Public art slashed and ripped
‘There’s always a risk putting public art up’: artist
EVAN JOHNSON STAFF
The tunnel under of the Duff Roblin building was the location of an art slashing that took place in February.
A painting by U of M fine arts student Miriam Rudolph was vandalized last month while on display in the Duff Roblin tunnel. Entitled “Summer in Southern Manitoba,” the painting was on display along with two others as part of Celebration Week.
Sometime on Feb. 21 or 22, the painting was slashed in one or two broad strokes and then ripped, creating a large rectangular flap in the canvas.
“It could have been some accident, but the material is pretty strong,” said Rudolph, noting that the damaged painting is of a tougher, stronger material than regular canvas. Another of Rudolph’s paintings received a much smaller cut.
“I knew there was a risk — there’s always a risk putting public art up,” said Rudolph. “But I expected more something like spray paint or doodling on the canvas. I didn’t think anybody would cut it.”
The public art display was organized by Gallery of Student Art (GOSA) director Jenny Moore Koslowsky in conjunction with UMSU’s Celebration Week, which ran from Jan. 22 to 26. Rudolph’s paintings were originally intended to remain on display for only two weeks, but instead stayed up for about a month due to maintenance complications.
More art will be displayed on campus as part of GOSA’s current project, ARTWALK, in which various pieces of art by U of M students are distributed around campus for public viewing.
“Personally I don’t really think that U of M deserves public art,” said Moore Koslowsky, noting that two other public works were damaged during Celebration Week. A series of fabric panels were vandalized, and an ice sculpture outside of the FitzGerald building was accidentally run over by a snow-clearing Bobcat.
“The only thing left of it is the wooden plank it was built on,” said Moore Koslowksy.
Fine art students and faculty are upset over the incidents. “How come public space at our university has to be treated as if we can’t trust the very people who use it?” asked professor Cliff Eyland, before going on to insist that “the whole tunnel system needs to be re-thought. Any attempt like Rudolph’s to beautify the university’s interior spaces can only be a partial solution.”
Though both Moore Koslowsky and Rudolph knew that vandalism was a possibility, neither considered it of enough concern to deter them from publicly displaying the art. “I wasn’t really worried. People don’t, every day, spray paint all over the walls in the tunnels, so why would they wreck (a painting)?” questioned Moore Koslowsky.
According to Jim Raftis, head of U of M Security Services, on campus vandalism is a big problem. “It’s certainly a concern of ours,” said Raftis, “and to say it occurs on a daily basis isn’t much of a stretch.”
Raftis stressed that on-campus vandalism does not always entail student perpetrators, noting that none of the last three people apprehended for damaging property were U of M students.“Still, it’s pretty disheartening to the community,” he added.
Despite the frustrations, Rudolph said she doesn’t regret including her paintings in Celebration Week’s public art initiative. “I just kind of think that the more public art goes up, the better,” she said. “If more (art) would go up then maybe people would start to respect it more as a part of daily sight on campus.”
