've found that you can do anything you set your mind to. And most of all, I've come to realize that the sum really is greater than its parts. Less and less often I see the individual images that each of us painted, and more and more I see how they fit together like one beautiful puzzle-- so much more glorious together than they would ever be on their own.

Thanks to Mark for being such a great teacher and for trying so hard to defeat my inner critic.  It's been a blast and I won't forget it.

~ Simi

How Can Art Help an Engineering Student?

I believe in order accomplish any task, one must first have a plan that they are confident will work. In congruency with my study of engineering, this "Mural-Making-Class" has challenged me to approach problems with the ideology that problems must be solved and cannot be put-off till later.
Aside from developing into a more tenacious problem solver and critical thinker, this class has truly helped me to relate to others.  Before taking on this project, It was safe to say that I did not understand visual art.  Not that I now "understand" art (after painting for only a couple months), but rather, I better understand why others appreciate visual art so much.  I think it is important for a member of a community to strive to have some understanding of other members of that community.  This class has helped me to do this.

I would like to thank Mark Tucker for the artistic skills he has taught me and for the lessons which "can't be taught in school".

~Tim Newberger

And It Lived Happily Ever After

The mural is finished? The mural is finished. The mural is finished! (I Don't know why saying that out loud makes me think of Paul Revere's Midnight Ride).

But seriously, it has finally been completed! After everything we all have been through for this thing, it is finally completed!  I've poured sweat and blood unto this mural!  I've poured my sweat priming the canvas!  And I've poured blood on the last mural when I cut myself with a stapler.  So I have legit poured sweat and blood into this mural, not in a figurative manner.  I have yet to shed a tear on the mural, but I do plan on it once I'm all alone.   But as of right now, at least I can say this mural is somewhat part of me if not completely part of me.

Ahh, this course has been such a great adventure.  I remember right from the beginning when Mark asked us to draw a self-portrait of ourselves.  I forgot to do it, so on the ride here I scrambled to finish it.  It was a rather pathetic portrait and I seriously comtemplated just not turning it in since it was so bad. But I did turn it in... and it did seem like the worst... however, it did create some laughs.  :D  Then, we had our art exercices which were such a pain in the ***.  But when we finished, it was truly the greatest feeling ever.  Like that feeling when you finally complete an essay due in 2 hours after you have procrastinated for 2 weeks.  After those exercises I was so excited to start the mural.  When I first saw the canvas for the mural and design I was like, "Oh Fudge".  Two thoughts then popped in my head which were, "We can't finish this" and "I can't do any of this".  But I wasn't going to have my way, Mark pushed us and me to complete it and to work on different sections of the mural.  Over time, little by little and step by step I was noticing that I was getting better, I was getting bolder, and this mammoth of a project was being finished.

Little by little we all helped contribute to the mural and helped each other become better artists.  We all tried to help each other and we all seeked help from each other.  In no other class have I ever see such cooperation, or have I been a part of.  It was a great and very inspiring journey.  So now that the mural has been finally finished, we all get to live happily ever after...'till next semester :(

But one thing we have to look forward to for next semester is the presentation of our mural :D

After that, we all lived Happily Ever After!... The End/El Fin
~ Jesus >:3

Free Spirit UNLEASHED!

It's truly amazing...I can't believe that almost three months ago I was sitting in class and drawing that dreadful upside down man. Or even before that, I had to draw a self portrait of myself. It wasn't the best idea to do it five minutes before I had to catch the Commuter South bus--you live and learn. But of course I had to learn the hard way with Mark teasing me about the picture. I guess that was okay because I learned that when you do something, it's either ALL or NOTHING. And from experience, I can honestly say that since being in this class, I had tried to put my everything into this masterpiece. My blood is literally in this painting, my tears of the stress from the week as well as getting the perfect color, and finally sweat--sweating over how long I have before Mark sees the mysterious small footprint that I'm trying to cover up/dab out.

 On a more serious note, I'm glad that I took this class and didn't run for the hills when I found out we had to paint a huge mural and that people outside of class will get to see it in such a short time. I remember when the thought quickly ran through my mind, there is no way that this is going to happen, but it did, and I'm so happy that I got to see it being born. This class has really let my--I mean, our -- free creative spirits be unleashed. Our hearts and souls leaped from our chest and onto the canvas, in a massive explosion of colors--our free spirits nesting on a blank canvas and then coming together to form a masterpiece.

Today, December 9, 2011, is the last day of the mural and Mark talked about art and what it means to be visually illiterate. I found it funny that I was agreeing with everything he was saying because one, this is one of those things that Mark is completely right on about, and two, because I am someone who even before taking this lovely art class, has always seen the beauty in things that others are too blind to see and it's hard to explain sometimes why I can see the beauty to a person who cannot. Mark did a great job explaining that to the crew. I'm sad that this is the LAST class, I really love art and have a huge passion for it--I get inspired to create something every second of the hour. Saying goodbye to this class and this mural will be one of the hardest things I have ever done. I am never really satisfied with anything I produce, but I can say that this may be the first time that I am. So much of our time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears have been mixed into this painting. We all should be happy, proud, and overwhelmed with emotion because WE created something so beautiful and so meaningful to us-- not everyone can say that, and not everyone can say they have an "eye" for art, if they can't see the beauty in everything in life.

Free Spirit Motto: Love, live, learn, and create.


--Armenthia Mimee Stewart

Magic Key

I'm really going to miss this class. We're almost completely done with the mural, but instead of thinking about the little things I can do to make it better, all I can think about is how weird it's going to be not to hop on a bus every Monday and Friday to get down to the studio. I've kind of already said this, but I wasn't expecting to like this class as much as I did. I had a full 18 credits this semester and I remember telling my friends, well, if I don't like my art class then I'll just drop that, but I was hooked from the very first day, and thinking back, it's weird to think that I ever even considered dropping it.

In one of our earlier pow-wows, Mark asked me if I thought that some people had a magic key to understanding art that others didn't have. I told him yes, I did think that that was the case and that I never felt like I could relate to art in the way that some people could. I love looking at art, but I've never been able to stare at a painting for an hour because I was so overcome by it's message. He assured me that there was no magic key, but I'm still not convinced. I think it takes time to appreciate art. It takes time to understand it. While I don't think I've necessarily received the magic key yet, I know that I'm much closer than I was at the beginning of the semester. What is so amazing about art, is that it makes you think differently about the world. You really start to see it as not the whole, but rather, the sum of it's parts. It's the colors of the changing leaves and the texture of the snow. Everything becomes more vivid, more real in a way. I can now appreciate the simple beauty of the world in a way I never could before.

I'm going to miss this class. It's taught me more than I can put into words. So thanks Mark, for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself. Thank you for forcing me to paint the portions I was afraid to, knowing how great it would feel when I actually accomplished it. Thank you for making this experience mean so much more than I ever thought it could. Thank you for giving me my sight back.

- Jamie

The End

So this is it, our last day of art class.

There is so much to say about this experience, yet none of what I feel seems to have as much meaning when written out. I have had a big dose of art instruction throughout my life from ceramics to any 2D art. However, I have never had the experience of working on a piece this big. An experience like this can completely change one's opinion on art. As an artist in the past, I only worked on small art projects never going beyond my comfort zone. I would have never learned that working big can have an even bigger reward and I am so glad I have found that out.

Without this class, I would be stuck reading from books and answering questions. This is the best stress relief and great way to enjoy my week. It's basically freeing and a great escape. Thank goodness for art, I have no idea what I would do without it. My appreciation for art just grows and grows with each passing class. I will definitely miss this environment and all of the people that I was able to share this experience with.

Now all there is to do is wait for the mural to go up in the building and see all of our hard work  pay off. I can't wait for the day.

Thanks for this opportunity, I would'nt give it up for anything.
-Julia

Reflection: Perspectives of Zach Mandell

On the final day of class, we had a closing discussion of the class over pizza. Mark began asking us questions about our experiences with the mural and one that I felt strongly about was whether our experience with the mural or the mural itself was more important. My answer: the experience

I have a feeling that through this class I have undergone somewhat of a change in my perspective of art. Mark often refers to the idea of "visual literacy" which I like to think of as the ability to see art. He feels that much of society places value on writing based literacy and lacks visual literacy. At first, I could somewhat grasp the idea of visual literacy. After visiting UMMA and the DIA (Detroit Institute of Art), I developed an interest for art that I never had felt before. The reason for this change in my view of art is a result of my ability of this thing called "visual literacy". While I have seen an improvement in my artistic skills when I'm painting, I am most enlightened by my ability to now sit in front of a painting for a number of minutes and still be engaged.


I'm just so visually literate right now that it hurts to type.

We Did It!

It's the last day of mural work. And everyone - including the student's and myself- are going to miss it. It's still not entirely done, actually. There's still a few white spots, but they are disappearing quickly. Whatever stress is amounting from limited time is probably a good kind of stress, at least. It's probably better than the stress of term papers and finals that everyone is anticipating in the following week. I think most of us would much rather be frantically applying brush strokes in vivid colors than frantically shuffling through papers, flashcards, and unfinished readings. Unlucky for me, I'm stuck with the frantic studying instead of frantic painting. I would trade if I could.

-Dora