News Releases
News from Lane Community College
For release August 17, 2011
Mural project at LCC will transform wall into a work celebrating diversity
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Artist's rendering |
EUGENE, OR - Students at Lane Community College are learning about large-scale public murals by painting one on main campus with instructor and internationally known muralist Tom Madison.
Thirteen students, some of whom are Lane graphic design graduates who have returned just for this course, will complete the mural over the next four weeks.
The mural will cover the entire east side of Building 5 (gym) facing the Bristow Square lawn. It will reach 26 feet high in three sections with returns of nine feet. The faces include a central, primary image of about 33 feet, and two side columns of about 11 feet each, creating a linear span of about 55 feet.
The mural is titled "A Cultural Landscape" and uses a variety of colors and patterns to celebrate a diverse cultural landscape in an abstract and symbolic way, says Madison. Tommy's Paint Pot of Eugene donated primer and paint for the project.
"Not only is the size and scale much larger, but students must understand the political process of public art," says Madison. "Conceptualization of design is much more important than painting on a personal level. This work engages the public on a mass level and must appeal to a broad range of tastes and cultural backgrounds while conveying its meaning."
The project is part of an ongoing effort of the Art on Campus Committee to site public art on campus and use college facilities as a living laboratory for instructional activities. It also is the first course offered through Lane's new Honors Program (2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/oasa/honors).
Madison has taught at Lane for the past 10 years and also at Oregon Sate University, Western Oregon University, and Linn-Benton Community College. He has a degree in fine art from WOU and has worked as an illustrator and graphic designer, including positions in the museum industry. His work includes large-scale murals depicting the flora and fauna of the Red Sea for a palace on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia including 12,000 square feet of mural work inside and outside completed over the course of many years. For more information contact Madison at (541) 463-5887.
Lane is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution. Visit online at 2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu or www.facebook.com/lanecommunitycollege or www.twitter.com/lanenews
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Media contact: Joan Aschim, PIO, aschimj@lanecc.edu or (541) 463-5591
