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MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2012
HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY
VOLUME 105, ISSUE 10
Mural enriches downtown Arkadelphia Zach Dutton Staff Writer
Downtown Arkadelphia has long been characterized by small businesses and historic buildings, but now has a more modern display for the public eye. This week, muralist Dave Loewenstein of Lawrence, Kan. put the final touches on the larger-than-life work, “The Journey from a Dream to the Promise,” on the side of the Honeycomb restaurant. His artwork spans a 24-by-65 foot canvas of brick for members of the community to enjoy as locals drive or walk by the downtown eatery. The project was funded and produced by the Mid-America Arts Alliance which, according to its website, “seeks to develop meaningful and high quality works through a collaborative process driven by local people, often with the guidance and technical assistance of professional artists.” The MAAA produces over 450 exhibits, performances and professional development opportunities to communities across the nation that lack the funds or resources to produce cultural programs for their citizens. Loewenstein is on a six state tour of mural painting this year, including Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas. The artist handpicked Arkadelphia over Hot Springs, Conway, Russellville and Fort Smith in light of the fact that there is no artwork like this in the town. The design depicts a man’s path through his future of becoming a successful educator. The work shows a boy on the left holding a sapling, then a man on the right with a graduation cap handing the sapling
Photo courtesy of Jeff Cerino
MURAL, MURAL ON THE WALL The mural featured on the Honeycomb restaurant (above). off to a child. The mural was dedicated to the community last week to a crowd of over 60. The process began with three open meetings with the community to establish what was important to them about their Arkadelphia home. “We did lots of research; talked to a lot of people,” Loewenstein said. They decided on a theme of education considering the two colleges in the town, as well as the local school district and their recent Arkadelphia Promise program. The Promise program gives high school graduates of Arkadelphia a chance to go to college with fully paid tuition, a promise few towns nationwide have made to their students. Three people who had an especially vital role in the process are pictured in the mural itself. Using the ideas that came from these meetings, Loewenstein, along with local artists, pre-
sented a final proposal for the mural to the Arkadelphia Arts and Humanities Council on which Henderson’s director of theatre, Dr. Claudia Beach, is a member. Once the artwork was approved, Loewenstein began work with his assistant, Ashley Laiad of Topeka, Kan., and an apprentice from Little Rock, Jordan Karpe. The project started with a digital projection of the outline of the work before the fun really began. The artists worked side-by-side with over 200 volunteers from the community to get paint on the wall. As of last week, the work force diminished down to the three professionals working on the finer details of the masterpiece. In comparison with other works, this one is the “best one yet,” Loewenstein said. There are a number of local people and places depicted on the mural. From the floor of
the Ross Foundation to an endangered woodpecker found in Arkadelphia forests, this mural embodies the theme of education. The focal point is a woman with a pattern dress on. “She is the idealization of teachers we’ve all had,” Beach said. “She could be many things,” Loewenstein said. This particular image caused a small controversy for a few community members before the mural was complete. Martha Dickson is a retired designer from Arkadelphia who is best known for an inaugural gown she made for former first lady Hillary Clinton. She is pictured with bright red high heels, below the schoolteacher, working on sewing the teacher’s dress together. Henderson, Ouachita Baptist and the bridge that connects the two over 12th street represent the colleges and their relative locations.
The artwork isn’t just a smorgasbord of people and places, but tells a story. Loewenstein was hazy on the details of the mural, posing the task to individuals to make their own interpretations of the depictions. “Look at it very carefully; It’s like a poem or listening to a country ballad,” Loewenstein said. “It’s done in a very symbolic and metaphorical way, not a literal depiction.” Students are encouraged by the artist to make a trip downtown to check out the modern mural. In an interview with KARK, the project’s manager, Farrell Ford, was very positive about the accessibility of the work and the impact it will have on the community as a whole. “This will be here for years and years so it’s a part of us, and it’s a part that anybody can come and look at,” Ford said. “They don’t have to wait ‘til the doors open. In that respect, it is the community’s art.”
Belize and Panama trip rewards biology students for hard work This past summer Dr. James Engman, professor of biology and department chair, took students on two adventures to study abroad. In June, he took a group of 10 to Belize. In July,
Colbie McCloud Staff Writer
he took another group of 10 to Panama. Before students fly off to different lands to study their ecosystems and the organisms that reside in them, students must
have some knowledge about these areas. “For both trips, students were required to learn a list of 120 organisms, mainly marine, by their scientific name and
Photo courtesy of James Engman
A QUICK SWIM Biology students swim with sharks in Belize. Students must write a research paper and
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complete a presentation, among other things, in order to attend the trip and study exotic animals.
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common name and be able to identify them before the trip,” Engman said. “We had to write two 10-page research papers, one on a cultural aspect of Panama and the other on a organism found in Panama,” Catie Morrow, premedical biology major, said. “I had to memorize 125 different organisms. We had to learn their genus species name, so I made flashcards for them.” Students have readings in textbooks as well as discussions on journal articles. For the Belize trip, students must complete a research paper and presentation, and for the Panama trip, students are required to write two research papers and present one or two presentations. “Students on the Panama trip should have had at least general zoology,” Engman said. “For Belize, it is more flexible. Students on both trips received college credit.”
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