SEPTEMBER 10, 1998-vol30n3:Student Union mural is story of student life

VOLUME 30, NUMBER 3 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1998

Student Union mural is story of student life

By RON CHURCHILL
Reporter Staff

Students starting off the school year last week may have noticed a sparkling new, two-dimensional addition to the

Student Union.

A mural depicting student life at UB now spans a wall of approximately 8 by 70 feet in a corridor near the Office of Student Life, 150 Student Union.

Work on the enormous painting began in February, and it was completed within the past week, said George Awad, a graphic artist for the Office of Student Life and a communication design major.

Awad and Jennifer Rozwood, a fourth-year student studying art illustration, are responsible for the work that, according to Awad, is "a visual story" of student life at UB, beginning with student orientation and ending with graduation.

One of the main purposes of the mural, in addition to "brightening up the hallway," was to portray the university not as a "big, bulky, bureaucratic machine," but instead as a place for "lighthearted" experiences, Awad said.

"I hope we've captured that," Awad said. "It looks chaotic on the wall," he admitted, but to a certain extent, student life "is chaotic," he said. "It's just a matter of juggling. That's what student life is-making sure nothing drops."

At the beginning, or left-hand side of the mural, students at the orientation stage of the mural have "a look of worry," Awad said, while at far end, or right-hand side, students in their black graduation robes show signs of "jubilation... they're all done."

There are four main, fictional students who appear repeatedly throughout the mural, Awad said. Named Jerry, Robbie, Zhinping, and Maria, the characters can be seen near the Ellicott Complex, in a downtown setting, in the library, and standing in line to purchase textbooks, said Awad, adding that Rozwood did all of the drawing but that the mural project was "a joint effort."

There also are dozens of other faces in the painting. Most are fictional, but likenesses of Barbara Ricotta, dean of students and former director of Student Life, along with Ed Brodka and Toby Shapiro from the Office of Student Life, can be identified in the masses.

The mural runs along the corridor that connects the "old" part of the Student Union with the "new" part. And for Awad, the mural constitutes "leaving my mark at UB.

"I like the fact that it will be up there for a while," he said.

The Student Union Advisory Committee is looking for other artists with hopes of producing similar murals throughout the building, said Andrea Costantino, director of the Student Union, who also is a member of the advisory committee.

"All they have to do is give a proposal," Costantino said, adding that the committee expects to hear from various student groups and members of the art department.

The proposals are submitted to the advisory committee, which is composed of representatives from student government, the professional staff and faculty, and building occupants.

If a proposal is accepted, the artists are compensated by the university, Constantino said.