The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 23, Ed. 1, Friday, November 9, 1990 Page: 3 of 10
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Svtory by Brandon
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Plkoto by Robyri Stultz
"K1 '
JCjinstt'in rides his bicycle in
the ttirw?li of tlvi scince
buiWinf.
' An egret and a cow graze an
iris blooms and a DNA f trand
mutatet there too.
. ' In the hallowe wiriclowle&i
halls of Foster Science Build-
ing. murals decorate the brick
walls with scenes from the spe-
cific science; botany ecology
physics genetics and anatomi-
cal studies.
Students who walk through
the building for the first time
are struck by the enormous
colorful paintings that make
the stairs more than just a way
to get up and down: it becomes
a journey through the elements
that make up the different
fields of study.
"Hie murals give me a way to
recognize what floor Fm on"
said Doug Cochran freshman
biology major from Midland.
"I also enjoy looking at them;
they're unique to say the least
Cochran said.
t Aa in any ptat of acttbre
rt jtit a mny way pwl
appreciate the murals as ther
'.. . 7 " " 1
re
art appreciaters .
Another ftwahman Wftlogy
major Randy Brown frornMid
land comments on his inrtDres-
ion.
"I like the strand of DNA
- - . .
every time I see it. it makes me
hii'jHgry. It remind! me of link
sausage."
A sausage is not exactly what
artist'Timothy Smith 1985
graduate in biology had in
mind when he created four of
the murals.
ul put the composition
together on my own with the
help of the Science Depart
ment. We wa.nv to cover
everything in bkilogiea and the
suqjeci matter jusc came to
me;" Smith said.
" L i li t 1 . X .
After graduating from
ACU Smith spent some time
teaching in Louisiana and
working With a medical mission
in Belize Central America He
is currently working on a mas-
ter's degree in biology at the
University of Illpnois keeping
his artistic interests alive at
the same time.
The Sftience Building work
was done in the summer and
Winter of 1984 lipoh a joint
intertet of Smith and Dr. John
O.Itk professor of biology to
liven up the building interior.
Extensive scaffolding work
andieeie care was taken to
succeesfully portray vivid styl-
ised paintings that were both
realistic art imaginative on the
Las JPlaticas
ELPASO1exai(CAP) A
group of prbmiianUy Spn-isk-apeaking
parenta Have
joineii forces to battto the high
dropout rate among Hispanks
The parents meet for biweek-
ly aeesions of informal ehats or
'L4W Piatica' where they r
exchange worries ard ideas
but everything rem school
bullies to jetr preeeure thumb-sucktt"to'bei-wetters.
Laird
i "
walls.
"The perspective! had Work-
ing on the scaffolds right next
to the wall was the hardest
part1" Smith explained.
"I had terminal tunnel vision
so close to my work that was so
big I was constantly getting
down and taking a long look at
the wall to see where I was"
Smith said.
Each mural averaged close to
a month's work for Smith; the
most time he spent on one was
the first painting he did on the
southwest stairwell.
His mural on the southwest
stairwell is a white bloom with
a background of the vascular
pattern of an amoeba repre-
senting botany.
On tho northwest wall a twist-
ed strand of DNA reaches out
in a three-dimensional effect to
represent the genetics division
On the northeast section two
animals graze in a lush ecosys-
tern symbolizing the study of
ecology.
.Ethaps 3lit'eflirik-
inr and' eittroWil mmhW ill
"Adawl Rising" which ifvbn tlve
southeast stairwell. Standing
for the area of neurological and
organic studies it portrays a
human in the basic anatomical
position exposed to reveal
blood and bone
"That is the one students
make the most comments
about' said uioiogy Depart
ment secretary Mary Sherman.
People either love it or hate
it it evokes that kind of
response" Sherman said.
Smith however contends
that the drawing is "a stylized
representation of creation"
with the exposed anatomy of
the figure conveying the awe-
.. . L. I ....... . A.L Jil-
some achievement of the
human body.
"I have been told that 'Adam
Rising' is disturbing to some
people because it looks like the
figure is falling apart but it
was drawn as a coming togeth-
er the assembly of Adam the
first man" Smith said.
"Seeing the inside of a person
may be a little discomforting
for people as they walk up the
stairs but it is the way God
chose to put us together. And
that is an essential beauty I
was trying to show in the .
work" Smith said.
Helen Yu senior
WotogyEiiglish major from
Houston sees a beauty in the
murai thlfc reIate to the cre.
atkm Adam as well as to the
humanity of Jesua Christ -
whkh may be a troublesome
raising cofiicerii for Hispanic students- t
The sessions were the idea of
parents involved in Project
Family Initiative for English
Literacy a program directed by
El Paso Community College's
Literacy Center Many of the
parents attend weekly classes
with their children to become
literate in English so they can
help them with schoolwork.
"We're exchanging ideas and
learning" Carlos $sxbajal said.
OI
a
IMSJHSSBaiSMBMSHMSHMBjM V
Kenneth Cunningham junior electrical engineering major from Port Lavaca waiks next to the
Emstaln mural in Foster Science Building on his way to his engineering mechanics class
Wednesday.
vision for some.
"I think that by the depiction
of all that flesh and blood it
makes the image of Christ as a
man all the more real and
believable" Vu said.
J? or tlve mathematical sci-
ences Becky Sundling senior
advertisinggraphic design
major from Phoenix Ariz.
painted a scene of astronauts
uAt a time when basic yajues
are falling apart we cannot
delegate education to teachers
alone"
Carmen Sanchez who is a
little worried about whether
she treats her three children
equally is among the regulars
at Las Platicas
"Basically everybody just
wants to make sure they're for-
mal that their family is the
b ty 1 1? X 1 C 1?
and equations on the Second
floor.
As for the mural of Einstein
on the physics floor it was done
by Brian Troute biology gradu-
ate t portray the popular 20th
century icon of scientific theory
The murals decorate Foster
like a colorful elementary
school playground wall with
painted scenes of the things
that happen around it.
The skeletons assembling
same as everybody clseV she
said at a recent meeting
attendee by 30 people.
Parents suggest the topics for
the sessions. Recent forums
covered topics such as how to
discipline children how to deal
with msensitiye teachers and
what to do about children who
bite other children.
JWse Peroira principal at
Crockett Elernentary-Interme-
'.
?
.J
the astronauts floating and the '
flowers blooming all provide an;
air1 of scenery that makes for a
unique art on campus. ;
Longtime secretary Sherman '"
says the murals are an ivalii-.'r "
able element to the beauty of V
the building.
'tTlieyVe a lot more spicy vjk
than Wank walls especially 3 '
since we don't Have windows1." '
lAftl uiis.
s .
7T.
diate School saiuVLasTJaticas?
is helping attract many HisJ
panic pareats who otherwise
might not become involvotf in .i
.schools ;
"It's an effort to get thorn into
the mainstream so thfcy cans
feel comfortable about coming '
to school and about what $vev -'
think is good about ocluca$i?nn
Pereirasaid
s J
mfrjii'in ei- w m t
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 23, Ed. 1, Friday, November 9, 1990, newspaper, November 9, 1990; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth96215/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.