Campus might only seem to be useful for its practical purposes: classes, sporting events and places for student groups to gather. However, many students and faculty might not know there is hidden artwork in some of the buildings used every day on campus.
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is hosting its first Campus Art Walk.
“A goal of the tour is to raise awareness about the importance of art on campus,” said Iris Moulton, the campus outreach director for UMFA. “It’s easy to think art is something only art majors care about or enjoy, or something that’s only happening inside a museum.”
Many buildings on campus one would not typically associate with art are on the tour.
“The tour will highlight pieces in the Spencer Fox Eccles Business Building, the C. Roland Christensen Center, the Marriott Library, the Union and the Carolyn Tanner Humanities Building, as well as two pieces in the lobby of the UMFA,” Moulton said.
The art walk kicks off with a party at the UMFA where hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be served. The evening will then proceed with a self-guided tour for viewing art across campus. Guides to the buildings and art will be provided.
For any new art collectors, the annual student art show and sale will take place in the Art and Art History Building, where viewers can see what students are working on.
One piece on the tour that might inspire questions and curious glances is the e-Oculus, which is located in the lobby of the Spencer Fox Eccles Business Building. It is “a permanent, real-time public visualization of international business market activity,” according to artists Andrea Polli and Chuck Varga.
Funded by Utah’s Percent-for-Art Act, which gives 1 percent of construction costs for new state buildings for commissioning public art, the e-Oculus was “developed … specifically for the College of Business, creating a visual language for the everyday business language that the students and faculty study and practice,” said Jim Glenn, the public and design arts manager for the State of Utah.
The piece is an LED screen controlled by a minicomputer that reflects the daily international business market and all its fluctuations.
“[It] is the outline of the Great Salt Lake and serves as a reflection of our world, reflecting the con trails of overhead jets [market activity] and blue skies of happy times [upward moving market] and the increasing clouds and color changes of volatility [decreasing markets and/or volatility] worldwide,” Glenn said.
Whether or not you see this unique artwork, there is a common theme for the art walk — art is for everyone.
“This [e-Oculus] may be a way to help inspire [students’] understanding of art and [foster] future appreciation for innovative and creative ways that art combines with life,” said Raelynn Potts, director of operations for the business school.
The first Campus Art Walk is tomorrow from 5-8 p.m. starting at the UMFA.
“It is our hope that [viewers] may see that art is something to be enjoyed by anyone in any discipline,” Moulton said. “We’d love to see [this] become a tradition.”