Students in Professor Dunnagan’s Painting II-V courses created site-specific artwork around campus for the project, “Creative Surprises.” Can you find them all?
Campus Art
Art on Campus
Art pops up on the campus Quad when you aren’t exactly looking for it. So keep your eyes open. You never know what you might see!
Art Blows Up!
Professor Danielle Yakle continues to provide Truman’s campus with art entertainment. On September 5th, posters started to appear that advertised a pop up “Blow Up” art exhibition. Fortunately the morning of September 7th dawned bright and clear and not too windy, and the Advanced Fibers/Sculpture classes trekked their plastic sculptures and air blowers out to the Quad and got ready to stop passersby in their tracks.
The assignment was to create a sculpture that was a very large version of a small stuffed animal. And as the elephant, floppy dog, unicorn, crab. and other creatures suddenly appeared, people certainly paid attention. The new art contrasted well with the art that seems more “normal” for a university campus.
Stay tuned for the next of the Professor Yakle’s public art projects. And keep an eye on the Quad, and around campus generally. You never know what you might see!
Call for Artists: Pickler Memorial Library Gallery Opportunity
There is an exciting new opportunity for artists at Truman. The Pickler Memorial Library Gallery is now accepting submissions for solo or group art shows for the fall of 2017. The student body will be able to decide the winners through voting at 15 For Art, the Truman Jazz Festival, a basketball game, and the Big Event. If you would like to show your art, please fill out the application by February 10 at 5:00 p.m.
From Spring 2016: Emeritus Professor Jim Jereb’s prints in the Pickler Memorial Library Gallery.
Welcome Back
Tuesday, January 16th, marks our first day back from the holidays.
To celebrate your return, you can now go octopus hunting on the quad! 
When you walk around campus on your way between classes be sure to check out the latest installation from Danielle Yakle’s Introduction to the Visual Arts class.
Students in Danielle Yakle’s Fall 2016 Intro to the Visual Arts class with their installation outside the library.
All photos courtesy of Atticus Bailey.
Student Art in the Library
In the spring semester, Danielle Yakle’s Sculpture, Fibers, and 3D classes joined forces to produce a set of sea creatures that hung in the library.
For about a month in late February and early March, jellyfish, whales, rays, and sharks prowled the atrium space. Thank you to the Art students who worked together to change the ambience of Pickler Memorial Library and the library authorities who were so welcoming to this public art project.
Giant Acorn Art
One of several acorns on Truman’s campus. These were a project in Danielle Yakle’s Introduction to Visual Arts class, Fall 2015. Photo courtesy of Tim Barcus.
Danielle Yakle’s Introduction to the Visual Arts class ended the fall semester by installing public art across campus. This public art was the culmination of a project they had been preparing throughout the semester. She writes:
After studying some public sculpture the students proposed ideas for a piece they could construct and install in Kirksville. The winning idea was a series of acorn sculptures that would be spread throughout campus. The students chose the form of an acorn both as a sign of the fall season and to celebrate the student body’s fascination with our local squirrel population. The project is intended to be lighthearted and to inspire a scavenger hunt-like response. We spread the sculptures throughout the campus, encouraging viewers to explore areas beyond their usual commutes and enjoy finding the pieces unexpectedly as they go about their day.
An acorn sculpture in progress, showing the armature and fill before the concrete was added. Even with the lightweight center the sculptures required several people to move each of them.
Each acorn sculpture is between two and three feet tall and attached to a small plinth. They are constructed with a welded steel frame covered in concrete and embellished with glass mosaic and paint. Each of the eight acorns has a specific theme and color scheme designed by its student group. While the acorns’ hollow interior helps reduce the weight of each piece, we still estimate that the sculptures weigh between 200 and 250 pounds.
Take a look around campus and see how many of them you can find.
Acorns waiting to get their final touches before being placed around campus.
This acorn greets students as they walk from up the path to Violette Hall. Photo courtesy of Tim Barcus.