Marymount artists find inspiration through transformation of unexpected spaces as part of their "Street Art" curriculum

After this in-depth study of public art, students are given unique opportunity to become "Street Artists”. The young artists are asked to look at the shared spaces of Butler Hall, Marymount’s most populated classroom building, and respond to the architecture. Madoo told us that she asks her class to take a walk through the art studios, the hallways, the passageways, the little alcoves that are peppered throughout the building, asking her students "How can you imbue new meaning and creative potential into these ordinary locations?”

 

Sophomore Allie Hernandez created a simple installation with a powerful message. Using just construction paper and markers, she transformed a mirror into a self-affirming frame rather than a looking glass into which we stare and note our flaws. Phrases like ‘You’re brave!’ ‘You’re loving!’ ‘You’re important!’ covered the outside of the mirror. Allie noted, “We all spend so much time looking into this mirror and thinking, ‘what’s wrong with me?’ and so I started thinking, wouldn’t it be great if we could look into this mirror and be reminded of our defining qualities which have nothing to do with our appearance?”

 

The project requires the use of mixed media, architectural awareness, a good dose of problem solving, and the courage to take art outside of the studio, with the aim of truly making a public statement. “This is one of my favorite parts of the semester,” Ceres notes; “the results are always so interesting!”

 

Please click through the gallery and captions to the right of this article to see different examples of the students’ work on this project – we hope you are as inspired as we are!