{"id":8024,"date":"2022-06-17T11:55:33","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T16:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=8024"},"modified":"2022-06-17T11:55:33","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T16:55:33","slug":"murphy-masterpieces-special-program-hangs-artwork-in-uw-la-crosse-murphy-library","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/murphy-masterpieces-special-program-hangs-artwork-in-uw-la-crosse-murphy-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Murphy masterpieces: Special program hangs artwork in UW-La Crosse Murphy Library"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo
UW-La Crosse art students parade their work across campus from the Center for the Arts to Murphy Library. The students participated in an initiative of Murphy Library staff Amber Leibundgut-Peterson and Marc Manke, both eager to promote the work of student artists and create a more vibrant, creative learning environment in the library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Special program hangs artwork in Murphy Library<\/h3>\n

Art Professor Jennifer Williams\u00a0<\/a>is drawn back to Murphy Library each September to recollect feelings around 9-11.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recall one painting with profound, lasting impact depicts the horror of 9-11,\u201d says Williams. \u201cPainted by Kim Van Someren-Berg, I still visit it each September, reminded of how she began the work in a fury of creativity and grief as we watched those horrific events unfold in real time.”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that kind of impact William sees taking place in Murphy Library thanks to a new program promoting student artwork.<\/p>\n

The program is organized by Murphy Library faculty and staff\u00a0Amber Leibundgut-Peterson\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Marc Manke<\/a>, both eager to promote the work of student artists and create a more vibrant, creative learning environment in the library. In spring 2021 and 2022, students in Williams\u2019 300\/400 level painting courses drafted proposals for a large-scale work \u2014 4-feet by 4-feet \u2014 that connects with the mission of the library and reflects current time.<\/p>\n

The course-embedded, high-impact exercise involves weeks of planning and creating. Student artists discover how to construct the stretcher from the ground up, thanks to wood shop demonstration and mentoring by Manke. It culminates when the finished work is delivered to the library during finals week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope these new paintings will have a lasting impact with enduring messages of hope and creativity,\u201d says Williams.<\/p>\n

The canvas paintings are installed at the library for at least two years, after which students may take them. The students received full funding and support for canvas stretcher construction and all other materials. Special course fees can’t support work of this scale, so funding from the Murphy Library Endowment gives students an opportunity to work on a large canvas without undue financial burden. They keep any leftover funding for future art projects.<\/p>\n

Williams says what’s particularly\u00a0interesting about the most recent work delivered May 11, is its overall emphasis on healing and positive emotional impact during unprecedented challenging times.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time a work of art mingles with the existing collection of an institution like a museum or library, history is made, and new contexts are created,\u201d she notes. \u201cAs a professor and an artist, it gives me great hope that UWL values creative endeavors enough to support student art in this meaningful way.”<\/p>\n

\"Photo
The students and their work included, from left, Greg Voves, Katie Erdahl, Cassidy Hermann, Kenzie O\u2019Shea holding work of Mattie Blanck, Mattie Blanck, Emma Waller and Gretchen Fischer. Voves, who took a mixed media approach using acrylic, oil, and spray paint, says his work “serves as an escape from an environment that is so heavily rooted in facts and offers viewers something to interpret for themselves. After extensive research in color psychology, I decided to implement a wide range of hues and tones that can determine subconscious emotions or behavior.” Blanck says her painting \u201cThe Spread of Creativity,” creates a serene atmosphere that eases anxiety and gives a peaceful place to work or read. \u201cPlants represent new growth,\u201d she explains, \u201cwhich can be motivating for those who utilize the library to seize opportunities to grow and expand their knowledge.” Blanck’s second painting accepted was titled, \u201cLibrary Garden.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The artwork ranges stylistically from subtle, abstract color field paintings to mandala-like forms and figurative work. The pieces are installed throughout the building.<\/p>\n

Katie Erdahl, a May 2022 graduate who majored in psychology and minored in art therapy, says an opportunity to paint on a 4-foot by 4-foot canvas was challenging and exciting. In her painting, the Plymouth, Minnesota, native sought to capture the relationships between a mother and her child.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to emphasize the love that this mother has for her baby,\u201d explains Erdahl. \u201cShe is reading to her baby before the baby is born to help her baby start recognizing her voice and promote early literacy.\u00a0It was important to me to show the importance of being read to in early childhood as a jumping off point for future literacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erdahl is especially excited that the painting will hang in the library to inspire many in the next couple of years.<\/p>\n

\n

Written by UWL University Communications<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/murphy-masterpieces\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Special program hangs artwork in Murphy Library Art Professor Jennifer Williams\u00a0is drawn back to Murphy Library each September to recollect feelings around 9-11. \u201cI recall one painting with profound, lasting impact depicts the horror of 9-11,\u201d says Williams. \u201cPainted by Kim Van Someren-Berg, I still visit it each September, reminded of how she began the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":8028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-8024","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/8024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=8024"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=8024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}