Lincoln Hall RLC creates inclusive exhibit
Students give a piece of themselves for exhibit
Jan 27, 2010
By Tony Sylvester
The 80 students of the College of Fine Arts Residential Learning Community (RLC) put their mix of individuality in an exhibit to enhance the main lobby of Lincoln Hall.
Inspired by the universitywide "Collections Collected" exhibit, created by visiting artist Mark Dion and displayed at the Kennedy Museum of Art during the fall, students were responsible for contributing an item that reflected their personality.
"The requirement was for them to provide something that was of a special nature to them," said Norma Humphreys, assistant dean of the College of Fine Arts. "We wanted something that reflected either their past before they got to [Ohio University] or once they arrived."
During fall quarter, the RLC students interacted with Dion's assistants and were given a behind-the-scenes view of the creation of "Collections Collected."
"I think this project was a really nice follow up to the visit to the Dion exhibition, because he collected from all over the university, but also had the part that reflected individual collectors in the Athens community," said Sally Delgado, curator of education at the Kennedy Museum of Art.
"When the students visited the museum, we talked about the concept of collecting -- who a collector is and why some people collect and some people don't -- and that followed into this particular project."
The collected items ranged from play scripts to boxer briefs, Tabasco sauce to stuffed animals and truly showcased the students' excitement for the project.
"I had a yellow pencil in the display because I use it everyday and it reminds me to go to class," said Tim Martin, a music education major. "The display really represents everyone in the learning community and how we are all different but we have the same basic goals."
Set up of the display posed a challenge for the students for many reasons.
"We had a limited amount of space to put the items in, so we had to learn how to fit everything in and had to work together to decide what items would go well together and where," said theater major Sara Matuzak, who contributed an Ohio University stuffed bobcat.
"It opened my eyes to how complicated it is to arrange something like this. I think it does a really good job at representing all the different areas of the fine arts," said music education major Jonathon Head, who contributed a ukulele representing his instrument collection. "It shows our diversity but also how we all still relate to each other. Everyone's different, but everyone's the same."
Learning communities are designed with learning, academic success and life outside the classroom in mind.
"I'm very excited because it is not only student work, but it's the collaborative work of students from not just one class but three classes," said Judy Piercy, associate director of residential housing. "It's the culmination of what we imagined would happen in this kind of learning community."
The project gave the students an experience to remember and brought the three separate learning community classes together. The students worked together to accomplish what is now a mixture of personality, experience and talent in the Lincoln Hall lobby.
Published: Jan 27, 2010 1:33 PM |
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Associate Director of Residential Education Judy Piercy speaks with a student from the RLC during the exhibit's unveiling.
The exhibit includes many unique pieces, including a ukulele.
Photographer: Kaitlyn Bernauer
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