a student newspaper of the university of tulsa
january 22, 2013 issue 13 ~ volume 98
SIDE the box: OUT
artist creates in cardboard
Kyle Walker / Collegian
James Grashow’s “Corrugated Alphabet,” featuring a larger-than-life cardboard alphabet, opens at the Alexandre Hogue Gallery on Jan. 24.
Artist James Grashow brings his corrugated cardboard to TU for an alphabetic exhibit. Beate Hall Kyle Walker
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pening this week at the University of Tulsa is an artistic installation that rethinks the written word. James Grashow’s work “The Corrugated Alphabet Project” will feature larger-than-life
reproductions of the letters of the Latin alphabet in varying sizes and typefaces—made entirely out of cardboard. The installation will be on exhibit Jan. 24 through Feb. 21 at the Alexandre Hogue Gallery in Phillips Hall. The exhibition will begin at 4 p.m. on Jan. 24 with a lecture by Grashow on his work in the Jerri Jones Lecture Hall in Phillips Hall followed by an opening reception
in the Hogue Gallery. Creating “Corrugated Alphabet” took meticulous work and a lot of help. “There is no textbook, everything is a learning curve,” Grashow said. “You have a concept and you try to make it happen. You teach yourself by error.” The construction of the cardboard alphabet required the assistance of more than 45 students, professors, volunteers and faculty over five days to create each of the letters that will be on display. Grashow said that as soon as he was invited to work on a piece for the Hogue gallery, “the alphabet popped into (his) mind.” To begin, Grashow created a mockup of the show, complete with miniature people examining the letters. Large cardboard sheets were hand cut using box cutters into the right shapes and sizes to create each letter. Each piece was carefully considered before being added to a letter, and the curves of each were delicately composed to create specific shapes chosen from the history of typography. After the front side of a letter
was created, corrugated cardboard was glued at 90 degree angles to create the three-dimensional portion of the piece. The opposing face is then applied to create a closed shape. The tiny details on the giant pieces, like the slight curve to the bottom line of the L, give the letters a larger-than-life quality, especially when viewers remember they are composed of cardboard. Contrast in size has been a mark of Grashow’s career, which has produced both delicately detailed wood and paper “Houseplants” and a colossal cardboard “Sea Serpent.” “Sometimes when you work you feel like being very big and strong and feeling your muscles and sweating,” Grawshow said. “But sometimes you want to feel like Gandhi weaving.” Thus far, the L is the largest letter, at approximately 14 feet tall, while Z is the smallest at four. Each piece is also sanded to smooth the edges, and this too must be done by hand. Belt sanders tear
See Box page 4
Remembering Katrina Larson TU mourns Katrina Larson, who succumbed to breast cancer in December. Cara Dublin Student Writer
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memorial service was held Thursday at Sharp Chapel for Katrina Lynn Larson, a University of Tulsa student who passed away peacefully on Dec. 18 at her family home. Larson had been battling breast cancer for over two years. Much of TU’s student body first found out about Larson’s death when Sharp Chaplain Dr. Jeffrey C. Francis sent a pastoral message to the school shortly after her death. “Our thoughts and prayers of comfort and strength go out to Katrina’s family, to her sorority sisters, and to her student colleagues and faculty at TU at this difficult time of grief," Francis said. Born May 21, 1991, Larson “enjoyed travel, meeting new people and theatrical arts,” according to an obituary. A nursing major
from Oklahoma City, Larson was also a proud member of the Epsilon Gamma Chapter of Chi Omega sorority. Larson spent time in almost as many different countries as years she had been alive—twenty-one. She enjoyed using her smile on stage to bring joy to the faces of others in community theatre productions, and in her final months she began a New York Film Academy screenwriting class, “determined to tell her own story,” according to her memorial site. Brother Michael Larson said that “Katrina had a deep affinity for The University of Tulsa, for her friends and classmates, and for her Chi Omega sisters. She loved TU.” This university loved her back by paying tribute to her memory on Thursday at a service attended by her TU friends, including many of her Chi Omega sisters. Larson was in her senior year at TU. Emily Stern, class of 2013, a member of Larson’s Chi Omega pledge class, said, “Katrina was a loving, joyful and vibrant spirit
who made a huge impact on any person she met. She loved spending time with friends, the OKC Thunder, shopping, traveling, and acting.” Larson was “looking forward to being one of the ‘cool’ nurses,” Stern said. When Larson’s struggle with cancer began in 2010, during her sophomore year, “She fought extremely hard,” Stern said. “Through her entire battle, she held onto her loving and joyful spirit, and blessed everyone she met with her friendship and inspirational story. Katrina will be missed dearly by all of her family and friends.” Kimberly Andrew, president of Chi-Omega, said that Katrina’s death is “still hard for our girls to talk about,” but she, Stern, and the rest of Larson’s Chi-O sisters said that anyone who wants to help further the cure for breast cancer can consider donating to the Susan G. Komen foundation through the Katrina Lynn Larson Pink Ribbon Memorial at www.katrinalarson. org.
Photo courtesy of the University of Tulsa
Nursing major, actress and Chi Omega Katrina Larson passed away on Dec. 18 after battling breast cancer for two years.
Katrina is survived by her grandparents, Homer and Nadine Carter; her parents, Gary and Joan Larson; her four brothers and their
wives, Michael and Jade, Lukas and Jessica, Logan and Rebecca, and Trevor; and many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Community Service Work Study Do you qualify for Federal Work Study, then consider working in a non-profit setting and make a difference in a the life of a person. National Mentoring Month January is National Mentoring Month and there are many, many opportunities to mentor. Be the change in a child. Junior Achievement Junior Achievement is a non-profit organization partnering with volunteers from the community to teach elementary students about their roles as individuals, workers and consumers, and to prepare middle/high school students for key economic and workforce issues. For more information on any of these opportunities, contact Kathy Shelton in the True Blue Neighbor Volunteer Center at kathy-shelton@utulsa.edu, call 918-631-3535 or come by Holmes Student Center room 25.