Coastal art students take on Earthworks project
By Connor Uptegrove
Professor Steven Bleicher and his art students left their mark on Coastal Carolina University’s campus recently through a nontraditional, conceptual style of public art.
To the left and right of the sidewalk leading from Prince Lawn to the Lib Jackson Student Union, the nine students in Bleicher’s art fundamentals class (Art Studio 301) constructed crosses, ying-yang symbols, peace signs and other three-dimensional works of art. Unlike the pieces previously created by the students in the classroom, this project had a unique constraint: all the work had to be constructed from materials found in nature. The project is titled “Earthworks.”
Bleicher says the project, which he almost always includes in the course, is meant to guide students in the understanding of basic concepts such as composition, design and color. In addition to learning about the fundamentals of conceptual art, students will realize that Coastal’s campus is a natural place to create.
Bleicher gave a brief lecture before the students took to campus. He provided visual examples of similar works created by professional artists such as Andy Goldsworthy.
Students could work in teams or as individuals to create a work of art using only materials off the ground. For example, if a dead branch was still hanging from a tree, the students could not use it for their piece.
One group of three and three groups of two students formed teams to work on specific ideas. Bleicher said he does not assign groups because he enjoys watching the students naturally draw to an idea or person.
Bleicher also says he enjoys watching the students edit their pieces as they work. Materials as small as fern needles and acorns were replaced and moved, sometimes only an inch, before the students finished.
Once the projects were completed, Bleicher photographed the art in order eo ensure that a visual record would be preserved after weather or student traffic eventually destroyed the pieces.
Sophomore Bethany Ortega and Junior Ashley Tenney created their “canvas” by removing leaves and smoothing the dirt. Then, the team got to work on carving the outline for their idea, a mushroom imprinted with a peace sign, by digging into the dirt with a stick.
If the project had been a painting, the stick could have been the paint, the brush or the needle threading the white canvas together.
After Tenney and Ortega drew their foundation, they began to design the colors from yellow flowers that dropped to the ground from a horticulture cart on their way to class.
“It’s like a house. You have to start with the foundation before you can design,” Tenney explained.
Freshman Grant Peden, who constructed the cross with teammate Trevor Poor, is interested in the impact their art will have on Coastal’s student and faculty population.
“It’s not just a picture; everyone will walk by and see it today,” says Peden.
From a faded, broken bike lock to plastic spoons and sticks, the Earthworks project takes students out of the classroom and teaches them that art can come in unique and sometimes deceiving forms.
