Najla Al Naamani

English 150/TK
Assignment #3 revised
Samantha Futhey
3rd May, 2016
Life after black

Imagine life without sculptures, paintings, portraits, creativity,

inspiration, imagination and happiness. Just like a black, blank, dull and aged
piece of paper. No signs of a highbrow mind. No thought of beauty. Definitely
nothing to look at, a single appearance, that is. Awfully unappealing, and
certainly not satisfying. Frowns all over you, followed by moans.
Contrariwise, with our Iowa State University campus. Without its elegancy
and choice of art pieces that we see around us, it certainly wouldnt have
been nominated as one of the most beautiful campuses across the world
(BuzzFeed Community). Consequently, the creation of the program, Art on
Campus, commenced.
Providing that Iowa States campus is rich with tremendously
wonderful art pieces, the Art on Campus Collection and Program formalized
in 1980. We would see several art works in offices, courtyards, corridors,
classrooms, and free spaces. If assumed, maybe in restrooms too. Almost
each step we take inside a building or outside while walking from a place to
the other, we would most likely face up to 20 art still lives, or maybe more.
According to Iowa State Universitys University Museums site, there should

be roughly about 2000 communal art pieces, with 600 of them being either
national or international collections that are possessed by the Art on Campus
collection (University Museums).
In fact, there are four main museums: Brunnier Art Museum, Christian
Peterson Art Museum, the Farm House and Anderson Sculpture Garden.
According to their site, the existence of these museums grants the public
more knowledge and awareness of the universitys desire on displaying what
could be the heritage of the university, becoming an educational and cultural
resource. As Raymond Hughes announced during the Great Depression the
arts would enrich and provide substantial intellectual exploration into our
college curricula. Since then, he provided artists like Grant Wood and
Christian Peterson offers for them to come up with design ideas for them to
work on for the Library, and courtyard fountain of the university. (University
Museums) Thence, his stance and his standpoint has not been driven to
failure.
Divers of students dont really understand why the arts really matter in
their lives, spaces, and communities. Displaying certain pieces around a
campus makes students more aware of the intellectual distinct diversities
that lie across the state. It interacts with the onlooker the value of its visual
soul better than words can. Nevertheless, those art pieces reflect on the
different backgrounds, cultures as well as languages that reveals more about
the main artists along with their backstage stories behind their making of the
piece. Artistry is what unifies the world and makes it serene and impassive.

The making of paintings and still lives is for the reasons of entertainment,
creativity, recreations, or to mirror an idea the artist thinks that is important
to convey into craftsmanship for the rest of the world to see.
Their goal from the establishment of the museums, is to first, collect
and preserve as many creative and beneficial art pieces as possible. Second,
the artwork would be displayed in museums to broaden the knowledge of
artistry, and dare distinct people to interpret them in their own point of view.
Third, they would like to create a crucial partnership with Iowa State
University to heighten the education gained by examining and analyzing in
arts, as well as sciences and technologies. Lastly, their goal is to create
public partnerships for the citizen and folks to accept the arts for it to
become an essential part of their lives. (University Museums)
Correspondingly, Brunnier Art Museum is located at the second floor of
Schemen building at Iowa State University, free of cost. The collection is very
chromatic where pieces are made out of glass, jade, enameled metal, ivory
or others as they range from sculptures, to ceramic utensils formed with
different types of materials. This museum is based on given or otherwise,
donated art pieces from over 500 donors, according to the Brunnier Museum.
The first batch of their collection was from Ann and Brunnier, who have
collected the pieces and donated them to university, hence, the name of the
museum. They thought it would be favorable to put the pieces together in a
place where students would come in to develop their skills on visual literacy
and creative thinking.

These multiple museums alone do not cover the fact that the Art on
Campus hosts many events and programs. Their events include lectures,
walks, donation raisins, showcasing, yoga and other entertaining yet relaxing
affairs. They would have several activities presented to the public each
month. Even if youre not an artist who admires such events from the Art on
Campus organization, you would definitely find something that would suit
your own taste from the museums website. All of the programs are free of
cost. Paying a visit to such events would build up students understanding of
art that would shape up the way they would look at corresponding pieces
and how they would choose to interpret them with their own closure and
outcomes.
Nothing could ever compare a black world to a world that is not
restricted by color. Artistry is more than pleasing the eyes by its visual
display of possession, but also reflects the stories and ways behind its
determination along with the way it participates in reality when being bared
to it. These aspects are what contribute the standard for mindfully
experiencing our world. Hence, the existence of the Art on Campus
organization upholds these facts upon introducing their museums and
events.

Works Cited
25 of the Most Beautiful College Campuses in the World. BuzzFeed
Community. BuzzFeed. Web. 2 May. 2016.
"Art on Campus Collection & Program." University Museums. Iowa State
University. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
University Museums Mission Statement and Goals. University
Museums. Iowa State University. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.