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June 23, 2005

Working together for art

Photo by Kathy Sauber
Art Professor John Young, right, helps get the cement in place for the art project. Jaebadiah Gardner, one of the students who spearheaded the effort to create the piece, is at left-center in the foreground, and next to him is Chris Zweigle.

Want to help a diverse group of people learn to get along? Have them design and build something together, says UW Art Professor John Young.









From left, Erin Williams, Sarah Corrado and Sujot Kaur help break ground for the art project.




A group of students did just that when they created a new public artwork on the theme of diversity. You’ve probably seen their piece, Blocked Out, located in the strip of grass between Mary Gates and Suzzallo. A group of 24 students, only half of whom are art majors, took the project through from design to installation in 12 weeks as part of a class in public art.









Feeling happy with their completed work, students pose for a group shot in their art project’s “ear.” Top row, left to right: Catherine Tomlinson, Mike Green, Lauren Antolin, an unidentified visitor, Erin Williams, Chris Zweigle, Nathan Gong, Sujot Kaur. Bottom row, left to right: Jaebadiah Gardner, Brandis Svendsen, Cat Anderson, Elly Beerman, Monique Cheung, Shelton Sampson, Tony Rivisto, Sumona Das Gupta, Micheo Imanaka,
Mitch Balintos, A.V. Goodsell, Zenaida Olivas, Desiree Miller.



The project really had its origins two years ago when the statue of longtime football coach Jim Owens was unveiled at Husky Stadium. Owens was accused of mistreating and marginalizing black players, and students of color protested the statue. Two of those students, Jaebadiah Gardner and Sumona Das Gupta, led the effort to make the physical campus more representative of the diverse people who work and study here. The class —in which both were enrolled — was one result of their campaign.









Anthony Rivisto (standing) and Desiree Miller lay some of the flagstone that forms the “floor” of the artwork.


Students in the class were divided into teams to come up with designs, and two of those designs were combined for the final piece — a rock wall in the shape of an ear (you need to be up high to see this) and a block representing a slave auction block, built on a circular slab of flagstone.

“The ear listens to history and moves beyond it,” Young said. “The block is turned into a free speech podium.”

University Week photographer Kathy Sauber followed the project — which was funded by $50,000 from the development office — from start to finish. Here is the story in pictures.











Blocked Out can best be appreciated from above. This shot clearly shows the “ear” that is central to the artwork.