More than 30 art students participated in a performance art piece Monday afternoon in protest of strict Center for the Arts regulations, specifically the lack of student display space in the building.
The piece, created and led by Albert Chao, a sophomore sculpture major, began as a class project in Professor Andrew Johnson's Basic Painting course, but included several other students from the CFA community.
Chao said he was shocked by the fact that students could not use certain areas of the CFA to display or work on their art, which in turn stifles student artists' creativity.
"We need the opportunity to take things to another level," Chao said. "We need the option of using this space."
Participating students filed two by two into the Atrium through a long makeshift corridor of easels, carrying small paintings.
When the artists reached the end of the corridor, they abruptly stopped, placing the canvases atop of the easels.
Chao explained the purpose behind his project as a crowd of onlookers grew in the Atrium, saying he approached each of the participating artists several weeks ago.
"I gave them an 18 (inch) by 24 (inch) canvas, and what I told them to do was their best work," Chao said. "So all these paintings are their best work."
Chao invited the onlookers to view the paintings, because he said the CFA administration would not let public viewings of art take place. The artists' work ranged from a painting of a woman's rear end in a thong, to a painting of someone ripping up a small child's drawing, to abstract paintings.
After the crowd perused the canvases, the artists marched back down the easel-lined corridor, put on white shirts and pulled out small cups of Gesso, a white substance similar to paint that is often used to cover existing paint on canvases.
For nearly 10 minutes, the artists silently covered their "best work" with the white substance while the crowd watched and chatted quietly.
According to Tanis Winslow, a junior art major who participated in the event, the artists painted in silence to simulate the silence of the Atrium.
"That's totally how the Atrium is," Winslow said. "I remember when I first came to the Atrium, feeling like you couldn't make too much noise. I think that's totally what this whole thing is about."
Chao said when he was a high school student, he always admired the CFA's bright white exterior.
"I thought this was the most beautiful building I had ever seen," said Chao. "But as I began working here, I realized that there were a lot of constraints, a lot of constrictions."
"The whole thing was just like we came here to make our best work, we came here to be artists, and we get censored a lot," Winslow said. "There's no point to making work."
Winslow said a lot of the problems come from art students feeling like they do not have a space in the building, because the CFA is often rented out to host events, such as parties, lectures and weddings.
"We pay money to come here, and this is supposed to be our building for the students," Winslow said. "There are times when you can't even go eat lunch in your own building because they've rented it out to someone else, like a piano auction."
Eric Kanner, a senior sculpture student who attended Monday's protest, said that although the performance art piece may not have been entirely successful, he did agree with some of the things brought up.
"We pay tuition, we go to school, it's more our building than somebody who wants to get married," said Kanner.
According to Sandy Fazekas, associate director for the CFA, the building hosts a Gala once a year, during which student artwork is displayed in the Atrium. The administration is not opposed to hosting more student exhibitions during the year, Fazekas said.
"They used to do it - when I first started here - at least once a semester," she said. "But I guess it's a lot of work getting it together."
Fazekas said a lot of students' work is displayed in the wings off of the Atrium and is a point of pride for the faculty at the CFA.
"In fact, whenever we give tours, we take them through the wings," Fazekas said. "We're always showing off the student work, that's what we're here for."
Kelly Grant, a member of the Casting Institute, said that there was no administration in attendance of the event, so the message may have fallen on deaf ears.
"The problem is the wrong people saw it," Grant said. "Even the chair of the department was not there, so how do you expect to make a change?"
Kanner said that whether the event was poorly publicized or there was no interest from the administration, it did not do much good.
"I think it makes less of a statement and more of a performance," Kanner said. "Although I did think it was an excellent statement they were saying - it was sad. And the thing that makes it even more sad is that things aren't going to change."
After the event, Chao invited the audience to hear the artist statement in the Media Screening Room of the CFA and outlined the ideas for his newest project, which calls for students to submit proposals for a new art building to be built on or off campus.
He said the new building could be built out of "crazy" materials such as cardboard or garbage, as long as it did not hinder their creativity or their ability to learn.
"This is probably a one-in-a-million shot," Chao said. "Probably a one-in-zero shot. However, to make a start, we need to start somewhere."
