Photo by Cynthya Porter
Abstract painted –squares by Greg Inman are just a few of the local pieces beautifying the walls at Minnesota State College Southeast Technical. |
Thanks to a state law and the local vision of a committee, Minnesota State College Southeast Technical has become an art gallery of sorts that boasts beautiful work found right outside their doors.
As part of the renovation project the campus undertook last year, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities guidelines followed a state law that sets aside up to 1% of a public building project’s budget for art acquisition.
But rather than look to commercial art warehouses to beautify the college, a committee approached local artists for decor that is uniquely Winonan.
Painter Julia Crozier, who was contracted to create six large paintings for the entry and lobby, praised the local art initiative. “I think it’s really great to start thinking locally,” she said. “We have the talent here, why not use it?”
For the campus, Crozier created whimsical scenes of the Mississippi River Valley including images of birds, canoeists, hikers and wildlife.
The extra large paintings make a bold statement in the new campus entrance, and provide a glimpse of things familiar to all who live here. With figures turned away looking away from the viewer, the message Crozier was incorporating was the act of searching horizons in the distance. “I thought it was sort of fitting because they are on a journey, much like in education,” she said.
Crozier also designed a series of stained glass panels recently installed in the front lobby, panels that were brought to life by artists at Reinarts Glass Studio in Winona.
In the library, paintings by Crozier’s father, Larry Veeder, show that while the talent of painting can pass from one generation to the next, the personal interpretation by even father and daughter can be vastly different.
Though both paint landscapes, Crozier’s work takes on a highly stylized form, while that of her father is finely detailed in a realistic style.
The campus also includes photographs of local scenery and interesting abstract photos of metal jumbles found at Miller Scrap, just some of the variety of art pieces spread throughout the halls.
Near the cafeteria, a series of bright abstract panels show off the work of Greg Inman, paintings far different from Crozier’s but as uniquely local in their origin.
“I think that students were really kept in mind with this project, what they might be interested in looking at,” Crozier said. “There was a lot of thought put into different spaces.”
Crozier said as an artist she appreciated both the opportunity to do such large-scale projects and the freedom to create them with her artist’s eye.
Initiatives like the local art project at Minnesota State College Southeast Technical may be inspirational for students there who are interested in making a living with art, Crozier said. It also sends a message of support to artists in the community and sets a good example for other facilities which might embark on beautification projects in the future.
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